How We Differ from Interactive Fiction

It happens live

Classic interactive fiction is a solo conversation between you and a parser, taken at your own pace. Offbook is a room. Several players share one story at the same time, each in their own role, and the scene moves whether or not you’re typing. The pacing is closer to a tabletop session than a novel.

Talking in and out of character

Because other people are present, you get commands for the two kinds of speech a scene needs.

Use /whisper to pass a line to a single player without the rest of the table hearing it — a secret, a plan, an aside.

Use /ooc to step out of character for a moment: a rules question, a laugh, a “give me a second.” It’s clearly marked as out-of-character so nobody confuses it for the story.

What carries over

Everything you already love about IF is still here — examine the room, pick up the prop, try the verb you’re not sure will work. You’re just doing it shoulder to shoulder with other people.