ink is a narrative scripting language for games, with Inky as its editor for writing, testing and exporting stories. Its text-first markup lets writers place code and logic within story text. Inky refreshes its play pane while a story is being edited, highlights errors as they are typed, and can jump from a divert to its target. Stories can be exported as JSON or as a web page for customization. Inky downloads are available for Linux, macOS and Windows. For Unity projects, the integration plugin recompiles ink files during editing and includes a previewer for the Unity Editor. The maker also points to Inkpot, a container created by The Chinese Room for integrating ink with Unreal Engine. ink, Inky and the Unity integration plugin are available under the MIT license at no cost. The tools can also be used to write and share choice-based interactive fiction. inkle says it was founded in 2011 by two Cambridge game developers, and directs users to Discord and GitHub Discussions for help.
Who it is for
It is primarily suited to professional game developers writing branching narrative. Writers can also use it to create and share choice-based interactive fiction.
What is good
- Free under the MIT license.
- Inky refreshes its play pane as stories change.
- Exports JSON or customizable web pages.
- Unity plugin includes an editor previewer.
- Available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
What to know first
- The language is designed primarily for professional game development.
- Unreal integration is pointed to through Inkpot.
Verdict
ink and Inky provide a free workflow for writing and previewing interactive stories, with exports for JSON or the web. Unity has a dedicated integration plugin; Unreal users are directed to Inkpot.
ink and Inky plans and pricing
All plansCompared on game narrative design software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Branching dialogue
- Yes
- Authoring model
- document-based
- Game engine support
- Unity; Unreal Engine
