Well, this was interesting. I found Galatea to be really intriguing, but also frustrating because if you don’t know what to say or how to say it, then nothing happens. Unlike the narrative-type video games where you can just push buttons until something happens, IF seems to be a venue where it could get really frustrating very quickly. This could clearly pose problems if there was a more clearly defined purpose for investigating IF.
Another thought — how does IF relate to Apps that are now available that have a literary component? What about online video games that are adaptations of books (the comic series Fables has an interactive video game)? I know IF is different, but how do these other types of interactive modes relate to/affect/or change the concept of IF?
My sense is that the Inform7 conventions can be learned pretty quickly, in some sense more so than those for reading other literary genres. That is, once you know the moves for asking or touching or telling or going east, etc. this fluency would extend to many, many IFs, no? Or is it fundamentally a barrier?