I've been away from blogger for awhile and missed the discussion on moving to a different domain. While there is a lot necessary points in that thread, to me it had an overall negative feel as we discuss the community becoming smaller. So I thought a more positive thread might be nice.
Why do like AIF?
As a player: the internet is filled with adult materials, so what is it about AIF that keeps you coming back to it?
As an author (if applicable): creating an AIF is a time intensive process, what makes you want to undertake the work of making an AIF?
When you beat a regular game, your only reward is to punch the air. When you beat AIF, you get to use your fist in a different way.
ReplyDeleteIt's kind of a hard question to answer, I think. I do feel there's a couple of good reasons, though.
ReplyDeletea) Just personally, when I got into it there weren't a lot of other good options for creating a sex game with a lot of story and character. Options have widened now, but I think it's still easier in AIF.
b) For players there's something a little bit magical in typing the words of what you'd like to see happen (in a sex scene particularly) and having that result follow. It feels very interactive in a way that even clicking on a body part sometimes doesn't.
c) I like what you can do with words in an AIF game. Creating strictly with language isn't where it was in the 19th century but it's not a dead art form either. There are still novels - podcasts, too, are almost entirely words.
For me as a player it's the narrative and the interactivity. Even the relatively simple plots and limited options of most AIF are more interesting to me than most regular porn. My imagination is a better director than anyone working in porn I guess.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't say *more* interesting really, just something different that I enjoy from time to time. I like erotic literature as well and AIF seems like a natural addition to that.
As an author, I guess it seemed like a natural thing? I've been writing for fun since college and programming a text game seemed like something interesting but achievable (no way I'm gonna learn Unity or Java or something). Also the community seemed like it was in a down cycle when I got the idea to start writing AIF so it seemed like a good time to jump in.
Just rejoined the community. Its an unique expression of intelligence and sexiness.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's because it's more immersive than other forms of media. A player character interacting with a well described world and a well developed character is fantastically immersive, especially when the game gives me the freedom to do whatever I want in a logical manner. That's why I dislike puzzles and the gameification of AIF. I'm after immersive porn, not a video game
ReplyDeleteWhy AIF in the broad sense? The devotion to the text. I love a good porn video, and comics and photos are great, but if you're really looking for a good narrative that you can feel actually involved with, I don't think anything beats AIF. Sometimes pictures help (Meteor did a great job at this), but often I'm just happy to imagine things myself.
ReplyDeleteBut that's not the only reason I prefer THIS particular AIF community. Here, I appreciate that the writing is generally a cut above what you find anywhere else, that the themes tend towards male-on-female heterosexual sex, and that there is space for some truly deviant content within that particular niche. For me, these thematic concerns are what set this place apart from the other communities, and perhaps why we haven't seen the kind of explosion in population that places more conducive to bringing in women, money, and people who have a poor grasp on the English language have seen.
But for all that I wouldn't change it. I don't think we'd have produced authors like Chris Cole or Goblinboy or One-Eyed Jack if we tried to become something else. We have a long legacy, and I think it's one we should be proud of.