So you’ve written an AIF game and you want to publish it? Great! Everybody is welcome (and encouraged) to write games, but there are just a few things you should know first.


1. Beta test your game! – What this means is that you should get some people to run through your game before you release it, so they can tell you the problems with it. Every game should be beta tested, and this is especially important for first-time authors. Don’t get cocky! Your game will be better for beta testing. If you need to find some testers, then ask on the forum of this site and you will probably get some volunteers. If you don’t beta test, some people are likely to get very irate about it.

2. Thanks to the expansion of the archive by Yahoo, you can currently upload files here. If this archive fills up to maximum, please post them to the backup archive, the AIF Archive 2 (there is a link available in the links section). There is also an AIF group at AIFGames.com that has community discussion (mostly the same people, really, but it's nice to have a non-Yahoo place to go) and file-hosting capabilities. Check it out and post your game there too (there is information on how to do this on the site's FAQ).

3. Be careful with copyright! – It’s generally okay to write an erotic fan fiction, (which is an original game about established characters, like for instance Lara Croft), as long as you point out that it is a fan fiction and that you did not create the characters. What you can’t do however is use text written by other people (either other AIF writers or other writers in general). Getting inspiration from them is fine but do not copy their work. Also, you should be careful with using pictures or video footage, because unless you have created it yourself, then it belongs to someone else, and there have been AIF authors caught out by this. Of course, some authors have used pictures in their games that clearly weren't theirs and got away with it, so I guess it's up to you whether to risk any trouble over it.

4. Uploading is simple. Just go to the “files” section, open the folder of the game platform (ADRIFT, TADS etc.) that applies to your game, then select the option “add file” which is available at the top of the page. You select the file from your computer, then give a little bit of information about the game and who wrote it in the “description” section, then you post a message to the AIF Archive saying you’ve uploaded it.


Once you’ve taken care of all these things you should be fine. We all look forward to playing your game!