Text-based game

Some games use only words.

You read a story on a screen. You type words to play. It is like reading a book.

Long ago, people used paper to play. They used big machines to print the words. These games were very popular in the 1970s.

Some games let you play with friends. You can talk to them through the text. This was like an early way to play online.

One game is called Rogue.

It uses symbols to show a dark cave. You move through the cave one step at a time.

People still make these word games today. They are a special way to tell stories.

Some video games use words instead of pictures. These are called text-based games.

Instead of seeing bright graphics, you read text on a screen. You type commands to play. This can feel like reading a story that you control.

These games started a long time ago. In the 1960s, people used large machines to print games on paper. Famous early games include Star Trek and The Oregon Trail.

In the 1970s and 1980s, these games became very popular. Many were made at universities. Some were inspired by books or role-playing games.

Text games helped start new ways to play. One type is called a text adventure. In these games, you read about a world. You type simple words to move or act. Another type is a MUD. This stands for Multi-user dungeon. It is a virtual world where many people play online at once. You can talk to other players using text.

There is also a type called a roguelike.

These games often use symbols to show a dungeon. The name comes from a 1980 game called Rogue. Even today, people still make these games to tell great stories.

Text-based games are electronic games that use words instead of pictures.

Instead of using colorful graphics, they use a set of characters. These characters are often part of a system called ASCII. This system uses symbols that computers can easily read and print. Some systems, like ANSI, even allow for different colors in the text. These games are special because they do not need much power. They are also much cheaper to make than graphic games. Many people still enjoy writing them today as independent creators.

Playing these games works by reading and typing. The game shows you information through text on a screen. You then type commands to interact with the world. In a text adventure, the game describes a setting in a story. You might type simple words to move or act. In a MUD, which stands for Multi-user dungeon, the world is online. You can see rooms and objects described in text. You can also talk to other real people using text.

These games have a long and interesting history. They trace back to the 1960s and the use of teleprinters. Back then, people used large mainframe computers to play. The output was often printed right onto paper. Some famous early titles were Star Trek and The Oregon Trail. In the mid-1970s, many games were made at universities. These were often experiments with artificial intelligence. Some were inspired by the books of J. R. R. Tolkien. They were also influenced by the game Dungeons & Dragons.

Early games were quite different from games we play now. Many of them did not have a way to save progress. This was because the sessions were often very short. Hardware was also very expensive at that time. In 1977, things began to change for players. Don Woods made a version of Colossal Cave Adventure. This new version had a much larger story. Most importantly, it allowed players to save their game. This helped people play much longer adventures.

Text-based games helped create many new ways to play. The adventure genre actually gets its name from Colossal Cave Adventure. Other famous titles include Zork and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There is also a genre called a roguelike. This name comes from the 1980 game called Rogue. Roguelikes use randomization and turn-based movement to keep things fresh. Even though modern graphics are everywhere, text games are still vital. They paved the way for role-playing and adventure games.

A text-based game is an electronic game that uses a text-based user interface. Instead of using bitmap or vector graphics, these games employ a set of encodable characters.

These characters are often organized into encoding systems like ASCII. ASCII uses 96 printable characters out of a total set of 128. Another system, called ANSI, uses ASCII plus 128 additional characters from extended ASCII. ANSI also allows for text to be displayed in various colors. Because they rely on text, these games require very little processing power. They also have much lower production costs than games using complex graphics.

The mechanism of a text-based game relies on the exchange of encoded data. Most computers read information in binary code, which is made of bits. A bit is the smallest unit of data with two possible values. Combinations of these bits form bytes that represent specific characters. The user interacts with the game by inputting commands through a device. In the early days, this was often done via a teleprinter. The computer processes the input and sends back text data. This data is then displayed on a monitor or printed on paper. This cycle allows the player to receive information and respond through text.

There are several distinct types of text-based games. Text adventures, also called interactive fiction, use narrative descriptions of worlds. Players submit simple commands to interact with these described settings. Another type is the MUD, or Multi-user dungeon. MUDs are real-time online virtual worlds that combine role-playing and online chat. Players can view descriptions of rooms, objects, and other players. A third type is the roguelike, which is a subgenre of role-playing games.

Roguelikes are defined by turn-based movement, randomization for replayability, and permanent death.

The history of these games begins with teleprinters in the 1960s. During this era, teleprinters were connected to large mainframe computers. Users submitted commands through the teleprinter, and the output was printed on paper. Notable early mainframe titles included The Sumerian Game, Lunar Lander, The Oregon Trail, and Star Trek. In the mid-1970s, video terminals became the cheapest way for users to interact with mainframes. Many games were developed at universities as experiments in artificial intelligence. These games were often inspired by the works of J. R. R. Tolkien or the game Dungeons & Dragons.

Early text-based games often lacked the ability to save progress. This absence was due to brief gaming sessions, hardware limitations, and high costs. Many early games followed an episodic structure instead. However, as designers created larger worlds, players needed to resume their progress. This changed in 1977 when Don Woods revised Colossal Cave Adventure. This version, later renamed Adventure, featured expanded gameplay and the ability to save. From the late 1970s until the mid-1990s, text games also served as early online games. Users connected to Bulletin Board Systems, or BBSes, using dial-up modems and telephone wires.

These early online games were often called "BBS door games." This name came from the way a connection opened a "door" between the client and the BBS. Because modems had limited bandwidth, text was much faster to download than graphics. While early online games used ASCII, most BBSes used colored ANSI art by the late 1980s. Even today, people continue to explore interactive fiction and play MUDs. The Interactive Fiction Competition was even established in 1995. This annual event encourages developers to create and explore new independent titles.

Text-based games have had a massive influence on the broader gaming industry. They served as the basis for instigating entire genres, such as adventure and role-playing games. The adventure genre itself takes its name from the title Colossal Cave Adventure. Famous titles like Zork and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy further popularized the format. The roguelike genre also traces its name to the 1980 game Rogue. While many modern games use non-textual graphics, independent developers still write text-based games today. They remain a vital part of gaming history and culture.