Happy New Year everyone!
I’m delighted to announce that Interact-IF is officially back in business! I (Allie @allieebobo) will be taking the reins as the new mod, and I’m very excited to get this blog up and running again!
First, a heartfelt thank-you to the original mod team for everything they’ve built. Interact-if has become such an invaluable resource and hub for interactive fiction fans and authors alike. It’s a tough act to follow, but I’ll do my best to keep the spirit of this wonderful space alive :)
A little bit more about me: I’m the author of two WIP interactive fiction games, @collegetennisoriginstory and @merrycrisis-if. Interact-if was one of the first blogs/places that I discovered almost three years ago now, and it led me to so many amazing stories, authors, and resources.
When I saw that the blog was going into archive mode, with a call for a new generation of mods, I wanted to do my best to help out. I reached out to the original mod team and worked out a gameplan for the future of Interact-if, which I’d like to share with all of you today.
P.S. If you would like to join me, I’d love to have you on the team! Scroll down to the section on ‘open call for mods’.
Without further ado, here’s the plan!
Hi everyone!
In the spirit of celebrating things that spark joy and build community^, @interact-if will be running a mini-series “Writing Spotlight”, which will feature beloved IFs in 6 main categories:
- Best story/narrative (Epic/Exciting)
- Best story/narrative (Cozy/contemplative)
- Best world/setting
- Best character
- Most memorable choice/branch
How this works
Under each of these categories, vote for an IF (can be completed/WIP), either by: leaving a comment on this post, sending in an ask, or filling out this form.*
*Do include at least a sentence on why you’re voting for that IF / things you loved that made you vote for it). These lines will be compiled and I’m sure they’ll bring a little ray of sunshine to these authors.
If you’re leaving a comment or ask, do clearly state which category you’re casting a vote for (you can vote in multiple categories, but try to stick to 1-2 IFs in each category if possible)!
Do refrain from voting twice in the same category please, this is done in good fun :)
After voting closes
Do send in your by 27 April, and will be tallying the votes and reaching out to winning authors** in each category to do a small interview feature, in the hopes of uncovering some tips/tricks/advice on their techniques and writing process (especially in relation to their strengths e.g. world-building, character arcs etc.)
**I might have to see how this works out, some authors are a little more difficult to contact, but I’ll try.
Again, I hope this will all generate some positivity and love, plus maybe uncover some of the behind-the-scenes techniques/process behind the wonderful IFs that we love and talk about a lot! <3
^Especially in this turbulent time of Trump fuckery…
Last but not least, if you’d like to see any other categories featured in the next iteration, or if you have ideas for specific questions to include in the interviews with these authors, feel free to drop a message or a comment!
Looking forward to the responses, and hopefully this will be fun for everyone! :)
CT:OS Update #9 public release is now live!
Here’s the link!
Hope you guys enjoy it, I’m looking forward to reading your messages and comments/feedback.
I’m hoping that I’ve caught and fixed most of the bugs but if there’s still things that don’t work, let me know here on the forums/ on Tumblr (@allieebobo) or drop me an email at allieebobo@gmail.com.
Features:
Does anyone remember an if where the mc is wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of their father and they’re finally released after 12 years? I think the Mc also has a half brother and a niece.
Crowd-sourcing for answers
i’m not sure it that was already asked, I’ve tried to find any similar questions but couldn't! Is there any IF where the MC travels back in time?
Crowd-sourcing for answers!
Ironheart, and A Wise Use of Time, maybe? It’s been a long time but does Silverheart maybe fit the bill too?
Hii! I have an question about an If I had read I think 1 or 2 years ago?
I still remember that the MC had a sibling(I think brother) and a childhood friend, magic wasn't allowed and the MC could do magic I think or the childhood friend? Anyways the parents died in the prologue can't remember if they were killed or the ship drowned.
I can't remember much anymore, I send an ask about it I think 1-2 years ago to the old owner but never got an answer/never found one
Maybe it was a dream don't remember anymore lol
Crowd-sourcing for answers!
hello! i believe this if is long gone now (don't think its had been updated since i played it) but I'm trying to find this if and this is all i could remember since then (because of a screenshot).
the game is set in space and you play a MC... who is trying to fix a problem in their ship (?). They have a drone buddy with them. You can to choose to mediate or explore the spaceship. Exploring the spaceship allowed you to find the drone, and MC get the options to either pick it up or not, or to go find a spot to mediate since exploring isn't working.
that's all i got. sorry that i don't got more.
