"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.
About the GDC Vault
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent GDC events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers. Those who purchased All Access passes to events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC China already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscriptions via
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Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company. More information on this option is available via an online demonstration, and interested parties can
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contact GDC Vault admins.
Be sure to keep an eye on GDC Vault for even more new content, as GDC organizers will also archive videos, audio, and slides from other events like GDC China and GDC 2013. To stay abreast of all the latest updates to GDC Vault, be sure to check out the news feed on the
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