INFORM is a language used to create text adventure games. It is based on the text adventures that the company INFOCOM used to produce. The adventures were composed of two data files and two programs. The adventure is first written in the INFORM language and compiled with INFORM. This creates a datafile that is then read by ZIP (the adventure interpreter) with runs the adventure. ZIP is available for the QL ported by Luke Roberts. So now with INFORM, the full process can be done on the QL.
The INFORM language resembles C in some respects, but the more purely adventure related words look more like a database programming language (ie. fairly verbose). To give you an idea of what the language covers, here are a few chapter titles from the INFORM Language Manual: Objects, Properties and Attributes; Places, Scenery, and the Map; Causing Actions and Making New Ones; Containers, Supporters, and Sub-objects; Doors; Things to Enter, Travel In and Push Around; Living Creatures and Conversation; Starting, Moving, Changing and Killing the Player; Classes of Objects; Adding Verbs and Grammar to the Parser; etc.
The INFORM Language Manual is fairly thick and seems to cover the language fairly well. It’s about 100 pages and semi-tutorial, and not just a reference guide. The compiler comes with a number of different sample adventures to learn from and compile.
I have not had a change to give the compiler a spin. I don’t know what the demand for text adventures is, but for those interested, it’s always handy to have the capability to do what you want. The combination of INFORM and ZIP totally opens up the door to text adventures for the QL. INFORM allows you to compile your own adventures. ZIP allows you to run your adventures or run other adventures from other platforms.
If you are interested in text adventures based on the INFORM language there is a main archive site for such information. It’s ftp.gmd.de in the directory:
if-archive/infocom/compilers/inform