Inside Erin: The AIF Community Newsletter
Volume 4 Number 4 - April 2008

A Letter from the Editor - Purple Dragon

This month I'm happy to say that I think we have a pretty darn good issue for 
you.  In addition to my monthly babbling (which you are currently reading, thank 
you very much) and BBBen's always informative This Month in AIF we have some 
other fun stuff for you.  A. Ninny is back with another installment of The 
Aphrodite Chronicles.  Bitterfrost finally got off his assets to deliver another 
of his always hilarious and occasionally helpful author's logs.  And after 
saying it a couple of different times, I finally make good on my promise to end 
my one night stand tutorial with the final lesson.  Add to this a couple of 
reviews of some games that you really should play if you haven't and I think 
you'll agree that you're getting your money's worth this month.

But wait, there's more!  This month we're starting a brand new feature.  It's a 
little something I'm calling In the Hot Seat.  I've always enjoyed reading the 
interviews in the newsletter and that's what this is, but with a little 
difference.  Interviews with program developers are informative and interviews 
with game authors are always interesting but what about the stars of the show?  
The character are, more often than not, what make or break a game so in this 
feature I'll take one, put her in the hot seat, and try to find out what makes 
her tick.  For our inaugural installment I sat down with the gal that you all 
voted your very favorite NPC at the 2007 Erin Awards.  It's Clara from The 
Second Guest and she certainly had some interesting things to say about working 
on the project.

If all that is not enough for you then I have another piece of good news.  
Knight Errant has officially joined the newsletter staff and brings some great 
enthusiasm to the table.  I was discussing an idea I had for yet another new 
feature with him and he got so excited about it that I turned the project over 
to him.  That is to say, that if you don't like it, it's Knight's fault and if 
you do, remember it was my brainchild (Ahh, the pleasures of being editor).  
This one is for all you budding author's out there as we attempt to answer the 
eternal question, "Which program should I use to write my new masterpiece."  
More about that next month, for now just join me in welcoming our newest staff 
member.

Well, that's about all I have to say for this month and you have some reading to 
do so I guess I had better let you get to it.  Thanks for stopping by and please 
enjoy yourself.

*	*	*

This Month in AIF by BBBen

The forums on AIFGames.com have been down for a while now; apparently Sexton is 
aware of the problem and working on it, so hopefully they’ll be back up soon. In 
the meantime we just have to rely on the AIF Archive on Yahoo (which still gets 
higher activity than AIFGames.com anyway).

On the AIF Archive oneevilbob offered to program a medium-sized game for any 
writer who wants a programmer to handle the technical stuff, but so far as I’m 
aware there haven’t been any takers. I was commenting earlier in the month about 
how it seems to be the medium sized games that have disappeared from AIF, and 
hence the game drought, as we only have small games (mostly from the mini-comp) 
and a few scattered large games these days. Why this might be is hard to say.

There has been one problem identified on which we all seem to have some kind of 
agreement: a big reason for the drop off in games is that there just isn’t 
enough reader feedback. Reader responses are really the only incentive to write 
AIF and there’s not much of it about, which means few of the newer authors feel 
inclined to write a second game, and the more established authors slowly lose 
interest. If you want to help reverse the trend then the newsletter could really 
use some more reviews (review any games you want; there is a recommended review 
format available on the website, but that’s more of a guide to help you write 
them, and is not compulsory), or you could just post a message of appreciation 
on the forums (or send an author an email, which is often more appreciated). 
When you play a polished, well put-together game it may seem that a few lines 
about how and why you liked the game wouldn’t make any difference, but the truth 
is that a few of those messages really can make the difference between whether 
or not an author writes another game.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ve said all that before, so I’ll leave it there. Oh, and 
there was a thread about why the British are so good at AIF, which is all well 
and good, so long as it includes all the British Commonwealth countries… okay, 
so I’m pathetic.

New Games

There were several games by Nandi Bear from the Transformation Gaming Workshop, 
which has recently expired, which were released to the AIF community at the 
beginning of the month. I don’t know when these games were originally released, 
but they were released to the AIF community on March 2nd. Links to all the games 
can be found at <http://uk.geocities.com/nandibear/>; the games are: Strange 
Tales of Doctor Wilkins, Tiresias High, and House of TG.

The Magic Portal by Morbo (sorry if this credit is wrong), for RAGS, released 
March 26th. Worried about your friend Amy, you go to her apartment to try and 
find her. Instead you find a strange circle of stones, which turns out to be a 
magic portal that incites your lesbian desires and leaves you in a strange, 
magical kingdom.

*	*	*

In the Hot Seat - The AIF Interviews

Reality shows are all the rage at the moment and many of you may not realize 
that we have our very own version of it here in the AIF community. Some of the 
games are just that, games. But others take real people, put them in a 
situation, and then stand back and see what happens. For instance, what would 
happen if you put two complete strangers in a house for the weekend? That 
question was answered in last year's The Second Guest. This month, Inside Erin 
caught up with Clara to ask her some questions about her recent experience. We 
thank her for taking the time to talk to us and also for the very hot snapshots 
that she sent us, which we reproduce here for your viewing pleasure.

IE: Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself?

