<span>Visual Basic and ToolBook are powerful environments for developing software, and both support multimedia applications. This paper compares the capabilities of these systems for developing interactive audio applications, and finds that, as always, there are trade-offs to consider. ToolBook provides an environment more akin to that of an authoring system, but is not as parsimonious as Visual Basic when it comes to preparing executable files for distribution to users.</span>
As gaming technology for personal computers has advanced over the last two decades, the text-adventures that predominated in the 1980s ceased to be commercially viable. However, the easy availability of powerful authoring systems developed by enthusiasts and distributed free over the Internet has led to a renaissance in text-adventures, now called “Interactive Fiction.” The educational potential in playing these text-based games and simulations was recognised when they were first popular; the new authoring systems now allow educators to explore the educational potential of creating these works. The authors present here a case-study using the ADRIFT authoring system to create a work of interactive fiction in a split grade 4/5 class (9 and 10 year-olds) in Quebec. They find that the process of creating the game helped improve literary and social skills amongst the students.
An Interactive Folktale System and an Authoring System That Supports Its Realization
