The scripting language that drives 80 Days is now open-source

Narrative game developer Inkle Studios is capping off the week prior to GDC by releasing its Ink scripting language as open-source software for fellow developers to use in their own projects.

If that name sounds familiar, it's because Inkle is the studio responsible for both the Sorcery! and 80 Days narrative-driven games, the latter of which won multiple honors (including an IGF 2015 Excellence in Narrative award) for the quality and scope of its writing.

The Ink engine alpha Inkle released on GitHub today under the MIT open-source license is the latest version of the same scripting language that underpins both the 80 Days and the Sorcery! games, though the compiler has been rewritten in C# so that it can be used within Unity.

Developers curious about putting the tool through its paces can download the alpha from GitHub and reference Inkle's new Ink tutorial. Company cofounder Joseph Humfrey is expected to speak at length about Ink in his GDC talk on the topic next Friday.