Clara: Well, I would hope that most people know all about me by now! My name is 
Clara and I'm nineteen years old. I have blonde hair and blue eyes, 32D-24-32. I 
was born in England, but grew up in France until I was 15 - my mother is French. 
Then my father lost his job at about the same time as my parents split up. Dad 
went back to England and Mum stayed in France, and I used to bounce between the 
two of them every few months. Eventually I got tired of that and just struck out 
on my own. I got a job as a singer in a slightly seedy nightclub for a while, 
and that's where I got introduced to all sorts of new things by the other girls 
that worked there. Apparently you could make good money by doing favours for 
some of the male patrons, and money was one thing I really needed. It didn't 
take me long to fall in with a bit of a bad crowd, of course.

IE: How did you get involved with The Second Guest?

Clara: Well, I was with one of the male patrons of the club one night - a short, 
ugly little guy called GoblinBoy and he told me he was planning The Second Guest 
reality show. He explained a bit about how it would work, and asked me if I 
would be interested in doing it. I took his cock out of my mouth long enough to 
say 'yes', and that was pretty much it. Of course I had to do a few other 
auditions for him, but I think he had already made his mind up, really, and the 
rest was just formality and an excuse to fuck me. Really it was just a case of 
being in the right place at the right time, sucking the right cock. 

IE: Yeah, that's pretty much how I got this job. Err, maybe you should just 
forget I said that. Anyway, our readers voted overwhelmingly that you were one 
of their favorite personalities last year. How does that make you feel? Were you 
surprised at the reaction you got?

Clara: Of course, I was delighted by the reaction that I got, on the whole. 
There were some critics of course - there always are - but most people were very 
appreciative and supportive. And to win an Erin for being in The Second Guest, 
well... that was just the best moment of my life. If only my Mum and Dad could 
see me now. Well, actually, maybe it's better if they don't... But yes, I would 
like to say a big thank you to everyone who voted for me. Thank you!

IE: This was obviously a show for a very mature audience. I doubt you could even 
get it aired on HBO. Did you have any misgivings about doing it when you found 
out just how adult the subject matter was going to be?

Clara: Ha, adult indeed! Yes, when GoblinBoy explained the project to me it was 
obvious from the start that a certain amount of nudity was going to be required, 
but I was ok with that. I think I have a nice body, and men certainly don't seem 
to mind looking at it. I don't think I quite appreciated how extreme the mature 
content was going to be until I was actually there on the set, though. Of 
course, none of it was really scripted and it was pretty much up to us what 
happened and how far we went, but GoblinBoy was certainly quite forthcoming at 
that point about the sort of thing he was expecting. I had a few doubts and 
second thoughts at that point, of course I did, but the money was good and this 
seemed like the chance of a lifetime to finally get some fame and recognition.

IE: Speaking of the subject matter, I have to ask, how much of the sex was real?

Clara: Oh, all of it. Mainstream TV and film obviously fakes anything even 
vaguely adult, but when you are in a project like The Second Guest there is no 
way to fool the audience with fakes. They want to see full frontal nudity. They 
want to see and experience the actual penetration with you. They want to watch 
the cum dripping out of you when the guy pulls out. You can't fake stuff like 
that when the audience is watching so closely the entire time. And, frankly, it 
was much more fun to do it the proper way! Every orgasm you see me have is real, 
folks!

IE: Did anything happen that you thought might have been going a bit too far or 
anything that you would like to have changed?

Clara: Well, not wanting to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but there 
was a bit near the end where we're having sex in my room and I have tied the guy 
to my bed. I make a joke about sticking a dildo in his ass and fucking him with 
it, and can you imagine my surprise when he takes me up on it! Of course, I 
couldn't back down at that point, and I didn't want to seem naive or prudish, so 
not only did I shove it in, but I also climbed on top of him and stuck his cock 
in my backdoor. Both of us taking it in the ass at the same time - man, that was 
further than I thought I would ever go! But afterwards, watching it back, it was 
really hot so I guess I'm glad we did it.

As for things I would have changed, well, the budget was a little low so we were 
restricted to just a few locations. It would have been nice to get some outdoor 
shots by the pool, to show off my tan and my swimsuit, maybe even get a little 
action going there. But oh well. Maybe next time.

IE: On the other side, was there anything that you would have liked to see 
happen that didn't?

Clara: That's a tricky one. A project like The Second Guest is all about what 
happens in the moment, you know? So it's hard to predict how things might have 
gone. Sometimes I think I should have played a little harder to get, and other
times I wish I had just gone in and screwed the guy's brains out immediately. I 
think GoblinBoy probably set the pace about right, though.

Oh, it might also have been nice to get something going with Marcus while we 
were there. Maybe a little threesome would have been interesting... I've always 
wanted to try that.

IE: Overall, are you glad you did the show? And if so would you ever consider 
doing another one?

Clara: I'm very glad I did the show! Just thinking about the happiness I brought 
to so many people, and the kind words people have said... Well, it makes it all 
worth while. Plus, I needed the money. *And* I came out at the end having found 
a great guy! I don't want to dwell on it, but people who watched the show know 
that I was in a very bad place when I started the filming, but the experience I 
had there totally changed my life! I don't know what my new boyfriend would 
think about the idea, but if GoblinBoy wants me to star in another show then I'm 
totally up for it! I don't think he has anything planned right now, but when 
he's finished all the other projects he's working on, then who knows, right?

