Creating a TADS Game



Step 1: Start TADS Workbench

Go to your Windows "Start" menu, and open the "TADS Toolkit" menu. Click on "TADS Workbench." TADS Workbench will launch, and will display a dialog asking you whether you'd like to create a new game or open an existing game.

Step 2: Click on the "New" Button

You want to create a new game, so click on the "New" button. This will open the TADS New Game Wizard, which will ask you for the names you'd like to use for your new game's files.

Step 3: Follow the Wizard Instructions

The New Game Wizard will ask you for the name you'd like to use for your "source file." The source file is simply a text file where you write your TADS programming language instructions that define the rooms and objects in your game.

Do not put your source file in the same folder as the TADS program files; instead, put your source file in a folder that you use for your own personal files. In the future, you might want to upgrade to a new version of TADS. When you do, the easiest way to upgrade is to delete the old TADS program files and install the new versions. If you store your game files in the TADS program folder, you might accidentally delete your game files when you replace your TADS program files. To be sure this doesn't happen, please put your source file in your own personal folder.

If you're new to TADS, you should select the "Introductory" source file type for your new source file. This simply puts extra examples in your new source file, to help you get started more quickly.

After you've answered all of the Wizard's questions, click the "Finish" button to create your game. TADS Workbench will open your game so that you can begin working on it.

Step 4: Try a Test Run

Once TADS Workbench has opened your file, you can try compiling it and running it:



Step 5: Editing your Source File

One of the windows in TADS Workbench is your game's source file. At this point, the source file contains the starter game that the Wizard created for you. To customize your game, you simply edit this source file.

TADS Workbench doesn't have a built-in editor, but it can open a source file in the editor of your choice. (The default editor is Notepad. If you have another editor that you prefer, you can configure TADS to use your editor in the Options dialog: open the "View" menu, select "Debugger Options," then click the "Editor" tab on the dialog.)

To edit your source file, move the mouse cursor over the text in the window showing your source file, then click the right mouse button. TADS will display a menu; select "Open in Text Editor."

After you edit your source file, save it and go back to the TADS Workbench window. TADS will re-load the source file. To test your changes, compile your game again.

Note that you must always compile your game after you change it if you want to test the changes. When you run the game (with the "Go" command), it's your compiled game file that's running, not your source code. Changing your source code doesn't change the compiled game until you use the "Compile for Debugging" command again.

Step 6: Learning More about TADS

At this point, you're ready to start learning more about TADS. The Welcome page has more information on where you can find documentation, examples, and other resources for learning TADS.

Thanks for giving TADS a try!







Copyright ©1999 by Michael J. Roberts.