HTML Interfaces + Ink
Note: This series is a sequel to JavaScript + Ink series. It builds on the code and concepts found there.
Reacting to Tags
In the previous part, the text returned by calling Continue() was parsed and the speaker text was used to set a CSS class. And, while this is certainly a valid way to go about writing a story in Ink, there is an alternative approach for getting information about text blocks.
The Ink for Web functionality build into Inky has support for a number of tags that can be used in Ink that act as meta-information about the story itself. Using this same approach, tags can be used to react to text.
Using Tags
In Ink, tags are extra information not parsed by the default runtime. They exist for other code to read and understand in some way. They are written using a hash, #, and then some text.
Multiple tags can also be used on a single line through using an additional hash, #, between them.
When used in Inky, for example, tags appear after the text on which they are used as a separate line.
Getting tags using currentTags
For every call to Continue(), the property currentTags is filled with any tags found within that block of text. As an array, currentTags will contain any tags or be an empty array if no tags are found for that block of text.
While not as readable, the speaker of any text could be added as a tag for that block of text.
Changing the code from the last part, the speaker could be read as the first entry in the currentTags array per call to continueStory().
Once more with feeling!
In addition to the speaker of different text blocks, the emotional overtone of a speaker could also be encoded through using a tag.
Adapting the main.js code would only mean adding one additional line.
However, as there is now a need for new CSS classes, they also have to be added.