*	*	*

The Aphrodite Chronicles by A. Ninny

Dear mortal men and women, 

When I last wrote to you, I was describing a recent sexual encounter with a 
human man named Randy.  The purpose of writing the description, you will recall, 
is to help you understand what it would be like to be with me - to experience a 
little of how a goddess of love makes love.  I had told you how I kept Randy at 
bay for over an hour, continuously arousing and confusing him with my easy, 
comfortable sexuality and subtle, deliberately contradictory body language.  We 
were sitting in front of the television watching a movie, but I could tell that 
for him I was the real show.  His eyes were on my body almost continuously.  He 
didn't know I was Aphrodite, but he did know I was extraordinary - the 
'conquest' he'd never forget.  

One allure tactic I implemented in that encounter was that I let Randy color his 
expectations with doubt.  It was extremely easy to let him believe both that we 
would and would not consummate the evening.  And I held him off so long so that 
I could tell exactly when he figured it was a no-go, that I was no more than 
fantasy fodder for future masturbation.  At that moment, I 'relented'.  The look 
on his face when he realized it would happen after all was meltingly beautiful.

A brief aside.  I realize that to you mortal men and women it sounds like I'm 
describing a power trip, and you're right.  This particular encounter was a 
power trip, but that's just how it worked out, and it was what this man needed 
from me to get optimum fulfillment.  And, as I'm sure you men know this 
firsthand, it doesn't take a goddess to do what I did; women manipulate men in 
this way all the time.  I'm simply the best at it.

Back to the details of my story (yes, I realize it's considered crass to kiss 
and tell, but you have to understand that stories are currency for us immortals.  
Keep that in mind, it's going to be an important theme in my adventures).  Our 
first kiss was tender, and his hands were tentative, as if still afraid that I 
would limit where I would let them wander.  I kissed him again, deeper this 
time, a kiss with a message.  He received the message and his grip intensified, 
he held my body lovingly, gratefully.  I felt him cataloging the experience, 
willing himself to remember every aspect of our embrace.  His hands dropped to 
my thighs and wandered between them, and I moaned out of spite for my so-called 
control over the situation.

His palms pressed in the flesh of my thighs and his fingers moved further 
between my legs until they dipped into my pubic hair.  You'll remember from my 
last letter that I wasn't wearing panties, and I had given myself a body with a 
luxurious bush, Randy knew this (I had let him have "accidental" sneak peeks), 
and when he touched me there it was his turn to moan out of excitement and 
anticipation.  His eyes shone and I could tell he wanted to undress me right 
away.

His desire shifted the balance of power back to me.  Good sex is a give and take 
game, a mind tango in which the role of leader shifts back and forth.  Sometimes 
it's a wonderful struggle, as both partners want to lead (or follow), and other 
times each partner relishes their role, and also enjoys feeling the power shift 
to them or away from them.  I playfully rebuffed his attempt to pull up my t-
shirt.

Instead, I turned away from him and leaned idly against his chest.  He wrapped 
his arms around my chest and held my breasts.  His fingers stroked my achingly 
stiff nipples through my shirt.  He complimented me with disarming sweetness, 
telling me how beautiful I was and how amazed he was to be with me, and I 
gracefully accepted his compliments and his kisses while holding his hands as 
they held my breasts in a warm embrace.

We sat like that for several minutes, and though he was still dressed I could 
feel his erection pressed against my back.  I reached back and put my palm over 
it, feeling how hard it was and how it strained against his pants, begging for 
my touch.  Then I turned and he let me begin undressing him.  

There was a moment of deep unspoken communication when I first held his penis in 
my hands.  Taking a cock (does it sound crass for a love goddess to use the word 
'cock'?  It's not crass; it's all about using the right language to convey the 
story) in my mouth puts me in a servile position, which is good at times, but 
when I can hold a mortal man's penis in my hand and look him straight in the eye 
and know that he is fully engaged with me and is getting pleasure from me.  
Randy sighed throatily and his eyes wandered into mine and got lost in them.  I 
didn't rub his cock, I just held it, feeling his heartbeat in my hand.

There's obviously more to what happened that evening, and a point to this story 
as well, for some of the events of that night created the impetus for the 
broader adventures that will soon be revealed.  But for now, I feel that I've 
shared enough and will wait until next month to conclude the relating of this 
encounter.

Until then, I wish you all wonderful love.

Aphrodite

*	*	*

How NOT to Write AIF -- Author's Log by Bitterfrost

Ye gods, where does the time go?! This winter has been maddening--one great, 
big, infuriating mess of a clusterfuck of celestial proportions. Okay. That's a 
bit over-dramatic there, Frost. Let's settle for frustrating. 

Between the mercurial weather, especially frantic work and white-knuckle 
financial fun, I've been lucky to survive with what's left of my mind intact. It 
helps that it's small enough to fit in a durable carrying case. Much as I love 
living where there's a rich, full spectrum of seasons, I'm ready to ditch this 
snow nonsense and see some green. Can't seem to get a thing done in this snowy, 
gray gloom.

