David Cornelson

David Cornelson once tried to build an IF publishing company called Textfyre That endeavor is now closed. Some of the remnants of Textfyre include web-based platform tools for Inform 7 using Glulx-TypeScript, FyreVM-Web, and TypeScript, and ReactJS. David is now spending more time on a Typescript-based IF platform called Sharpee.

Note: David 's nickname is Dave on ifMUD; formerly, it was Jarb.

Author Credits

The Town Dragon (Oct-1997; Z-code). IF Comp 1997: 24th place.
Cattus Atrox (Oct-1998; Z-code). IF Comp 1998: 20th place.
The X Chicken (1998; Z-code). ChickenComp.
The Devil Made Me Do It (Dec-1998; Z-code). Speed-IF 3.
Nostradamus's Onion Sandwich (Sep-1999; Z-code). Speed-IF 4.
The Spy Who Always Wears Gloves Now (Nov-1999; Z-code). Speed-IF 5.
A Top Hat for Eddie (Nov-1999; Z-code). Speed-IF 6.
Pantsless in Seattle (Jan-2000; Z-code). Speed-IF 8.
Fido and The Dead Body (May-2000; Z-code). Speed-IF 11.
The Last Laugh (2000; Z-code). DragonComp.
Triple Bear Beer (May-2001; Z-code). Speed-IF Y.
Falling Angel (Jan-2003; Z-code). Speed-IF 19.
The President, the Democrat, and Smelly Pete (Apr-2003; Z-code). Speed-IF Jacket.
Jack Toresal and The Secret Letter (with Michael Gentry, publisher: Textfyre; 26-Jun-2009).
Hypnotist of Ladies (26-Mar-2012; Z-code 5). Apollo 18+20: The IF Tribute Album.

Tech Credits

Authored the following Inform 6 library extensions: printslow.zip, and whowhat.h (with Andrew C. Murie).
Currently developing Sharpee, a new IF authoring platform written in Typescript using GenAI (Claude) as a code generator.

Review and Article Credits

David Cornelson: Build A Business For Interactive Fiction - SPAG #38, September 28, 2004.

Organizational Credits

Organizer of XComp (1999), DragonComp (2000), IFLibrary Comp 2002, IFLibrary Comp 2003, Segment Mini-Comp (2005), McDream Minicomp (2006) and McDream II (2006).
Creator of Speed-IF, and organizer of many of them: Speed-IF 1, Speed-IF 2, Speed-IF 4, Speed-IF 5, Speed-IF 6, Speed-IF 8, Speed-IF 9, Speed-IF 11, Speed-IF 12, Speed-IF Third Anniversary, Speed-IF 5th Anniversary, and Speed-IF Scenario 1.
Publisher of The Inform Designer's Manual, The Inform Beginner's Guide, and the IF Promotional CD, August 2004 Edition.
Helped David Welbourn convert The Inform Designer's Manual from PDF to HTML.
Original host/maintainer of plover.net and the IF Library. Plover was maintained by Peter Seebach from 2005 to 2007 and in September of 2007, plover.net returned to David's basement. In 2013, Plover was moved to the cloud on linode.com. IFLibrary.com was retired in favor of Baf's Guide.
Creator of this IFWiki.
Owner/CEO of Textfyre.
Board Member of the IFTF from 01-Jan-2024 until the end of 2025 [1].

Game Appearances

As an NPC:

Dragon! (Adam Thornton; 2000; Z-code). DragonComp.
The Relentless Adventures of Captain Speedo, Episode 112 - Alert on Aleph VI (Gilles Duchesne; 2001; Hugo). Speed-IF Pi-Theta-Aleph-Parallax.

As a cameo appearance:

Are You A Chef? (Adam Biltcliffe; 2000; Z-code). As Jarb, tragically turned into a sprout.

IF Platform - Sharpee

The content for this section is now at Sharpee.

Links

My So Called Interactive Fiction Life - mostly blogging about Sharpee development.
The Textfyre Times - The history of Textfyre.
Interactive Fiction Stories - very old blog (2009) for unused IF story ideas.
IFRO listing for David Cornelson.

Interviews

GET LAMP: Dave Cornelson. Interview clips of Dave Cornelson for Get Lamp, 2007.
History of Zork Now Available on Gamasutra: Read Full Interviews Here! - Interviews with Dave Lebling, Marc Blank, Steve Meretzky, Howard Sherman, David Cornelson, and Nick Montfort. Interviewed by Matt Barton, June 2007.
Q&A: Textfyre's Cornelson On An IF Resurgence - September 17, 2007.
The SPAG Interview (joint interview with David Cornelson and Michael Gentry - SPAG #50, December 3, 2007.
David Cornelson: Textfyre - Adventure Classic Gaming, September 15, 2010.