The Intended Audience

Who is the intended audience for these games? Just like any other genre, you have three main groups of players

The game's creator

It's not as bad as you may think (or even as bad as I think). As a software developer, I'm quite used to writing software just for myself. Just take a look at my GitHub repos... Some writers create their stories just to read them for themselves after a year or so. Art created for a single person is still art.

Other creators in the same genre

The interactive fiction community is the best example here: they use similar tools, write their own games, and play each other's games. It can be a pretty closed community at times.

The usual gamers

Yeah... the usual gamers... millions of players...

Do you have awesome pixel art landscapes to impress them? A killer soundtrack? Amazing voice acting? Most of the time, no.

You have text. The player types some text as input, and your game responds with some text as output.

Those who love to immerse themselves in a world of words

And now, let's talk about a fourth group—those who love the magic of text adventures and want to be captivated by stories and worlds. Among them are many visually impaired players who appreciate a good story just as much as anyone else. For them, text adventures provide a space where imagination is limitless, and the absence of visuals is no barrier. They enjoy rich narratives, plot twists, and the artistry behind a well-crafted game.

And let’s be honest—what is the ultimate reason why we make these games? It’s for the recognition and the joy of sharing our worlds with others, right? These players, just like anyone else, can give you the kind of positive feedback that makes all the late nights and head-scratching worth it. 😉