Yeah, I know. My hard-working colleagues still manage to make their 
contributions to the newsletter in a timely manner despite their busy lives. 
Clearly, they're on better drugs.

I can't vouch for my cronies, but I've got obligations galore that leave me with 
tiny, shrinking islands of free time. Instead of parlaying the occasional bit of 
insomnia into invaluable AIF work time, I blow it watching movies I've seen a 
dozen times. "Hero." "Dark City." "Kung-fu Hustle." Visual comfort food, I 
guess.

Much as I want to wrap my head around the staggering amount of work yet to be 
done on my game ("How I Got Syphilix," for those of you playing along at home), 
there are nights when I just want to empty my brain.

During waking hours, I tend to squander my spare moments dinking around on my 
guitar. And, yes, I'm about as skilled and appreciated as Dave Lister ("What 
about the Om Song? That was a classic! Ommm.") However, it scours the daily 
nonsense from the old brain, plus it's something I can do without having to 
worry about someone peering over my shoulder. For me, AIF is a covert activity. 
And anymore it's a challenge to eke out some plain, brown wrapper time.

But certainly sex is swirling around my head constantly. And every now and then 
those images coalesce into AIF bits that I store away in my messy backbrain. 
They eventually accumulate, and my game lurches forward a few millimeters.

What happened to the pink-cheeked youth who said, "Yippee! I'm going to write my 
own AIF game!" lo those many years ago? Be-damned if I didn't have barrels of 
free time lying around back then. I wrote a ton in relatively short period.

Oh well. Enough whining. I just need to use my limited time more intelligently. 
Yeah, I heard that. Guffaw all you like. I may be a man easily out-smarted by a 
can of peanuts, but I'm as tenacious as barnacle. I started this thing... I've 
got to finish it.

Which brings me to this month's edition of "How NOT to Write AIF."

Thanks to some encouragement from my associates (i.e. A. Ninny poking me with a 
fork), I've decided to break my "only one game--ever" declaration and create a 
mini-comp entry. I'm gambling that a small, streamlined game will lend some 
momentum to the monstrous mess I've made of HIGS. Yeah, place your bets.

It happens that, in one of my many drunken edits, I'd walled off and abandoned a 
chapter that would make a decent mini game. I'd put a fair amount of work into 
that scenario, but more and more it just didn't fit with the way the rest of the 
game was evolving. So here's a great opportunity to keep that effort from going 
to waste.

Despite working off and on in ADRIFT for a few years now, the engine still 
confounds me. Extracting a chunk from the middle of your .TAF is a unique 
challenge. ADRIFT just isn't built to accommodate that. I've had to carve the 
rest of the game away around the bit I want to salvage.

To make matters worse, you don't have the luxury of selecting groups of 
elements. In fact, you're stuck deleting one thing at a time. One object. One 
task. One event. One variable. I suppose that's fine since I need to be 
selective, but it's still a colossal time waster.

It's a bit like defusing a bomb. I can't just hack away because certain events, 
tasks and objects are interconnected, and ADRIFT becomes enraged when you take 
away something it needs. I once deleted a variable and had several tasks go bad 
on me. Despite my pleading, ADRIFT wouldn't reconcile, and I had to revert back 
to a previous save. If there's one thing I've learned working in ADRIFT, it's 
save multiple copies of your .TAF and date them (take them to a nice restaurant 
and they're bound to put out).

I blew hours snipping away the main game while being careful not to do anything 
that might ruin the mini-game within. Frustrating. Insane. But kind of fun in a 
demented, sticking-a-fork-in-a-toaster sort of way. It's been an interesting bit 
of brain surgery. I'll illustrate with an exchange from the opening of "The 
Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai:" 

NEW JERSEY:
	See, this is the point, for me, where it started to look like a
	problem.  You know, I wanted to sacrifice the procentral vein in
	order to get some exposure, but because of this guy's normal
	variation, I got excited, and all of a sudden I didn't know
	whether I was looking at the procentral vein, or one of the
	internal cerebral veins, or the vein of Galen, or the vasular
	vein of Rosenthal.  So, on my own, to me, at this point, I was
	ready to say that's it, let's get out.

BUCKAROO BANZAI:
	You can check your anatomy all you want, and even though there may
	be normal variation, when you get right down to it, this far inside
	the head it all looks the same.
	
	No, no, no, no.  Don't tug on that.  You never know what it might be
	attached to.

I know what you're saying. Why not just use your existing game file and make 
that salvaged chapter the only playable bit? That would make sense, but then 
you'd have a three-meg monster .TAF of which you'd have access to about 150K. 
The world isn't ready for that kind of toxic spill just yet.

So I plucked this poor bugger, pulling out task after task, room after room. 
Duh-one. Duh-two. Duh-three. Fortunately, it seems to have worked. The file is 
stable.

Yeah, I'm sure the smart thing would've been to build a new .TAF from scratch, 
wire it up and then copy-paste the text. However, I refer you once more to the 
title of this journal. Sense moved out years ago.

The thing is that the structure, variables, characters and events were all there 
to be refined. So I was better off tempting ADRIFT's gremlins and whittling the 
main file down as I did. Now I just need to spice up the mechanics a bit and 
flesh out the sex. Crown me fool, but be-damned if I might just make it.

