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Creating Text Adventures in Python

Learn Python and Publish your Adventure on the Web

Mike Gold

Step inside the world where code becomes story. Creating Text Adventures in Python is your guide to building interactive fiction from scratch, even if you’re new to programming. You’ll learn how to design rooms, puzzles, and branching choices while mastering Python essentials along the way. With each chapter, your simple prototype grows into a full adventure engine—complete with item interactions, save/load systems, and web deployment so friends can play your game online. Whether you dream of crafting fantasy quests, mystery stories, or sci-fi journeys, this book shows you how to bring those worlds to life line by line. By the final page, you won’t just be reading adventures—you’ll be writing them, playing them, and sharing them with the world.

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About

About

About the Book

Creating Text Adventures in Python

By Mike Gold

Discover the Magic of Coding Through Storytelling

Remember the thrill of exploring dusty dungeons, solving riddles, and uncovering hidden treasures? Now imagine building those worlds yourself—step by step—while learning Python, one of today’s most beginner-friendly (and powerful) programming languages.

Creating Text Adventures in Python is your gateway into both coding and creativity. Whether you’ve never written a line of code or you’re a curious tinkerer looking for your next project, this book takes you by the hand and shows you how to:

  • Build interactive rooms, puzzles, and characters that come alive through player choices.
  • Master core Python concepts—variables, functions, loops, and object-oriented programming—in a fun, story-driven way.
  • Add depth with inventory systems, puzzles, and logic that make your world feel real.
  • Save and load game progress, handle commands gracefully, and even design your own unique quest
  • Bring your adventure online with modern tools like Streamlit and Gradio, so anyone can play your game right in the browser.

By the end, you won’t just know Python—you’ll have a playable adventure game of your own, ready to share with friends, family, or the world.

This isn’t a dry coding manual. It’s a journey—one where you explore the history of adventure games, create a working engine from scratch, and gradually transform it into a polished, sharable experience.

✨ If you’ve ever dreamed of writing code that brings immersive, interactive stories to life, this is the book you’ve been waiting for.

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Author

About the Author

Mike Gold

I have been developing software for over 20 years and worked as a consultant in the banking, manufacturing, healthcare, finance, and military industries. I am a former Microsoft MVP and have a background in Electrical Engineering. I've contributed over 200 articles on .NET/C# technology and have lately been working fullstack with .NET Core and ReactJS

Leanpub Podcast

Episode 249

An Interview with Mike Gold

Contents

Table of Contents

    • Chapter 1 - Introduction
      • About This Book
      • Who This Book Is For?
      • What You’ll Learn
      • Introducing Python
      • Why Python for Adventure Games?
    • Chapter 2: Getting Started with Python
      • Installing Python
      • Your Coding Environment
      • Running Your First Program
      • Core Python Concepts We’ll Use
      • Practice Exercises
    • Chapter 3: Build Your First Adventure (Step by Step)
      • Step 1 — Project seed: a loop that reads commands
      • Step 2 — Model the world: rooms as dictionaries
      • Step 3 — Track the Player
      • Step 4 — Track the Items
      • Step 5 — Show the world: show_status()
      • Step 6 Move around: move(direction)
      • Step 7 — Pick up Items: pick(item_name)
      • Step 8 — Use items to alter the world: use(item_name)
      • Step 9 — Your Tiny Command Parser (What it is, why it matters, and how to build it)
      • Step 10 — Wire up the main loop
    • Chapter 4: Adding a Logic Puzzle: The Ice Pool in the Chamber
      • Updating the Chamber Room
      • Updating use(item_name)
      • Updating show_status() for the Chamber
      • Puzzle Flow in Play
    • Chapter 5: Making Commands Friendlier with Item Aliases (Resolver Approach)
      • Step 1: Add aliases to your items
      • Step 2: Write a resolver
      • Step 3: Plug the resolver into the parser layer (not the game logic)
      • Step 4: Enjoy the smoother player experience
      • Design Tip: Keep canon, think human
      • Optional: Friendly “Did you mean…?” suggestions
      • Quick Exercise
    • Chapter 6: Building Our Adventure with Objects
      • Why Object-Oriented?
      • Architecture and Tree Structure
      • The Item Class
      • The Player Class
      • The Room Class
      • Strategy Pattern: UseStrategy and PickStrategy
      • The Game Class (Controller)
      • Putting It Together
      • Benefits of OO Refactor
    • Chapter 7: Saving Your Adventure — Persisting Game State with JSON
      • Step 1 — Decide What to Save
      • Step 2 — Sketch the JSON Shape (Schema)
      • Step 3 — Add to_dict() Snapshotters
      • Step 4 — Add from_dict() Restorers
      • Step 5 — Add save() and load() Helpers
      • Step 6 — Wire Parser Commands (save, load)
      • Step 7 — Test the Flow (and What to Expect)
      • Step 8 — Versioning, Migrations, and Safety
      • Step 9 - Adding Save-on-Quit and Load-on-Start
      • Step 9 - Adding Restart Functionality
      • Step 10 — Putting It All Together
      • Step 11 — Nice Extras (Reader Exercises)
      • Recap
    • Chapter 8: Share Your Adventure with the World
      • Step 1 — Install Streamlit
      • Step 2 — Create streamlit_app.py
      • Step 3 — Run Locally
      • Step 4 - Deploying to Streamlit from GitHub
      • Step 5 — Deploy to Hugging Face Spaces Using Streamlit
      • Step 6 - Setting up for Gradio Deployment
      • Step 7 - Publishing Your Adventure Game with Gradio on Hugging Face
      • Step 8 — Build and Deploy
      • Step 9 — Share Your Game!
      • Step 10 — Optional Extras
      • Recap
    • Chapter 9 — Designing Your Own Adventure
      • 1. Start with a Theme or Setting
      • 2. Map Out Rooms & Connections
      • 3. Think in Terms of Clues & Puzzles
      • 4. Add Flavor Through Items
      • 5. Expand the Parser (Optional)
      • 6. Keep the Scope Reasonable
      • 7. Playtest, Playtest, Playtest
      • 8. Share with the World
      • Closing Thoughts
    • Epilogue — The Adventure Continues
    • Appendix
      • Appendix A — Adventure Game Terms
      • Appendix B. Advanced Python Concepts
      • Appendix C. Object-Oriented Concepts
      • Appendix D. Unit Testing
      • Appendix E — Resources & Next Steps

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