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Steve Jackson's Sorcery! developer Jon Ingold discusses the advantages and disadvantages of text-based games, and explains how Inkle Studios created a commercial hit.

September 6, 2013

2 Min Read

"With a 1,000 words, I can do a hell of a lot more than you can do with one picture."

At GDC Europe 2013, Inkle Studios' Jon Ingold makes a case for making a game almost exclusively with words, as his team did with the critical and commercial iOS text-adventure hit, Steve Jackson's Sorcery! In this free GDC Vault video, he explores how text offers versatility and customizability and is "cheap and stable." He also explains how he avoided the disadvantages of text, which includes reading fatigue, repetition, and lack of agency. For more from Jon Ingold and others in text-based adventures, check out this interactive fiction renaissance roundtable.

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