Wishbringer


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PC Mag


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PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.




Security in Virtual Worlds, 3D Webs, and Immersive Environments: Models for Development, Interaction, and Management


Book Description

Although one finds much discussion and research on the features and functionality of Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), the 3D Web, Immersive Environments (e.g. MMORPGs) and Virtual Worlds in both scholarly and popular publications, very little is written about the issues and techniques one must consider when creating, deploying, interacting within, and managing them securely. Security in Virtual Worlds, 3D Webs, and Immersive Environments: Models for Development, Interaction, and Management brings together the issues that managers, practitioners, and researchers must consider when planning, implementing, working within, and managing these promising virtual technologies for secure processes and initiatives. This publication discusses the uses and potential of these virtual technologies and examines secure policy formation and practices that can be applied specifically to each.




Twisty Little Passages


Book Description

A critical approach to interactive fiction, as literature and game. Interactive fiction—the best-known form of which is the text game or text adventure—has not received as much critical attention as have such other forms of electronic literature as hypertext fiction and the conversational programs known as chatterbots. Twisty Little Passages (the title refers to a maze in Adventure, the first interactive fiction) is the first book-length consideration of this form, examining it from gaming and literary perspectives. Nick Montfort, an interactive fiction author himself, offers both aficionados and first-time users a way to approach interactive fiction that will lead to a more pleasurable and meaningful experience of it. Twisty Little Passages looks at interactive fiction beginning with its most important literary ancestor, the riddle. Montfort then discusses Adventure and its precursors (including the I Ching and Dungeons and Dragons), and follows this with an examination of mainframe text games developed in response, focusing on the most influential work of that era, Zork. He then considers the introduction of commercial interactive fiction for home computers, particularly that produced by Infocom. Commercial works inspired an independent reaction, and Montfort describes the emergence of independent creators and the development of an online interactive fiction community in the 1990s. Finally, he considers the influence of interactive fiction on other literary and gaming forms. With Twisty Little Passages, Nick Montfort places interactive fiction in its computational and literary contexts, opening up this still-developing form to new consideration.




PC


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Faraway and Forever


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This collection of novelettes takes the reader from the not-to-distant future to a time when travel between worlds is a common occurrence. Each stop along mankind’s journey outward to the stars is accompanied by a deeper look inward—from examining how extraterrestrial beings might use our own biology against us, to whether a human consciousness can survive in a virtual environment, to how wishes are really granted. Original and thought provoking, these stories—which include an interstellar religious thriller involving a second coming of Christ—will stimulate the intellect and engage the imagination.




Game Development with Ren'Py


Book Description

Get your feet wet in developing visual novels and take a guided tour through easy to follow tutorials using three of the most popular tools (Ren'Py, TyranoBuilder, and Twine). This book uses a two-pronged approach into the fine art of text-based games, showing you what makes for compelling writing as well as the programming logic and techniques needed to bring your visual novels to life. In this book, you will uncover the rich history of interactive fiction from the bare-bones 1970s games to the audiovisually rich modern output. You will take a detailed look at how to work with some of the most popular and exotic sub-genres and tropes of interactive fiction, such as nakige ("crying game"), dating sims, and horror. Once the stage is set, you will learn to use all-purpose programming logic and techniques in three mini tutorial games and also learn how to deploy your titles to both desktop and mobile platforms. Not solely relegated to the ancient historical period of the 1980s and 1990s, interactive fiction has again become appealing to developers as new tools became available. The visual novel is an increasingly popular and potentially lucrative genre of video game, being deployed for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and more. Game Development with Ren'Py reveals how multi-platform tools such as Ren'Py, TyranoBuilder, and Twine are becoming ever more plentiful for creating games in this genre. What You'll Learn Gain a working knowledge of Ren'Py, TyranoBuilder, and Twine Examine the basics of general programming logic Deploy to all available operating systems and platforms Review different approaches to fiction writing in the context of text-based games Who This Book Is For People with no programming experience who are interested in working in the genre of visual novels or interactive fiction.




Chiko and the Butterfly


Book Description

Chiko screamed. Mr. Branson turned to face the bear, putting himself between the bear and Chiko. He pulled a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket and flipped open the large blade. It would have to do. He would fight the bear with all his might to protect his daughter.




The Wish-Bringer


Book Description

"In the second instalment of the Monacello trilogy, the 'Little Monk' who brings both good and bad luck is begrudgingly transformed into the Wish-Bringer ... There is one wish, however, that Monacello cannot grant; he still does not know the rest of his story; the mystery of his parents and why he came to be left outside the doors of a nunnery one cold morning. ... Monacello faces up to his enemies and comes one step closer to discovering the truth about his past. When it comes to the Little Monk though, bad luck can never be far away, and soon Monacello is called upon to grant the hardest wish of all ..."--Publisher's website.




Monacello


Book Description

Strange little creature. Strange pale eyes, so full of fear. Strange little monk, his habit black as nightmares, his surplice grubby as spilt milk. Strange little boy shaped like a question mark, who are you?