Chapter 16. Verbs and Events

One of the Implications of applying verb-based thinking to interactive storytelling is that the central data structure should be the verb. The answer to the question “What does the user do?” is “The user does verbs.” It is only natural that the definition of the verb data structure is the central problem in all software design.

Verbs are expressed through mouse and keyboard actions. In a word processor, “double-click on a word” means “select this word.” In a web browser, “click on blue text” means “jump to this linked page.” In all applications, clicking an icon means “do whatever this symbol represents.”

The language of graphical user interfaces (GUI) has evolved into a system of great complexity. Consider all the ...

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