Interactive fiction, often abbreviated IF, describes software simulating environments in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the environment. Works in this form can be understood as literary narratives and as computer games. In common usage, the word refers to text adventures, a type of adventure game with text-based input and output. The term is sometimes used to encompass the entirety of the medium, but is also sometimes used to distinguish games produced by the interactive fiction community from those created by games companies. It can also be used to distinguish the more modern style of such works, focusing on narrative and not necessarily falling into the adventure game genre at all, from the more traditional focus on puzzles. More expansive definitions of interactive fiction may refer to all adventure games, including wholly graphical adventures such as Myst.
As a commercial product, interactive fiction reached its peak in popularity in the 1980s, as a dominant software product marketed for home computers. Because their text-only nature sidestepped the problem of writing for the widely divergent graphics architectures of the day, interactive fiction games were easily ported across all the popular platforms, even those such as CP/M not known for gaming or strong graphics capabilities. Today, interactive fiction no longer appears to be commercially viable, but a steady stream of new works is produced by an online interactive fiction community, using freely available development systems. Most of these games can be downloaded for free from the Interactive Fiction Archive (see external links).
The term "interactive fiction" is also occasionally used to refer to hypertext fiction, collaborative fiction, or even a participatory novel, according to the New York Times. It is also used to refer to literary works that are not read in a linear fashion, but rather the reader is given choices at different points in the text; the reader's choice determines the flow and outcome of the story. The most famous example of this form of interactive fiction is the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. For others, see gamebooks.
The Château d'If is a fortress (later a prison) located on the island of If, the smallest island in the Frioul Archipelago situated in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille in southeastern France. It is famous for being one of the settings of Alexandre Dumas' adventure novel The Count of Monte Cristo.
The château is a square, three-story building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun embrasures. The remainder of the island, which only measures 30,000 square meters, is heavily fortified; high ramparts with gun platforms surmount the island's cliffs.
"If" is a poem by Rudyard Kipling. It was written in 1895; the poem was first published in the Brother Square Toes chapter of Rewards and Fairies, Kipling's 1910 collection of short stories and poems. Like William Ernest Henley's Invictus, it is a memorable evocation of Victorian stoicism and the "stiff upper lip" that popular culture has made into a traditional British virtue. Its status is confirmed both by the number of parodies it has inspired, and by the widespread popularity it still draws amongst Britons (it was voted Britain's favourite poem in a 1995 BBC opinion poll).
According to Kipling in his autobiography Something of Myself, posthumously published in 1937, the poem was inspired by Dr Leander Starr Jameson, who in 1895 led a raid by British forces against the Boers in South Africa, subsequently called the Jameson Raid. This defeat increased the tensions that ultimately led to the Second Boer War. The British press, however, portrayed Jameson as a hero in the middle of the disaster, and the actual defeat as a British victory.
"If" is the second single from Janet Jackson's fifth studio album, janet. (1993).
"If (They Made Me a King)" is a popular song.
The music was written by Tolchard Evans, the lyrics by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell. The song was written in 1934, but the most popular versions were recorded in 1950-1951. Perry Como's version, recorded November 28, 1950, was a #1 charted hit on the Billboard charts for 8 weeks. The Como version was released under the following labels and catalog numbers:
Vic Damone made a version that reached #28.
Jo Stafford also recorded the song (with "queen" for "king" in the lyric) about the same time. Her version, with the Paul Weston orchestra backing her, was recorded on October 16, 1950 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39082.
A version by Dean Martin was recorded on December 2, 1950 and released by Capitol Records as catalog number F 1342.
In Australia, Les Welch & his Orchestra recorded the song with vocalist Wally Carr in March, 1951. The record was released by Australian company Pacific Records as catalog number 10-0059.
"If" is a song written by David A. Gates in 1971. Originally popularized by the group Bread, the song charted at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 when released as a single in 1971. It was quickly covered by other singers (including Jack Jones, Perry Como and Telly Savalas). The Telly Savalas version reached number one on the UK singles chart for two weeks in March 1975, and has the shortest title of any song to reach number one.
To confuse matters, in 1951 Como had a hit with a different song called "If". Many radio stations play Como's recording of the Gates' song and announce it as being his 1951 hit. This same mistake is made on the series of CDs released by the Disky label in the late 1990s entitled 'Millennium', where the David Gates song is included in the album 40 Hits: 1950-54.
"If" has been a perennial favorite at weddings (for example, as a first dance song) ever since it was released. blank">http://weddings.about.com/od/bridesandgrooms/a/firstdancesongs.htm It was also recorded, as an album track, by _Scott Walker in his early 1970s MOR period.
"If" is a song by Pink Floyd on their album Atom Heart Mother. Written and sung by Roger Waters, it is about self-analysis. Like Grantchester Meadows before it, "If" carries on a pastoral and folky approach, but instead deals with Introspection and self-deprecation.
The song was only performed live once by the band, at a John Peel session, in July 16, 1970, at BBC's Paris Theatre, London. Unusually during that performance, Rick Wright plays both organ and bass. However, Waters did perform it numerous times on his solo tours, mainly during the 1984/1985 'Pros and Cons' tour, and in support of Radio K.A.O.S. in 1987.
"If" is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama, appearing on their album Exotica. A one track promo single of the song was made in France, but the CD was never sent to the French press. As such, it is now one of the rarest Bananarama recordings. No video was made for the single.
"If..." was the second single released by The Bluetones from their second album, 1998's Return to the Last Chance Saloon. It was also included on the band's 2006 compilation A Rough Outline: The Singles & B-Sides 95 - 03.
