TADS Alternatives
TADS is described as '3 is a robust, modern programming environment specially designed for creating Interactive Fiction'. There are more than 10 alternatives to TADS for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Online / Web-based and Self-Hosted solutions. The best alternative is Twine, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like TADS are ChoiceScript (Free, Open Source), Inform (Free), Ink by Inkle (Free, Open Source) and Squiffy (Free, Open Source).
- Twine is an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories. You don't need to write any code to create a simple story with Twine, but you can extend your stories with variables, conditional logic, images, CSS, and JavaScript when you're ready.
- ChoiceScript is a simple programming language for writing multiple-choice games (MCGs) like Choice of the Dragon. Writing games with ChoiceScript is easy and fun, even for authors with no programming experience.No screenshots yet
- Inform is a design system for interactive fiction based on natural language. It is a radical reinvention of the way interactive fiction is designed, guided by contemporary work in semantics and by the practical experience of some of the world's best-known writers of IF.
Inform vs TADS opinions
Everything you can do in TADS, you can do in Inform7. The main difference is that Inform7 uses natural-language programming, and therefore, according to theory, is even better suited to writing interactive fiction. - ink is a scripting language built around the idea of marking up pure-text with flow in order to produce interactive scripts.
- Squiffy is a tool for creating multiple choice interactive fiction. It's written entirely in JavaScript - the compiler uses Node.js and the games it generates run in a web browser so it can run on any system with a modern browser.
- ADRIFT Developer is a Windows application that allows you to create complex interactive fiction games quickly and easily.
- Spatterlight is a native Cocoa application plays most kinds of interactive fiction game files: AGT, Adrift, AdvSys, Alan, Glulx, Hugo, Level 9, Magnetic Scrolls, TADS (text-only), Quill, and Z-code (except v6).
- Quest lets you create sophisticated text-based games, without having to program. Make text adventures, role-playing games, training materials, simulations, or interactive fiction.
- Adliberum Engine is a multiplayer compatible role-playing text adventure engine. Complete with real-time world-building commands; craft text powered games and scenarios alone or with others.
- Cross-platform tool for creating visual novels and interactive stories.