FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Adventure.js

Adventure.js is a framework made for you to Author text adventures, aka interactive fiction, like the old school Zork games, using only vanilla Javascript.

Is it AI?

It is not AI, except perhaps in the same sense that 50+ year old Eliza is AI. Adventurejs parses sentences by breaking them down into parts of grammar and then comparing the pieces against recognized keywords, using a lookup table that is built at run time, which contains a combination of built-in words and words provided by you, the Author. Out of the box, Adventurejs "knows" a few hundred words. Compared to today's rapidly evolving AI large language models, it's like a toy bicycle. A Big Wheel, to a Space Shuttle. The main benefit is that you can tinker with it. Adventurejs was all cobbled together by human hands and meant to be human readable, so that you can customize it as much (or as little) as you like.

Do I have to write my own code?

You don't! Adventurejs tries very hard to give you a toolbox that does not require custom code. You can make games using only simple Javascript objects. See how to Create a Game to get started, and follow along from there.

But can I write my own code?

You can! Adventurejs tries very hard to accommodate custom code through a variety of methods. For example, Verb Phase Hooks and Verb Event Hooks are two methods that allow authors to inject custom code when specific verbs are applied to specific assets. If you want to work more broadly, it's also possible to override verbs completely or write new ones from scratch. You can find code examples in the "how to" pages and also in some of the reference documentation, as in the docs for verbs plug and open.

Are there other interactive fiction tools?

A bunch! Here are some popular ones you might like.

• TADS, the Text Adventure Development System, lets you write games using a C-like language.
• Inform 7 lets you write games using natural English language.
• Twine lets you write games codelessly in a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure style.

To ask questions, email docs@adventurejs.com.