inform

The Inform Designer's Manual
$34.95
First of all, this book is well made. At first glance, it looks like one of those O'Rielly books, but closer inspection will reveal it's lay-flat binding that lets you open the book completely, without worrying about creasing the spine.

This book is well written. Inform (the compiler) was written by Graham Nelson while he was writing his classic game "Curses." So not only are you getting a manual written by a top notch programmer, but an excellent writer as well.

Really, though, I consider this book to be a part of Internet History. How often do you get the chance to be part of a small, relatively obscure group of artists & programmers (Interactive Fiction Authors) all over the world, and own a *physical* piece of it? I mean... sure you can download the Inform manual in PDF format and take it to Kinkos to have it bound, but the extremely limited printings of this book make it something worth having.

If you're a programmer and you're reading this, wondering just what the heck this is all about, this is a compiler & series of libraries that allow you to relatively quickly, create classic text adventure games. Instead of creating your own physics model, Inform comes with libraries that let you quickly define rooms, bottles, clocks, rubber tubing, white houses, mailboxes, elvish swords, and so on. Once you create a game, it will be playable on any number of platforms, from gameboy to palm to mac, pc, java...

If you're an enthusiastic game player with little to no programming experience looking to create a piece of interactive art... run. Run screaming. Run screaming, and don't look back. Programming isn't easy, and it will be many many months or years before you can produce a viable game.

If you're a beginning programmer looking for a fun way to get some experience, this may be a good, fun way to start. A few early successes will hopefully encourage you to work harder, and the C-like syntax will help you grasp a few programming basics.

If you're any or none of the above, check out rec.arts.int-fiction, which is where all the IF game designers hang out. :-)

Beethoven: Unknown Works, Vol. 2
$31.98

Inform
$1.99

Chicago Die Casting 3/4X12 A-Section Pulley Inform 1200A
$37.99
The Chicago die-cast V-pulley is for A belts size 4L or 1/2 by 11/32 inches. Has keyway with slotted headless set screw. Packed in Sta-Pak cartons. Dimensions: 12-inch diameter with 3/4-inch bore.