Interactive Fiction
A modern directory of harder to find Interactive Fiction and Text Adventure websites — curated across authoring tools, archives, competitions, communities, hosting platforms, and narrative game resources.
Authoring Tools
creation systems • branching narratives • parser design • dialogue tools
Twine
An open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories in the browser, widely used for hypertext fiction and experimental narrative work.
twinery.org
ink
inkle’s scripting language for interactive narrative, built for branching stories, game dialogue, and web-ready storytelling.
inklestudios.com/ink
inklewriter
A free browser-based tool designed to let anyone write and publish interactive stories without heavy technical overhead.
inklestudios.com/inklewriter
Inform 7
A natural-language-based programming system for creating interactive fiction, especially parser-based literary works.
ganelson.github.io/inform-website
TADS
A full authoring system for writing high-quality interactive fiction with mature tools, manuals, and parser support.
tads.org
Quest
A free system for building text adventures and gamebooks, designed to be powerful while remaining accessible to new creators.
textadventures.co.uk/quest
ADRIFT
A Windows-based interactive fiction system designed to make complex IF creation easier through menus and forms rather than heavy coding.
adrift.co
ChoiceScript
A simple programming language for writing interactive novels and multiple-choice narrative games, with publication pathways attached.
choiceofgames.com
Yarn Spinner
A friendly narrative toolset for planning, writing, integrating, and testing interactive dialogue and story flows.
yarnspinner.dev
Arcweave
A collaborative platform for designing and publishing branching narratives, interactive experiences, and story logic.
arcweave.com
Ren'Py
A free visual novel engine for telling interactive stories with words, images, sound, and player choice.
renpy.org
Archives & Databases
preservation • catalogs • reviews • encyclopedic lookup
IFDB
The main game catalog and recommendation engine for interactive fiction, including reviews, lists, competitions, and play/download links.
ifdb.org
IF Archive
The central preservation archive for interactive fiction, including games, development tools, essays, manuals, and historical material.
ifarchive.org
IFWiki
A wiki reference for authoring systems, theory, competitions, reviews, newcomer resources, and IF history.
ifwiki.org
IF Reviews Organization
A community review site dedicated to interactive fiction games, with archived criticism and long-form reader response.
ifreviews.org
IFWiki — Reviews
A useful page indexing review resources, publications, archived criticism, and commentary around interactive fiction.
ifwiki.org/Reviews
Competitions & Festivals
annual events • jams • showcases • awards
IFComp
The flagship annual celebration of new text-driven interactive fiction from independent creators.
ifcomp.org
Spring Thing
An annual online festival celebrating new interactive fiction of many different forms and styles.
springthing.net
XYZZY Awards
The long-running annual awards recognizing excellence in interactive fiction across multiple categories.
xyzzyawards.org
Interactive Fiction Showcase
A year-long showcase jam meant to collect and highlight the breadth and diversity of interactive fiction created during the year.
itch.io
IFDB — Competitions
A broad browser for IF competitions, awards, and event histories, useful for discovering games through the event circuit.
ifdb.org
Communities & Learning Resources
forums • beginner guides • craft discussion • community memory
Interactive Fiction Community Forum
The main public discussion space for interactive fiction, including authoring help, releases, reviews, competitions, and theory.
intfiction.org
Brass Lantern
A long-running site with beginner guides, how-to articles, history, reviews, and thoughtful commentary on interactive fiction.
brasslantern.org
A Beginner's Guide to Interactive Fiction
A focused starting point for newcomers learning what interactive fiction is and how text adventures work.
brasslantern.org
Zarf's Interactive Fiction
Andrew Plotkin’s long-standing IF resource page, pointing to tools, communities, archives, and interpretive material.
eblong.com
TADS — IF Community Links
A helpful set of IF community links connecting to guides, commentary, reviews, and related resources.
tads.org
IF Archive — New to IF?
The archive’s own newcomer section linking to starter materials, databases, and discussion spaces for first-time players.
ifarchive.org
Hosting & Publishing Platforms
play online • publish stories • community hosting
Text Adventures
An active site where creators can build, host, and share text adventures and interactive fiction stories in the browser.
textadventures.co.uk
ChoiceScript — Publishing Your Game
A practical publishing guide for ChoiceScript authors, including Hosted Games and self-publishing options.
choiceofgames.com
ADRIFT — Games
A built-in library of downloadable and playable ADRIFT-created interactive fiction games.
adrift.co
IFDB — Play & Download
The easiest broad access point for finding games to play online or download across many authoring systems and eras.
ifdb.org