When I get back to HIGS, it's do or die time. I need to get over the fact that 
the fun bits will have to wait. I've got to lay down the rest of the game's 
framework, make it fully playable and then go back and fill in the placeholder 
text with the fun stuff. It's the only way I'm going to get this thing done.

For too long now, I've been focusing on writing the sex scenes, but, fun as that 
is, it's killing this project. I lose track of the mechanics, the dizzying 
tangles of if-thens that make the whole thing go. I've got to grit my teeth and 
finish laying the pipes.

Honestly, my fellow staffers have shown too much patience, given too many polite 
nods for me to fail to follow through on HIGS: A. Bomire's invaluable 300-page 
test transcript. BBBen's "Don't you dare give up!" threats. A. Ninny's 
wonderfully motivating yet somewhat damaging guilt-trips.

You have to understand that the guys within this newsletter are the hardest 
workers in the business. Seriously. I'm way out of my league here. If I didn't 
provide the cheap liquor and hookers at the monthly newsletter wrap-up parties, 
there's no way I'd qualify to be on the same page as these guys. I'm not just 
brown-nosing here, folks. You should show your support. There wouldn't be an AIF 
community without these guys.

So I owe it to them to get this thing done. I'll even cut them in on the 
profits. One hundred percent apiece.

*	*	*

How to Write a One Night Stand -- A Tutorial Part 7 by Purple Dragon

Well, here we are, the moment you have all been waiting for, the final part of 
the tutorial.  Now, whether you have been waiting for this because you've 
actually been following along or because you're just sick of the whole thing is 
another matter but this is it.  You already have enough ammunition to write a 
game but there are just a couple of other things I wanted to mention before we 
wrapped things up so let's get to it.

CONVERSATION

Conversation with characters is one of the hardest things to handle in AIF.  Or 
I guess I should say that it is one of the hardest things to handle well.  There 
are just so many different variables involved and so many different ways you can 
mess things up.  Choosing the right kind of system for what you are trying to do 
is very important.  Earlier in this tutorial we discussed some of the different 
systems out there.  I am going to show you a simple way to do two of them.  When 
all is said and done, both of these are going to leave a lot to be desired but, 
once again, we are trying to keep things simple here.  Once you see how a basic 
system works you should be in a better position to see what needs to be done for 
what you're trying to accomplish.  If you really want to focus on conversation I 
suggest checking out some of the conversational extensions on the Inform site.  
There are some very good ones that allow a great deal of flexibility.

TALKING TO

The simplest system from both a writing and playing standpoint is where the 
player just types in "Talk to Lisa" and out comes the response.  Obviously, this 
is not only the simplest, but also he least detailed.  If conversation is going 
to play a large part in your game then this is not the one to use.  However, if 
conversation is relatively unimportant in the game then it could be a good way 
to go.  Inform does not have this action built in so the first thing we need to 
do is create it.

Talking to is an action applying to one thing.  Understand "talk to [person]" or 
"greet [person]" as talking to.

The first thing to notice is that the action we are defining is "talking to" and 
not "talking," which will make the rules we write sound much more natural.  Once 
we have the action defined we simply write our rules in the same way we did for 
the sexual commands.

Instead of talking to lisa, say "You chat Lisa up about this and that."

Everything we went over for the sexual commands apply here as well.  You can 
write different responses for each room, multiple responses, etc.  You can also 
have the response change for different circumstances.  For example, an obvious 
one here is that Lisa's response to you would probably be very different before 
and after you fixed her computer.  If you have downloaded and looked at the 
sample game that I mentioned then you already know the way to handle tracking 
this change but for those of you who didn't, here it is in a nutshell.  First we 
create a simple either/or property.

A thing is either broken or working.  A thing is usually working.  The computer 
is broken.

Remember that you can't give a property to an individual object but have to give 
it to an entire 'kind' (in this case 'thing').  Once created, we can then 
specify that the computer is broken, then when we repair the computer we just 
add the following line at the end of the rule.

Now the computer is working.

And that's it.  The computer is now broken before we repair it and working after 
so we can now refer to it in our rules like so:

Instead of talking to Lisa in the office when the computer is broken, say "She 
looks over at you and asks, 'Do you think you'll be able to fix it?'

Giving her your warmest smile you respond, 'Yes, no problem, it will just take 
me a few minutes.'".

Instead of talking to lisa in the office, say "You ask her what she thinks about 
the weather but the lust in her eyes tells you she has other things on her mind.  
'Never mind that.  Just get over here and fuck me.'".

You could, in theory, make a whole bunch of new properties like this to have 
your responses keep changing but in practice, if you were going to go to all 
that trouble then it's probably best to just use a different system.

ASKING ABOUT

This is probably the most widely used conversational system, although that is 
not to say that it is always used well.  In this system the player would type 
something like, "ask Lisa about computer" and the game would respond with 
whatever the author put in.  Telling is usually another option here as in, "tell 
Lisa about computer."  Sometimes this would give a separate response and 
sometimes the same one.  For our purposes here we'll assume that we want only 
one so the first thing to do is redirect any attempt to "tell" to "ask".

Instead of telling someone about something, try asking the noun about it.

