Re: IF authors in other genres


11 Oct 1995 23:41:51 GMT

In <45hgla$pel@castor.usc.edu> jweinste@castor.usc.edu (Jacob Solomon
Weinstein) writes:

>Thinking about this has made me curious about my fellow IF writers. Do
>you tend to write in other forms, too? Do you find your strengths and
>weaknesses in one form are analogous to those in another form? Does
>writing in one form make you a better author in the other? Are you a
>programmer who thinks of IF as just another kind of programming, or a
>writer who thinks of IF as just another kind of writing?

I am neither; I am this guy who thinks that IF is a perfect blend of
the two, which happen to both be things that I like to do. I'm a
pretty strong programmer (all my clients seem to think so anyway), and
a very mediochre (at best) writer. I think my IF reflects that.
Luckily for me, you can write a decently fun game with only mediochre
writing skills. As Magnus said (accurately) in his review of
Firewitch, "the author seems to have no high-flying literary
ambitions". But I acheived exactly what I tried to do I think - a
small, beginner-level, decently fun game with a kind of Zorky/Scott
Adamsy feel to it. The sequel (now in progress) is of the same style.
A "Curses" or "Christminster" is probably better writing and better IF,
but not the type of thing I would write.

As far as straight writing, I've tried my hand at fiction and tend to
have decent ideas which turn out absolutely wretched when I implement
them. The writing that I tend to receive compliments about are essays
about important events (or not so important events) from my past. If I
were about 100 times better, I would fancy myself a modern Henry
Miller.

-- 
John Baker
"What the hell does that mean?  Huh?  'China is here.'?
 I don't even know what the hell that means!"
        - Jack Burton