Sample Transcript from Zork Zero, typed in by Volker Blasius
Comments in {} are mine, sentences in [] are in the original.
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This transcript is not from "Zork Zero", but will give you a good feeling for
how Infocom's interactive fiction works. It contains some simple puzzles and
their solutions. The player's commands appear in capital letters after each
prompt (>). The map represents the terrain in the sample transcript as you
might have drawn it.
{Map of 6 rooms that can be reconstructed from the transcript}
>WALK WEST
Edge of Chasm
You are standing at the precipice of a gaping chasm, which is spanned by a
tramway. The tramway hangs from the cavern roof above the chasm. Tunnels lead
north, northeast, and east. On the south wall is an unlabelled black button.
You can see a tram car and a jar here. It seems that the jar is full of
tomato sauce.
>EXAMINE THE TRAM CAR
There's no one in the tram car.
>TAKE ALL
tram car: You've got to be kidding!
jar: Taken.
>PUSH THE BLACK BUTTON
A smiling Gungeon Imp appears."Hear ye the Riddle of the Chasm! Answer
incorrectly, and the Chasm shall collect your bones! Here goes...
"A boy was hurt and brought, unconcious {sic}, to a hospital. The doctor on
duty, Doctor Manson, said 'Oh, my! This is my son!' and proceeded to treat
the boy.
"Later, the boy awoke and Nurse Lanolin bustled to his side. It was her
first day at the hospital, and she was trying hard to do everything right.
She glanced at his medical chart, which included a message from Doctor Manson
to 'take good care of my son!' Nurse Lanolin told the boy, 'Your father,
Doctor Manson, treated you himself!' The boy looked puzzled. 'Doctor Manson
isn't my father!'
"Assuming that neither the boy nor the doctor is lying, who is Doctor
Manson?"
>ANSWER "HIS MOTHER"
The Dungeon Imp looks disappointed. "Correct. The chasm isn't going to be
happy, that's for sure. Maybe we can fool it with some hellhound bones..."
Mumbling to itself, the Imp vanishes, and a passage opens to the south!
>SOUTH
Meat Closet
This is a chilly room for the storage of meat and meat by-products. The
only exit is north.
A pepperoni is hanging here.
>NORTH
Edge of Chasm
>NORTH
Ogre's Room
This is a large and ugly room, most of which is taken up by a large and
ugly ogre. The ogre sits next to a tunnel to the north. Other passages lead
east and south.
>INVENTORY
You are carrying a rusty lamp (providing light), an elvish sword, a guidebook
and a jar. It seems that the jar is full of tomato sauce. You are wearing a
magic shawl.
>EXAMINE THE GUIDEBOOK
This is a field guide to the wonders and dangers of the underground province
of Gruntburg.
>READ ABOUT OGRES IN THE GUIDEBOOK
"Ogres are strong, ill-tempered, and stubborn. They range in size up to 25
feet tall, have hair over most of their bodies, and adore pepperoni pizza."
>NORTH
The ogre stops you with a flick of his little finger. "I'm hungry. And nobody
passes by me when I'm hungry. Nobody."
>EAST
Kitchen
This is a tiny kitchen equipped with a small brick oven. Waves of heat come
from the oven. There are doors to the west and southwest.
Tacked up on the wall is a faded recipe.
Sitting on the counter is some dough.
>READ THE RECIPE
"Momma Ogre's Pepperoni Pizza Recipe
- put 4 gloops of tomato sauce on dough
- generously sprinkle with cheese
- slice pepperoni over the cheese
- bake in pre-heated oven for 3 minutes"
>EXAMINE THE TOMATO SAUCE
The jar is closed and filled with scrumptious-looking sauce. It bears a
label.
>READ THE LABEL
"Frobu (tr) Tomato Sauce - 8 gloops"
>OPEN THE JAR
Opened.
>PUT THE SAUCE ON THE DOUGH
You pour the entire jar of tomato sauce over the dough, totally smothering it
and making a considerable mess.
>UNDO
[Undone.]
>POUR FOUR GLOOPS OF TOMATO SAUCE ONTO THE DOUGH
You pour four gloops of the sauce onto the dough, spreading it evenly across
the surface.
>PUT CHEESE ON DOUGH
[You can't see any cheese right here.]
