ink - A Revolutionary Narrative Scripting Language for Games
ink is a remarkable narrative scripting language that has been the backbone of numerous games. It offers a simple yet elegant syntax, putting the focus on the text while allowing for the insertion of code and logic. This makes it accessible to both beginners and experienced developers.
The Getting Started section introduces Inky, the ink editor that enables users to play and test their stories. The basics tutorial is designed for a non-technical audience, covering the essentials for those who want to create web-based stories. For a comprehensive understanding of ink's capabilities, the writer's manual and the official user's guide are available.
One of the key features of ink is its markup approach, where text comes first. It has a proven track record, with millions of words of content written for various games. It is not only easy to learn but also offers powerful constructs for more advanced scripting, making it suitable for a wide range of projects.
Inky, the editor, comes with several useful features. Users can play as they write, with the play pane automatically refreshing and reloading their choices. Error highlighting is provided as they type, and they can jump to the definition by alt-clicking on a divert. It also allows for export to JSON and to the web.
Ink also offers integration with Unity and Unreal engines. The Unity plugin automatically recompiles ink files as they are edited and comes with a simple previewer. The Unreal Engine integration, Inkpot, has been developed by The Chinese Room.
Ink, Inky, and the ink-unity integration plugin are open source under the MIT license, encouraging other developers to make use of them and contribute to their improvement.
The Sample Game, The Intercept, demonstrates how ink and Unity can be used to build a simple game. It showcases the structure of ink files and the ease of using the Unity plugin in a real game scenario.
For those comparing ink to inklewriter, ink is a more powerful language designed for professional game development, while inklewriter is an easy-to-use tool for basic interactive stories. There is also an option to convert inklewriter stories to ink.
If ink has been useful, users are encouraged to make a donation to support its continued development. For any questions or assistance, users can reach out on Discord or the GitHub Discussions forum.
Overall, ink is a powerful and versatile narrative scripting language that opens up new possibilities for game development and interactive storytelling.