Then we would write all our rules like this:

Instead of asking Lisa about "computer", say "'I don't understand,' she says. 
'It just won't power up at all."

And it wouldn't matter if the player typed "ask" or "tell," that is the response 
he will get.  The first thing to notice here is that we put the word computer in 
quotation marks.  "Computer", in this case, is a topic and not the computer 
object that we have already defined.  This is something you have to keep in mind 
because, let's say you gave the computer object the synonym of "CPU".  The game 
will let you "examine CPU", "repair CPU", etc because it knows that "CPU" refers 
to the computer.  However, when the player tries "Ask Lisa about CPU" he will 
simply be told, "There is no reply." This is because, even though we are using 
the same word, Inform sees the computer object and the computer topic as two 
separate things.  If you want to allow "CPU" to be used in conversation as well 
you need to rewrite that rule.

Instead of asking Lisa about "computer/CPU", say "'I don't understand,' she 
says. 'It just won't power up at all."

If you have a longer list of synonyms that you want to use with a topic it is 
sometimes easier to use a test substitution like the following.

Instead of asking lisa about "[tits]", say "'You have beautiful breasts Lisa.  
Are they real?' you ask.

Instead of slapping you as one might expect, Lisa just smiles and says, 'If they 
weren't, don't you think I would have went with something a bit larger?'".

Understand "breasts/tits/boobs" or "her breasts/tits/boobs" as "[tits]".

Here we are substituting a whole list of synonyms for [tits].  This is 
especially helpful if there are going to be several rules involving them so that 
we only have to type them out once.  We haven't talked all that much about 
"Understand" commands like this one.  You might not see the point of having both 
groups of the words that we have in the separate quotation marks but it is 
actually necessary.  The second set, "her breasts/tits/boobs" will match if the 
player types "her breasts", "her tits", or "her boobs."  However, it will not 
match simply "tits" by itself (by themselves? Hmm) so you need the first set to 
cover that.

All this may seem like we are having to define everything twice, and in a way we 
are but it is often helpful to have these separate and it is very nice when it 
comes to defining topics that aren't objects in the game.  If we wanted the 
player to be able to ask Lisa about love, sex, or the weather it would be 
extremely annoying to have to first create a "weather" object.  At any rate, in 
a nutshell, that's the way to define topics and write the basic rules.  As with 
the rest of our rules, we are free to use restrictions so that different 
responses are given at different times.

Instead of asking Lisa about "computer/cpu" when the computer is broken, say "'I 
don't understand,' she says. 'It just won't power up at all."

Instead of asking Lisa about "computer/cpu", say "'Thank you so much for fixing 
it.  Now if there were only some way I could thank you properly.'"

Just to remind you, since the first rule is more specific it is the only one the 
player will see while the computer is broken.  Once the computer is fixed, 
Inform will automatically switch over to the second as the only remaining rule 
that fits.  If it helps to make things clearer for you, you could always spell 
out that the second rule is "when the computer is working" but it's not 
necessary.  You can also use the if/begin/otherwise technique that we learned 
about last month to streamline things a bit.

Instead of asking Lisa about "sex":
	If the computer is broken begin;
	say "She doesn't want to talk about that until you have finished your 
work.";
	otherwise;
	say "She licks her lips and says, 'less talk, more action.'";
	end if.

Now all that's left is to figure out what the player is going to ask about and 
write rules that make sense for every topic at every possible time that every 
character can be asked about it.  Simplicity itself.  Like I said, good 
conversational systems are a lot of work.  But as I also mentioned, there are 
several good extensions out there that can help with some of the heavy lifting 
if you really want to focus on it in your game.

TESTING

Before we wrap things up I wanted to be sure to add a little word on testing.  
Although for the most part, authors nowadays recognize the need for testing, 
that is not to say that it is yet a universally accepted thing.  Do you need to 
test your game and have other people test it?  Yes, you do.  A. Bomire wrote an 
excellent three-part series way back in the first three issues of this 
newsletter extolling the virtues of Alpha and Beta testing and I highly 
recommend you read it.

You will be testing your game yourself (or alpha testing it) constantly as you 
go along but even once you have it done and can go all the way through the game 
without anything blowing up (unless it's supposed to) you still need to let 
other people have a look at it.  Why?  Because you can't possibly think of 
everything that people are going to try.  After all, you wrote the game so you 
know exactly what needs to been done and exactly when to do it to play the game 
and get all the goodies.  However, anyone else playing it will not have the 
benefit of your knowledge.  Something might make perfect sense to you but baffle 
anyone else trying to make his or her way through.

Tell your beta testers to be as detailed as possible, to tell you the things 
that seemed too hard (or easy), to tell you about spelling errors and grammar 
mistakes.  Also have them send you a transcript of their play through.  By 
reading through this you will see (without them having to explicitly tell you) 
the spots where they had trouble and the cool, "difficult" puzzles that you set 
up that they got past in about 3 seconds.

Finally, once you have all this great feedback, do something about it.  I'm not 
saying that every suggestion from your beta testers is something that needs to 
be changed but you should at least be considering it.  Trust me, it is much 
better to get a list from a couple of people and make the changes that are 
needed than to just release the game and suffer the curses of a frustrated 
community.

