One question we commonly get when we invite people to write things for sub-Q is some variation on: What the heck is Interactive Fiction? And—let’s be real—it’s a pretty good question. Searching Google for “what is interactive fiction” brings up lots of results; people have written whole books on the question. (If you want a […]

One of the things I always found enjoyable about writing parser fiction was writing room descriptions. It’s a very specific craft, and one that’s pretty unique to interactive fiction and game writing. In most fiction, it’s relatively rare that you can indulge in this kind of descriptive detail at length; parser games, on the other […]

This month’s issue is all about LOVE. First up, though: heads up. We’re doing something differently with early access for our Patreon supporters and on-site subscribers. We’re committed to paying our authors for their work, and we’re hoping this helps us do that more sustainably. If you’re not currently a subscriber and can’t afford to […]

Welcome to 2019! I’m thrilled to have a regular column in sub-Q and get the chance to write about interactive fiction. For my previous essays at the site, I’ve largely written about games from a slightly earlier period of the development of interactive fiction, from the late 90s to the mid-2000s, a period in which […]

Laura De Stefani is an All round artist who loves drawing on any support, sculpting and modelling. She likes to travel and go to game-jams. You can follow here here: https://twitter.com/Odris_Den, https://www.instagram.com/odris_den/, https://odris-den.itch.io/. Laura is the author of our cover art/game for February’s issue, “Fill the Void.” This interview was conducted via e-mail in January […]

Tai Jia Xuan is currently a Creative Writing student in Singapore, and the author of “at 3am, I didn’t think of you,” one of our February games. She just really likes interactive fiction, and hopes to continue exploring more. You can find her idling at @nuaxaij. This interview was conducted via e-mail in January of […]

Olivia C Dunlap is the author of “Pretend You Love Each Other,” the first-place game from our first subQjam. Olivia is a writer, programmer, and game developer from Little Rock, Arkansas. She’s a co-founder of Little Rock Games and has a portfolio that includes interactive fiction, tabletop games, and other digital interactives. She’s always got […]

The first time I took up a pencil and underlined a sentence in a novel, my hands shook. The line winked at me cheekily, sat smug and brazen under the typography. Outrageous and provocative, it wanted its own label: Marks in a Novel Biswas (2012) Graphite on Paper It chuckled. One did not write in […]