How to Create and Share Interactive Fiction on textadventures.co.uk

Updated

You can write and publish your own interactive fiction on textadventures.co.uk using the site's free authoring tools, which run in the browser. The site describes itself as offering "free tools to write your own" alongside thousands of community-made text adventures and gamebooks. Games on the platform are built in formats such as Quest, Squiffy, and HTML, and published works appear in the site's game listings with a title, author name, genre, format, and timestamp. The steps below cover what to prepare, how to build a game, how to publish it, and where people commonly get stuck.

Before you start

  • A browser and an account. The site is built around playing and creating "right in your browser," so no desktop install is implied. Publishing under your own name and managing your games will require signing in; the site's own materials don't spell out the registration flow, so treat account setup as the first thing to confirm on the site.
  • A format choice. The listings show three formats in active use: Quest, Squiffy, and HTML. Quest and Squiffy are the site's own authoring systems; HTML entries are games built as web pages.
  • A genre and a short pitch. Every listed game carries a genre tag (Fantasy, Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Educational, Puzzle, Simulation, Surreal, Slice of Life, RPG, Historical, Literature, Romance, Seasonal, and more) plus a one- or two-line description. Deciding these early makes publishing faster.

Choosing between Quest and Squiffy

Both are free tools offered by the site, but they suit different kinds of writing. The distinction below is based on how the two systems are generally used; the site's listings show both producing finished, playable games.

Quest Squiffy
Best for Parser-style games where the player types commands and explores a world Choice-driven stories where the reader picks from links or options
Structure Rooms, objects, and verbs Passages of prose linked by choices
Writing feel Closer to programming a world model Closer to writing a branching short story
Example on the site The Tree Father (Sci-Fi, Quest Viva) Gilui & Orima: A Text-Based Comedic Adventure (Comedy, Squiffy)

If your idea is "the player walks around and tries things," start with Quest. If your idea is "the reader decides what the character does next," start with Squiffy. HTML is the option if you already build web pages and want full control.

Step-by-step: building and publishing a game

  1. Open the site's creation tools. From the homepage, follow the "Make your own" path into the authoring tools. The site presents creation as a browser activity, so expect to work inside a web editor rather than a downloaded program.
  2. Pick your format and start a new project. Choose Quest, Squiffy, or HTML based on the table above.
  3. Write the opening scene. For Squiffy, this means a first passage of prose with a few choices leading to new passages. For Quest, this means a starting room with a description, some objects, and the commands a player can use.
  4. Build outward in small pieces. Add one scene or room at a time and play it immediately. The site's own catalogue shows games at many scales—from short comedic pieces to multi-part adventures—so a small, finished game is a legitimate result.
  5. Test as a player. Play through every branch or room. Check that each choice leads somewhere and that no passage is a dead end unless you intend it.
  6. Write your listing details. Prepare a title, an author name, a genre tag, and a short description in the style of the site's listings—for example, Nightfall is described as "a choice-driven text-based thriller where every decision matters."
  7. Publish and share. Publishing places your game in the site's catalogue, where it can appear under Latest games and be found by genre. Share the game's page link with your intended audience.
  8. Iterate after release. The listings show version numbers and patch notes—one recent entry is labelled "1.0.4 (Unnamed Bug Fixes Update for Ver. 1.0. No.4)" with patch notes attached—so expect to publish fixes and small updates after players respond.

Verifying your game is live and playable

  • Load your game's page as a logged-out visitor would and play the opening.
  • Confirm the title, genre, format, and description display as intended in the listing.
  • Check that the game appears in the catalogue (for example under Latest games) and that its link works when shared.
  • Play at least one full path to the ending, plus any branch you changed most recently.

Common sticking points

  • Dead ends and orphan passages. The most frequent problem in choice-based writing is a passage nothing links to, or a choice that leads nowhere. Walk every branch before publishing.
  • Genre mismatch. A game tagged Horror that reads as Comedy will disappoint the readers who find it through the genre filter. Tag for the experience, not the setting.
  • Unclear openings. Listings succeed on a strong first line of description; the same applies inside the game. The site's featured example, The New Post, leads with a concrete premise—a realm under strain and a loyalty decision—rather than a general introduction.
  • Skipping the small update. Version numbers and patch notes in the catalogue show that released games are expected to be maintained. Plan for a first fix pass rather than treating publication as the end.

What you get from publishing here

Your game joins a catalogue organised by genre, recency, and rating—the site surfaces Latest games, Random picks, Top rated this year, and Top rated of all time—so a published game has several routes to being discovered by players browsing for interactive fiction. The trade-off is that you are writing within the site's formats and audience; if you need a custom engine or commercial distribution, the site's own tools won't be the right fit.