CONCLUSION

It's been a long road.  Seven months of trying to convince you that I have some 
idea what I'm talking about.  Since that time I've gone from simple, mild-
mannered community member, to newsletter staff member, to editor of said 
newsletter.  I still don't know exactly how that happened to be honest with you.  
I just read back over all six previous parts and what I found (in addition to a 
depressingly large number of typos) is that I believe I have accomplished my 
goals.  I freely admit that it got a bit more complicated and ran a bit longer 
than I was originally intending, but I think that if you have been following 
along, you now have the tools you need to write a game.

Coincidentally, the deadline for the mini-comp is a month and a half away, still 
plenty of time to write a game.  If you have enjoyed this tutorial at all, if 
you have gotten anything out of it, I can think of no better way to thank me 
than to write a game and let everyone enjoy your labor of love (or lust).

Even though this ends this tutorial, my offer to help with your game still 
stands (and will until I no longer answer to Purple Dragon).  If you need help 
along the way or with beta testing, just let me know.  I hope you've enjoyed the 
ride because I know I have and just before we go, let me remind you one last 
time to (say it with me) work hard, have fun, and think dirty thoughts.

*	* 	*

Game Reviews

I-0: Jailbait on the Interstate
A Review by A. Bomire

Game Info:	I-0 (AKA Interstate Zero, I0)
Released: 	1997
Author:	Adam Cadre
Platform:	Inform
Size:		174KB
Content:	m/f, underage
Game Type:	Adventure
Length:	Short/Medium (depending on choices)
Reviewed:	March 2008
Extras:		1997 XYZZY Award Winner for Best Game and Best Individual PC

Basic Plot

You play the part of 17-year old (hence the "jailbait" reference in the title) 
Tracy Valencia, a first year student at the fictional University of Dorado. You 
are traveling through hellishly-hot Texas on Interstate Zero when your car 
breaks down. You need to find cover from the heat, and then find a way somewhere 
to get your car fixed. Along the way, all kinds of things (good, bad and funny) 
can happen.

Overall Thoughts

This game has been reviewed, discussed and referred to so often in IF circles 
that I was very surprised to find that it had never been formally reviewed in 
AIF. So, here is my attempt to correct that oversight. There are plenty of IF 
reviews of this game out there if you are interested in reading them, such as 
the one in SPAG #20. They mostly review the game from an IF point of view in 
terms of the game's puzzles and play, while this review will also include the 
AIF aspects.

The main point in playing this game is to see just how many ways Tracy can 
attempt to extricate herself from her lonely and desperate situation. Without 
giving too much away, the quick answer to that question is - A LOT! This game is 
fairly short (although some of the options can lead to a longer game), and has 
tremendous replay value as it seems that just about anything and everything you 
do can make a change to how the game proceeds.

Puzzles/Game Play

There are plenty of puzzles in this game, but none of them are very difficult. 
In fact, Adam Cadre often provides a direct hint to their solution through 
materials in the game (such as the pamphlet in your glove compartment). But, 
those aren't the real puzzles. The real puzzle, as I mentioned, is figuring out 
all of the possible paths through the game, and exploring them. Many times games 
such as this one club you over the head with the fact that the plot is branching 
with things like: "Do you want to go left or right?" This game is very subtle, 
offering you choices that you can take or ignore with no prompting or judgment. 
For example, a good Samaritan pulls over to help you out. You can take him up on 
his offer, or after a couple of turns he leaves. You aren't stranded, as you 
still have options that crop up - sometimes at the same time. It is all very 
smooth and seamless.

For players wanting to explore all of the aspects of this game, you will be 
happy to know that there are plenty of solutions posted on the Internet. 

Sex

The sex in this game, while available, is not the hardcore sex that many people 
have come to expect from AIF games. In fact, this game, while including adult 
elements, is considered mainstream IF. The sex is there, if you can find it, but 
it is mild. So, players who are expecting a XXX experience will be disappointed.

Technical

I could find no technical faults in the game.

Intangibles

Part of this game's charm is the dry wit and humor of Adam Cadre's writing. It 
sort of sneaks up on you when you least expect it, such as his reference to 
"splittin' the kitten" (Tracy pleasuring herself). It may not make you laugh out 
loud, but you will find yourself grinning and smiling as you and Tracy make your 
way through the desert.

Final Thoughts

This game is considered a classic in mainstream IF, and a shining example of the 
multiple-path game. The adult aspects aren't emphasized, but they are there. As 
I mentioned, players who are looking for that hardcore sex experience will be 
disappointed. Players who are looking for an interesting, and sometimes 
humorous, short game will be satisfied.

Rating: A


Sam Shooter 2: Through the Dimensional Rift
A Review by Knight Errant

Game Info: 	Sam Shooter 2: Through the Dimensional Rift
Released:	9/18/02
Author:	One-Eyed Jack
Platform:	TADS 2
Size: 	601KB
Content: 	m/f, f/f, m/f/f, m/m/m/f, voyeurism, non-consent
Type: 	Linear, story-based
Length: 	Long
Reviewed:	April 2008
Extras:	None

Basic Plot

After graduating from high school in Sam Shooter 1, Sam finds that his sister 
Laurie has vanished. On his sister's trail, he discovers a dimensional portal 
which takes him to a fantasy realm. Armed with his trusty Louisville Slugger, 
Sam must rescue sister and Princess Myrim Fireloins, thwart the evil scheme of 
the sorceress Kaylista, and fuck all the women he can.

