Releasing your game
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Creating a .quest file
When your game is ready to release, go to the Tools menu and choose Publish.
This will take your game file together with all included libraries, and package it up with all the picture and sound files in your game folder. The result will be one .quest file that contains everything your game needs to run. You can then upload this file to textadventures.co.uk, which will mean other people can play your game online in their web browser - without having to download any software.
Releasing your game
When you have finished creating a game of your own, you will want people to play it. In this section we will look at what you need to check before you release your game, and some advice on getting the game "out there".
Before Releasing
Before you even think about releasing your game, you need to thoroughly check to make sure it works properly, and that it has sensible responses for things that a player might reasonably type while playing it. To create a good game is a lot of hard work, and while it might be tempting to release your first efforts after a minimal amount of testing, your players won’t thank you for it.
And no matter how tempting it might be, do not even think about releasing the game you’ve created while working your way through this tutorial!
Here are some things to think about before unleashing your game on an unsuspecting public:
- Think about all the objects a player might refer to – make sure everything you refer to in your descriptions is at least set up as a scenery object.
- Think about all the different things a player might reasonably try to do with an object – set up verbs, even if they just tell the player that they can't do that.
- Think about all the different ways a player might type a command, and make sure you have enough verb alternatives set up.
- Think about the different ways a player might refer to the same thing, and set up Other Names.
- Make sure you test your game thoroughly. Get some other people to test it – you'll be surprised at all the things they pick up that you would never have thought of.
Uploading the game
There are various places you can upload your game, so that other people can get hold of it:
- textadventures.co.uk - Hundreds of people visit this website every day, looking for text adventure games. They'll be able to play your game in their web browser - no matter what operating system they're using.
- The IF Archive.
- Or of course, you can upload it to your own webspace if you have any.
Announcing your game
Once you have uploaded your game, you will want people to know where to get hold of it, and how to play it.
You can announce your game on:
