The latest in the /r/InteractiveFiction community discussions! The original poster asks about if there are any character-based IF engines available to create their own dialogue-based novels.

Wanting to read the original post? You can head over to the subreddit thread! It has some good information on where to look if you’re into more character-driven, and dialogue-based interactive novels.

So, are there any character-based IF engines? The thread creator points out that Emily Short had created her own blog and engines, however, they’ve since disappeared.

She previously had developed two engines, Versu and Character Engine, but both seem to have vanished. If you’re interested in finding them, feel free to visit her blog and send an email! She’s incredibly nice.

In the meantime, if you’re looking into developing your own character-based interactive fiction games—we recommend using Twine, and the story format Trialogue.

It allows you to write character-based interactive novels in a Messenger-like format. It’s great for creating back and forth flowing conversations with choices.

The Reddit user “thinkingonpause” is also working on their own dialogue engine in a similar vein and unique branching structure. You can check out their development video below:


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By Camellia Hao Ren

Camellia Hao Ren is an Australian journalist and editor. When they aren't writing, they are usually playing games or reading.

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