Crowd-sourcing for answers!
hello, can anyone help me find these ifs? legitimately going insane looking for them. first if, from what i recall, is a political visual novel in which you play as a noble that half-snake (?)—not literally, just that the lower part of the body is snake-like—and there are four heirs of the empire that you're aiming to marry. one of these heirs is known for their beauty with pink hair and there's another one that has violet/purple hair in a ponytail.
second if is an isekai rpg of the mc reincarnating (?) into a noblewoman with blue hair and pink (?) eyes. one of the mls, I think, was named caelus.
Crowd-sourcing for answers!
help me find an if demo
mc is a god of dreams killed by another god to steal their power, they're awakened in a a far advanced setting by a man scientist who is devoted to researching them and a woman rebel who want to kill the gods using Mc.
Crowd-sourcing for answers!
Interactive fiction with lesbian characters/ROs
Crowd-sourcing answers! :)
I think a lot of IFs let you play as a woman/non-binary character romancing a woman (I’ve included some of my favorites below), but I’ll leave it to more people to answer for exclusively lesbian characters.
My personal favorites for playing as a woman/nb romancing a woman are: “If It Please The Court” or “A Player’s Heart” if you’re looking for heart’s choice specifically, and for general HGs/COGs, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Fallen Hero with f!Ortega, Tin Star with Caraway, Alessa in the Golden Rose, and if you’re OK with WIPs, I found the romances in Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - An affair of the heart and Infamous, and When Life Gives You Lemons delightful.
How long a prologue and a chapter are supposed to be? First time if writer here and I’m looking for any advice :)
Heya!
I’m definitely not qualified to give writing advice (am just bumbling along with everyone else), but here’s how I see it:
A good prologue/opening chapter performs one of many functions in a story, and I’d say instead of wordcount, think of whether whatever you’ve written has achieved the following:
- Set the scene (i.e. what’s the world like, what’s the protagonist’s life like?)
- Establish a point of view (usually the main character’s)
- Set the stylistic tone / voice for the rest of the IF (so readers can go: hell yeah, or eh, I’m out.)
- Introduce the protagonist (their personality, sometimes even their backstory) and maybe ~2 key side characters. (Note: Since it’s an IF, this definitely means giving the reader at least 3 choices that significantly shapes the contours of their character (this could be whatever attributes you choose: background, main skills/focus, personality, attitudes to something major in their world/life etc. It’s also where I usually see authors injecting 2-3 more minor choices on appearance etc. but this is optional)
- Hint at a central conflict or tension or theme that you’ll be exploring (e.g. this is where you can already start to foreshadow the things that the protagonist will have to face).
- Lay out the inciting event, which pulls the protagonist out of their usual ’setting’/life (see above) and thrusts them into their first ‘conflict’ (Note: This doesn’t actually have to be an actual conflict, maybe the best way to think of it is the first ‘question’ that the story asks of its character. E.g. Percy Jackson defeats an evil teacher at his school and everyone pretends there’s never been a teacher by that name. WHuuut??) (Again, in the context of an IF, I’d say at least 1 choice here to allow readers some significant input / agency on how the story continues to unfold after the inciting event would be really powerful here. It doesn’t have to be a major branch, but at least something that triggers a variable that will be revisited somewhere down the line / affect the story later on).
P.S. I think the ‘inciting event’ thing is probably the most important thing of the lot, because that’s kinda how you achieve the rest (the best way to start fleshing out a protagonist/character is to see how they respond to something big!)
If your prologue + first chapter does all of the above, I’d say you’ve successfully:
- Piqued your readers’ interest
- Hit the first emotional ‘beat’ of your story
- Helped them decide if the story is something they’d like to read
- Built a good foundation upon which readers can start to fall in love with your story, setting, and characters!
Some people can do it in 40k words (I see this as a ballpark figure for my own IFs), some more, some less :)