object
room [11]
thing [10]
door [4]
container
vehicle
player's holdall
supporter
backdrop
person [5]
man [4]
woman
animal
device
direction [12]
region
value
number
time
text
snippet
object
description
rule
rulebook
action-name
scene
table-name
figure-name
external-file
truth state
indexed text
stored action
list of
What are kinds? ; Kinds of value
room (plural rooms)
Represents geographical locations, both indoor
and outdoor, which are not necessarily areas in a building. A player in one
room is mostly unable to sense, or interact with, anything in a different room.
Rooms are arranged in a map.
Usually lighted not dark, unvisited not visited.
Can have description (some text), printed name (some text), map region (the name of an object).
yard , bins
, Querfunk
, entrance
, couch corner
, shelfes
, computertables
, kitchen
, lab
, storagevault
, servervault
thing (plural things)
Represents anything interactive in the model
world that is not a room. People, pieces of scenery, furniture, doors and
mislaid umbrellas might all be examples, and so might more surprising things
like the sound of birdsong or a shaft of sunlight.
Usually unlit not lit, inedible not edible, portable not fixed in place, singular-named not plural-named, improper-named not proper-named, described not undescribed, unmarked for listing not marked for listing, mentioned not unmentioned.
Usually not scenery, wearable, pushable between rooms, handled, initially carried.
Can have description (some text), printed name (some text), indefinite article (some text), initial appearance (some text), printed plural name (some text), matching key (the name of an object).
man calles Tem00
door, a kind of thing (plural doors)
Represents a conduit joining two rooms, most
often a door or gate but sometimes a plank bridge, a slide or a hatchway.
Usually visible and operable from both sides (for instance if you write
'The blue door is east of the Ballroom and west of the Garden.'), but
sometimes only one-way (for instance if you write 'East of the Ballroom is
the long slide. Through the long slide is the cellar.').
Always fixed in place not portable.
Usually closed not open, openable not unopenable, unlocked not locked.
Usually not lockable.
Never pushable between rooms.
Can have other side (the name of an object).
white door , entropia door
, kitchendoor
, serverdoor
container, a kind of thing (plural containers)
Represents something into which portable
things can be put, such as a teachest or a handbag. Something with a really
large immobile interior, such as the Albert Hall, had better be a room
instead.
Usually opaque not transparent, open not closed, unopenable not openable, unlocked not locked.
Usually not enterable, lockable.
Can have carrying capacity (a number).
vehicle, a kind of container (plural vehicles)
Represents a container large enough for
a person to enter, and which can then move between rooms at the driver's
instruction. (If a supporter is needed instead, try the extension
Rideable Vehicles by Graham Nelson.)
Always enterable.
Usually fixed in place not portable.
player's holdall, a kind of container (plural player's holdalls)
Represents a container which the
player can carry around as a sort of rucksack, into which spare items are
automatically stowed away.
Always portable not fixed in place.
Usually openable not unopenable.
supporter, a kind of thing (plural supporters)
Represents a surface on which things can be
placed, such as a table.
Usually fixed in place not portable.
Usually not enterable.
Can have carrying capacity (a number).
backdrop, a kind of thing (plural backdrops)
Represents an aspect of the landscape
or architecture which extends across more than one room: for instance,
a stream, the sky or a long carpet.
Always fixed in place not portable.
Usually scenery.
person, a kind of thing (plural people)
Despite the name, not necessarily
a human being, but anything animate enough to envisage having a
conversation with, or bartering with.
Usually male not female.
Usually not neuter.
Can have carrying capacity (a number).
yourself
man, a kind of person (plural men)
Represents a man or boy.
Always male not female.
Never neuter.
Neingeist , Streddinduktion
, Blueloop
, Syncie
woman, a kind of person (plural women)
Represents a woman or girl.
Always female not male.
Never neuter.
animal, a kind of person (plural animals)
Represents an animal, or at any rate a
non-human living creature reasonably large and possible to interact with: a
giant Venus fly-trap might qualify, but not a patch of lichen.
device, a kind of thing (plural devices)
Represents a machine or contrivance of some
kind which can be switched on or off.
Usually switched off not switched on.
direction (plural directions)
Represents a direction of movement, such
as northeast or down.
Usually unmarked for listing not marked for listing.
Can have opposite (direction).
north, northeast, northwest, south, southeast, southwest, east, west, up, down, inside, outside
time (plural times)
A time of day, written in the form '2:34 AM' or '12:51 PM', or a length of time such as '10 minutes' or '3 hours 31 minutes', which must be between 0 minutes and 23 hours 59 minutes inclusive.
text (plural texts)
Some text in double quotation marks, perhaps with substitutions written in square brackets.
description (plural descriptions)
action-name (plural action-names)
table-name (plural table-names)
figure-name (plural figure-names)
external-file (plural external-files)
truth state (plural truth states)
The state of whether something is 'true' or 'false'.
indexed text (plural indexed texts)
A flexible-length form of text which can be internally altered and searched. Inform automatically changes text to this format when necessary.
stored action (plural stored actions)
A stored action, which can later be tried.
list of (plural lists of)
A flexible-length list of values.
If we create a variable, by writing, for instance, 'Zero hour is a time that varies', and do not tell Inform what value it starts out with (say, adding 'Zero hour is 11:21 PM.') then Inform uses the following table to decide the initial value. The same applies if we create a property (for instance, 'A person has a number called lucky number.'). Kinds of value not included in the table cannot be used in variables and properties.
kind of value | default value |
number | 0 |
time | 9:00 AM |
text | "" |
snippet | word 1 of command |
object | nothing |
description | matching nothing |
rule | the little-used do nothing rule |
rulebook | the action-processing rules |
action-name | waiting action |
scene | the Entire Game |
table-name | a table with no rows or columns |
figure-name | figure of cover |
external-file | value representing a non-file |
truth state | false |
indexed text | "" |
stored action | waiting |
list of | {} |
thing | the player |
direction | north |
other kinds of object | the first example created |