Twine (software)

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Twine

Twine vector logo.svg
Basic data

developer Chris Klimas
Publishing year 2009
Current  version 2.3.5
(October 7, 2019)
operating system Cross-platform
programming language JavaScript , Python
category Game engine
License GPL v3
www.twinery.org

Twine is a free open source - software for developing interactive fiction , in a Web browser can be played. The software, which is aimed primarily at developers with no programming knowledge, was developed in 2009 by Chris Klimas. Twine is available for the Windows , Mac OS X and Linux operating systems.

Overview

Twine is a browser-based application developed in HTML5 and JavaScript . An independent client application is also available for end devices with the Windows, Mac OS X or Linux operating systems. Twine does not require any programming knowledge to develop games. The software is therefore considered to be a tool that can be used by anyone interested in interactive fiction and experimental computer games.

Development environment

In Twine projects created within the software as a story called. Developers can choose between different story formats when creating or editing Twine projects. These differ, among other things, in the formatting of the text commands with which, for example, the individual passages of a story are linked. The software focuses on the visual structure of hypertext : Linked text sections are displayed within Twine as a network-like linked text boxes, similar to a flowchart . Twine automatically creates new sections of text when a character string has been formatted as a link. These text boxes can be positioned anywhere and linked multiple times.

Computer Languages ​​Supported

HTML5 and CSS can be used to design the interactive stories . The different story formats also offer ready-made macros , for example for the integration of music or for the creation of savegames . Additional functions such as macros or widgets can be added using JavaScript . Twine projects are saved and exported as HTML documents. Exported HTML projects can be imported again and further processed.

localization

The menu interface of the development environment has been translated from English into nineteen languages. However, the translations are incomplete, so that some menu items are still displayed in English, even if German has been selected as the language, for example.

identification

Every project created with Twine receives an automatically generated unique identification number (Interactive Fiction IDentifier, or IFID for short ). This IFID is used to clearly identify stories, even if there are other projects with the same name. With this, Twine follows the so-called Treaty of Babel , a community standard for interactive stories that was launched in 2006 by the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation .

Target platforms

Twine officially supports the following platforms for Twine projects:

reception

During the GamerGate debate between 2012 and 2013, Twine gained notoriety in the LGBT computer game scene . In this context, Twine was referred to as "The program that's democratised the video gaming world" (The program that democratized the world of computer gamers). The online magazine Spiegel Online recommends the software "Readers with a playful instinct". Twine is recommended as a tool for schoolchildren in media education by various institutions.

Works based on Twine (selection)

  • Council Chaos (2012)
  • Howling Dogs (2012)
  • Queers in Love at the End of the World (2013)
  • Depression Quest (2013)
  • The Day the Laughter Stopped (2013)
  • The Uncle Who Works at Nintendo (2014)
  • This Book Is A Dungeon (2015)
  • The Writer Will Do Something (2015)
  • Arc Symphony (2017)
  • Open Sorcery (2017)
  • You Are Jeff Bezos (2018)

distribution

According to an article in the online magazine Gamasutra , Twine is used particularly by independent game developers . Often these are individuals who do not develop these games with the aim of selling them commercially. In games such as Depression Quest or The Day The Laughter Stopped , which was awarded the German Computer Game Prize in 2014 , Twine was used as a tool for dealing with serious issues through play. Screenwriter Charlie Brooker used Twine to develop the interactive film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Twine. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  2. ^ Twine Licenses. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Twine is an open-source tool. Retrieved March 1, 2020 .
  4. ^ Power to the People: The Text Adventures of Twine. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  5. ^ Twine, the video-game Technology for All. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Storytelling: Digital - Multimedial - Social: Forms and Practice for PR, Marketing, TV, Game and Social Media , Editor: Pia Kleine Wieskamp, ​​2016, ISBN 978-3446446458
  7. ↑ What's an IFID? Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Browser Support. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  9. ^ Gamergate: a brief history of a computer-age war. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .
  10. ↑ This is how Twine works. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Text adventure with Twine. Retrieved March 8, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Text-based games with Twine. Retrieved March 8, 2020 .
  13. ^ What is Twine For Developers. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Interview: Hypnotic Owl - The Day the Laughter Stopped. Retrieved March 7, 2020 .
  15. ^ The inside story of Bandersnatch, the weirdest Black Mirror tale yet. Retrieved March 2, 2020 .