Glass

Glass
Game
Main links	Play onlineDownload IFDB IF Archive
Published	30 April 2006
Credits
Author	Emily Short
Reception
IFDB rating	3.5 out of 5 (113 ratings)
Gameplay
Interaction style	Parser
Literary genre	Drama
Location	One-room
Language	English
Cruelty scale	Merciful
IFDB play time	15 minutes
Accessibility	Colour: none. Graphics: none. Sound: none.
Technical details
Authoring system	Inform 7
Format	Z-code
License	Freeware
IFID	B85B84C0-0F0D-48E3-9CF9-A1924C0E2417
Browse the games database • Edit this page

An example of conversation handling in Inform 7, based on the fairy tale Cinderella.

How it begins

You are a parrot in a sitting room. The Prince is holding a glass slipper, and is flanked on either side of the couch by Lucinda and Theodora, vying for his attention. The old lady sits in her winged chair and continues the current conversation by inquiring idly about the king's health.

Notable features

• The status bar shows not the current geographic location, but the current topic in the conversation.
• The NPCs have agendas, and use goal-seeking strategies to steer the conversation.
• The PC, a parrot, contributes to the conversation via SAY [phrase] commands.
• The player is expected to know the story of Cinderella and use this knowledge from outside the game. For example, Cinderella is not mentioned or named until the player mentions it as a topic. By using a well-known story, the break between what the player knows and what the PC knows is substantially reduced right from the beginning of play.
• No score.
• Multiple endings.

Trivia and Comments

• This is one of three example games released with the first open beta release of Inform 7 on April 30, 2006.

Versions

Release 1/060217

Date: 30 April 2006

• Glass (Emily Short; 30-Apr-2006; Z-code).
  • Release 1 / Serial number 060217 / Inform 7 build 3F15 (I6/v6.30 lib 6/10N)
  • IFID: B85B84C0-0F0D-48E3-9CF9-A1924C0E2417
    IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover.
  • The story file, Glass.zblorb, was downloadable from the homepage (see Links).

Release 1/061008

Date: 8 October 2006

• Glass (Emily Short; 08-Oct-2006; Z-code).
  • Release 1 / Serial number 061008 / Inform 7 build 4A54 (I6/v6.31 lib 6/11N)
  • IFID: B85B84C0-0F0D-48E3-9CF9-A1924C0E2417
    IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover.
  • Download Glass.zblorb from the IF Archive.

Related games

• Part of "Fractured Fairy Tales series":
  • Bronze (Emily Short; 2006; Inform 7; Z-code).
  • Glass (Emily Short; 2006; Inform 7; Z-code).
  • Alabaster (John Cater, Rob Dubbin, Eric Eve, Elizabeth Heller, Jayzee, and others; 2009; Inform 7; Glulx).
  • Indigo (Emily Short; 2011; TADS 3).

Fractured Fairy Tales series by Emily Short
Bronze (2006)	Glass (2006)	Alabaster (2009)	Indigo (2011)

Links

N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.

• Glass Homepage, at the Inform 7 Examples project. Contains the story file, cover art, notes from the author, and source code.
  • Previous homepages: [1], [2].
• Glass (archived) - at Baf's Guide.
• Glass - at IFDB.
• Glass - at ifwizz interactive fiction (in German).

Reviews

• Glass - at SPAG by Paul O'Brian, July 2006.

Spoilers

• Author commentary.

Note: To refer to this game from another page, you can type {{game citation|Glass}}. This will display as Glass (Emily Short; 2006; Inform 7; Z-code).

Date: 30 April 2006

Date: 8 October 2006