Overall Thoughts

Although OEJ's sex writing is hot, his zany self-deprecating humor is what keeps 
me coming back to his games. The addition of his silly poetry in this edition 
provides more amusement.

Puzzles/Gameplay

The puzzles are pretty straightforward, nothing too difficult unless you 
accidentally forget an item you need to complete the game.

Sex

Hot as always. The Sam Shooter games always have a touch of incest because 
Laurie is Sam's sister (possibly adopted), but that's easily enough ignored. 
Besides, the game doesn't take itself seriously, why should you?

Technical

Quite sound. There are a few sex descriptions that occur when the wrong actor is 
performing an action, but no game-stopping bugs that I found. There are a few 
points of no return in the game which could render the game unwinnable if you 
don't have all the items you need.

Intangibles

One of the great aspects of the Sam Shooter games is being able to completely 
let loose and act as the vicious asshole Sam is. From random acts of violence to 
torturing the Dryad by not cumming in her pussy, OEJ gives the player plenty of 
opportunities to let out your inner jerk.

Rating: A


Casting
A Review by Knight Errant

Game Info: 	Casting
Released: 	7/8/05
Author: 	Fellatrix_uk
Platform: 	Inform
Size: 	244KB
Content: 	m/f, f/f
Type: 	T&AIF
Length: 	Medium
Reviewed: 	April 2008
Extras: 	Author's commentary

Basic Plot

You are a young aspiring actress, looking to get a break into Hollywood anyway 
you can. You've given a lot of "favors" but so far it hasn't paid off ... maybe 
this time will be your big break.

Overall Thoughts

It's unusual to see an AIF game written from a female perspective, and I'll 
admit that fact is what kept me from playing Casting before now. However, I'm 
glad I picked it up. It's a good storyline and it's great to see AIF done from a 
woman's perspective. The commentary was a great touch, something I think I may 
want to include in my next game. It's a good game, and it makes me want to see 
more from Fellatrix.

Puzzles/Gameplay

The puzzles are logical and not too complicated, once you figure out how to get 
to where you're going. The premise pretty much lays out the plot of the game, 
and there aren't too many surprises along the way. That's not a bad thing, 
either, as the sex is obviously the focus of this game.

Sex

I initially didn't think I'd be turned on by a female POV sex scene, but it's 
hot. More detail in the scenes (particularly how the sex makes the main 
character feel) would be a big improvement, but it's well done. The sex uses an 
arousal pattern that's quite common among AIF games, with an initial 
description, an "again" description which repeats until one or both characters 
orgasms. There's a good amount of variety, each scenario has it's own unique 
feel and quirks.

Technical

Implementation was a little more sparse than I was used to, but good. Overall, 
it was a very solid game with some unconventional features (clothing that opens, 
getting under tables).

Intangibles

It's a fun T&AIF game, and it's great that the movies turn out to be porn ... 
makes a lot of sense for why the player would be seducing the various producers. 
I loved the hints about what the PC's personality is like, and it really fits 
with the storyline. Good use of atmosphere objects, too, it kept the offices 
from feeling too spartan. The lack of a script in the final scene was an amusing 
touch as well.

Final thoughts

Casting is a straightforward T&AIF game, good for an evening's amusement. 
There's nothing to keep one frustrated for long and plenty to amuse and arouse.

Rating: A-

*	*	*

AIF Wants You

If you can write game reviews, articles, opinion pieces, humorous essays, or 
endless blather, we want you.  Contact the Editor for suggested content or just 
write what you want and send it to us.

Submitting your work to Inside Erin:

Please direct all comments, articles, reviews, discussion and art to the Editor 
at  aifsubmissions@gmail.com.

*	*	*

Staff

Editor:
Purple Dragon has written five AIF games including Archie's Birthday - Chapter 
1: Reggie's Gift, A Dream Come True, and Time in the Dark. He has received one 
Erin award and been nominated for several others.

Webmaster:
Darc Nite is an avid gamer who heard the call  for help with the AIF Newsletter.

Staff:
A Bomire is the author of several TADS AIF games, including Dexter Dixon: In 
Search of the Prussian Pussy, Tomorrow Never Comes and The Backlot. His games 
have won numerous awards and Erin nominations.  He was the co-recipient of the 
Badman Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

A Ninny is an AIF player, author of four AIF games and frequent beta-tester.  
His Parlour received an Erin for Best "One Night Stand" game in 2004 and his 
most recent game, HORSE walked away with three Erins at the 2007 awards show.

BBBen is an author of a number of Adrift AIF games. His games have received 
numerous Erin awards and nominations and first place in A. Bomire's 2004 mini-
comp. He was also the recipient of the 2007 Badman Memorial Lifetime Achievement 
Award. 

Bitterfrost is a longtime IF/AIF player working on his first (and last) game, 
How I Got Syphilix.

Knight Errant is an AIF player who has released one game and is currently 
working on a couple of others.