>SOUTHWEST
Edge of Chasm
You can see a tram car here.
>GET IN THE TRAM
You are now in the tram car. There are some simple controls that you should
probably examine.
>LOOK AT THE CONFROLS
[I don't know the word "confrols."]
>OOPS CONTROLS
The controls consist of a large red lever which can be pushed to the east or
west.
>PUSH LEVER WEST
The tram moves along its track in a graceful arc, reaching the middle of the
chasm.
>WAIT
Time passes...
The tram car descends, reaching the far side of the chasm.
Far Edge of Chasm, in the tram car
The western side of the chasm is almost identical to the eastern side,
making you wonder why anyone went through the trouble of building the
tramway.
At the very edge of the precipice is a flat-topped rock with some writing
engraved on it. Sitting on the flat-topped rock is a magic wand.
>TAKE THE WAND
You can't reach the wand from the tram car.
>GET OUT OF THE CAR
You get out of the tram car.
>PICK UP THE WAND
You take the wand from the flat-topped rock.
>READ THE ENGRAVED WRITING
"Behold the Wand of Widgeefuss."
>READ ABOUT WIDGEEFUSS IN THE GUIDEBOOK
"The Wand of Widgeefuss was lost in ancient times. Its powers have probably
been exaggerated over the centuries. Some have even claimed that it could
turn flat-topped rocks into cheese."
>POINT THE WAND AT THE FLAT-TOPPED ROCK
A bolt of magic strikes the flat-topped rock, leaving a pile of cheese in its
place.
>LOOK
Far Edge of Chasm
The western side of the chasm is almost identical to the eastern side,
making you wonder why anyone went through the trouble of building the
tramway.
You can see a pile of cheese here.
>TAKE THE CHEESE. GET IN. PUSH LEVER WEST
Taken.
You are now in the tram car.
Nothing happens.
>PUSH LEVER EAST
The tram car moves along its track in a graceful arc, reaching the middle of
the chasm.
>GET OUT OF THE TRAM CAR
You step into thin air, plunging down into the rock-filled chasm.
**** You have died. ****
Do you wish to RESTART, RESTORE, UNDO or QUIT? >UNDO
[Undone.]
>WAIT
The tram car descends, returning you to the eastern side of the chasm.
Edge of Chasm, in the tram car
>GET OUT OF CAR
You get out of the tram car.
>SOUTH
Meat Closet
A pepperoni is hanging here.
>TAKE
[the pepperoni]
Taken.
The rusty lamp appears to be getting dimmer.
>INVENTORY
You are carrying a rusty lamp (providing light), an elvish sword, a
guidebook, a jar, a pile of cheese and a pepperoni. It seems that the jar is
half-full of tomato sauce. You are wearing a magic shawl.
>NORTH.NORTHEAST.PUT THE CHEESE ON THE PIZZA
Edge of Chasm
Kitchen
Sitting on the counter is some dough. Sitting on the dough is four gloops
of tomato sauce.
You sprinkle the cheese across the dough.
>PUT THE PEPPERONI ON THE PIZZA
Using your sword as a knife, you slice the pepperoni into pieces and scatter
them across the surface.
>TAKE THE PIZZA
Taken.
>WEST
Ogre's Room
>GIVE THE PIZZA TO THE OGRE
The ogre looks disgusted. "This pizza's uncooked!" He looks hungrily at you,
as though considering you as a pizza alternative, but restrains himself with
apparent difficulty.
>EATS.OPEN OVEN.PUT THE PIZZA IN THE OVEN.CLOSE OVEN
Kitchen
Opened.
The pizza is now in the oven.
Closed.
>WAIT
Time passes...
>OPEN THE OVEN
Opening the oven reveals a bubbling pepperoni pizza.
>TAKE PIZZA
Ouch! You pick up the pizza, but burn your fingers in the process.
>EAST
Ogre's Room
The ogre smells the pizza and begins slobbering.
>GIVE THE PIZZA TO THE OGRE
He swallows the pizza in a single gulp and begins dozing.
>NORTH
Lobby
You are on the ground floor of the building which houses the National Ogre
Institute, a public relations and governmental lobbying group. A stair leads
up, and there are exits to the south and east.
You can see a tube of burn cream here.
