Gaming, Identity, and Literacy

Abstract

Many of the games discussed in this book fall into the categories of shooter games (e.g., James Bond games, Counter-Strike), simulation/strategy(Civilization), or sports games. Most of these games are played on video consoles, and all of them feature graphical representations as a primary element. Neither of these qualities describes the games explored in this chapter, which deals with the genre of Interactive Fiction (IF). IF games are played only on computers and they are entirely text based. IF games trace their origins to the rise of computing and to paper-and-pencil role-playing games, such as Dungeons and Dragons during the 1970s. IF’s first games Adventure and Zork were also among the first computer games and led to the creation of Infocom, one of the most successful computer game companies of the 1980s. While IF games are no longer commercially viable, they are still being created, downloaded, and played by members of various Internet groups.