SAMPLE TRANSCRIPT
This transcript is not from SEASTALKER, but it does show most of the usual
things you can do in the story. It shows several simple puzzles and their
solutions, and it should give you a good idea of how Infocom's interactive
fiction works. The player's sentences appear in capital letters after each
prompt (>). The comments inside the brackets [ ] are not real parts of the
transcript. They explain what's going on.
[This Sample Transcript had no map]
You are lying on your bed, trying to do your homework and listen to the radio
at the same time. Suddenly your telephone rings!
>ANSWER THE PHONE
You pick up the receiver, but you can't hear who's calling because the radio
is too loud.
>TURN OFF THE RADIO
That's better! Now you can tell that it's your mother, calling from her
office.
>MOTHER, HELLO
"Hello, dear. someone just asked me to go meet a visitor at the airport.
Could you please drive here to pick me up?"
>MOTHER, RIDE THE BUS
"That wouldn't get me there on time."
>BORROW A CAR
You can't see any car here.
[It can make a big difference if the program things you're not talking to
someone.]
>MOTHER, BORROW A CAR
"I tried that, but I just can't find one. Won't you please do this favor
for me?"
>YES
"Thank you dear. I'll do a favor for you soon. Goodbye."
>MOTHER, GOODBYE
If it isn't one thing, it's another - as soon as you hang up the phone, the
doorbell rings!
>GO TO THE FRON
(I don't know the word "fron".)
>GO TO THE FRONT
(I assume you mean the front door.)
It's in the front hall. Now you're there too.
(front hall)
The front hall is bare, except for a coat rack and a rug. A door into the
living room is on the east side, and the front door is on the south.
>OPEN IT
When you open the front door, your friend Pat steps in and says, "Hi! What's
up?"
>MY MOTHER NEEDS A RIDE
(I don't know the word "needs")
[And that sentence doesn't begin with a verb.]
>COME WITH ME TO MY MOTHER'S OFFICE
(Sorry, but I don't understand. Please reword that or try something else.)
[The command looks okay, but the program doesn't recognize that form.]
>COME WITH ME
"Okay, let's go!"
>FIND THE CAR
It's usually parked in the garage.
>GO TO THE GARAGE
Pat goes with you.
(garage)
The garage is just big enough for one car, two bikes, and a bunch of garden
tools. There is a car-sized door on the east wall and a people-sized door on
the west. The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.
>GET IN
(What do you want to get in?)
>CAR
Pat goes with you
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.
>START THE CAR
"Hey," says Pat, "why won't it start? Did you put the key in?"
>FIND THE KEY
You should know where it is - it's your house!
>PAT, WAIT HERE
"Okay." Pat settles into the seat and gets comfortable.
>GO WEST
You can't go that way while you're in the car.
>GET OUT
(out of the car)
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.
>GO WEST
[If you're looking for something, you should probably go one room at a time.]
(kitchen)
The kitchen looks a lot like most kitchens: a stove, a sink, a fridge,
shelves, and so on. The last of this morning's coffee is in a pot on the
stove, and the faucet is dripping a little.
>DRINK THE COFFEE THEN FIX THE FAUCET
You don't have time for that.
You don't have time for that.
[Sometimes the computer will seem to act foolish or repeat things. After
all, it's only a machine.]
>LOOK AT THE SHELVES
The shelves hold cookbooks, spices, knickknacks, a cookie jar, and so on.
>LOOK IN COOKIE JAR
It's full of cookies.
>TAKE A COOKIE AND A SPICE
cookie: Taken.
spice: Don't be silly!
>FIND THE KEY
It's right here, on the shelf.
>LOOK AT THE SHELVES
The shelves hold cookbooks, spices, knickknacks, a cookie jar and so on. A
car key is also visible on the shelf.
[Sometimes you have to try hard to find something in a crowded place.]
>TAKE KEY.WEST.PUT IT IN LOCK
Taken
You can't go that way.
[If one of your commands doesn't work, the program ignores the rest of your
input line.]
>E
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.
>IN
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.
>INVENTORY
You are holding:
a car key
a cookie
>PUT KEY IN LOCK
Done.
>GIVE THE COOKIE TO PAT
"Hey, thanks!"
>I
You are empty-handed.
[You can use the short word I instead of INVENTORY.]
>START THE CAR
Vr-r-r-rooooooom!
>BACK OUT
(I don't understand the word "back" when you use it that way.)
[The program recognizes the word "back" but not as a verb.]
>GO EAST
Oops! You ran into the closed garage door. It's a good thing you weren't
driving very fast!
>GET OUT
(out of the car)
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.
>OPEN DOOR
(Which door do you mean, the car-sized door, or the people-sized door?)
>CAR-SI
[If you want to save time while typing, you can always shorten words to six
letters.]
Okay, it's now wide open.
>IN
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.
>E
The car backs out of the garage and into the street.
[This is the end of the sample transcript. Have a good trip!]
