i’m not sure what i expected when i received a copy of Aaron A. Reed’s 50 Years ...

2026-04-22 15:46:06 UTC

i’m not sure what i expected when i received a copy of Aaron A. Reed (npub1h9d…ya9n)’s 50 Years of Text Games. i was mostly afraid that it would be an encyclopedic mishmash of wikipedia facts on IF.

to my complete surprise it is extremely well-written, has original interviews with developers, and a demonstrates a strong understanding of textual game engines and scripting languages.

the fact that Aaron took the time to write entire chapters for Tradewars and LambdaMOO blows me away - I did not expect MUDs and BBS games to earn their way into IF history. hell, there’s even a chapter on Achaea!

if you’re into IF, game history, or how the sausage is made with game development, this book is an exceptional read.

https://if50.textories.com

#bbs #gamePreservation #history #mud #interactivefiction #bookstodon

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2026-04-22 15:46:06 UTC

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