Jerry Martin

Member since March 12, 2014
Last visited May 2, 2017
Profile ID (TUID): 6i8ydxseakvb21s8

I'll never forget my first IF experience. It was Colossal Caves and it my Grandpa had installed it on my first computer, his old DOS computer that had become outdated when he upgraded to a better computer and was given to me. Though numerous other games were on it, I loved Colossal Cave the most as the parser gave me a feeling of interaction not found within any game yet. The feeling only increased after my parents obtained an Apple IIgs from our school and I enjoyed games like Zork and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. While I never knew it was called "Interactive Fiction", I loved it, even as it began to fade into obscurity during the 90s.

When I was 12, I learned HTML and Javascript from various websites on the internet. One of my first projects was to create my own IF game. I used arrays to define rooms and items (room/item name was first slot, description was second, etc) and functions that checked room numbers and commands to interact with the world. I used a large, read only text box that refreshed the text after a valid command was issued and another text box underneath with a submit button for commands. I even utilized cookies to allow you to save and load a game. Though the coding was rough and the interactivity was minimal compared to your standard IF game, it was finished and it was my own. I made a few more IF games before growing frustrated with the coding and moved on.

Many years later, I wanted to create another one but didn't want to go through the code. That's when I found Inform. After tinkering around with it, I made a new IF in record time and though I'm still learning many of the technicalities, I'm finally able to easily create the IF games of my dreams. Though I mainly make them for myself and my wife, I hope to publish IF in the future when my skills grow to the level expected of published IF. In the meantime, I do enjoy playing and reviewing IF published on the site so I hope to see you on the site!

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Reviews by Jerry Martin

Human(it)y., by Deirdre Sprenger   April 28, 2017

"If you are offended by the topic of abortion or the author's pro-life stance, you may want to avoid this piece as it is primarily a means..." - See the full review

1-2-3..., by Chris Mudd   April 28, 2017

"1-2-3 is not for the faint of heart. Not because of the game's complexity or over the top puzzles but rather because of it's content...." - See the full review

the uncle who works for nintendo, by michael lutz   October 19, 2014

"Growing up in school, we all had classmates who would lie to sound cool. Each person's dad was not only the strongest guy in the universe..." - See the full review

Cow V: The Great Egg Quest, by J. Suchman   March 16, 2014

"This game should not be classified as "Interactive Fiction" as there is no interactivity with the game whatsoever! The game, which..." - See the full review

9:05, by Adam Cadre   March 13, 2014

"9:05 is a perfect example of why IF doesn't need to be five hours long to be good. In fact, the short length does it wonders, as it..." - See the full review

Jerry Martin's Play Lists

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