XYZZYnews
May/June 1996 Issue #9
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HOLLOW VOICE
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This issue's awfully late in coming out this time around, largely due
to my already fully booked writing schedule. I've been so busy, I
haven't even had a chance to play any text adventure games in months!
Needless to say, I'm out of touch with the newsgroups too. I've had to
hear third-hand about Mike Roberts releasing TADS as freeware and
what's up in the r.a.i-f competition. The good news is that the book
I'm working on is wrapping up even as we speak, and I hope to be both a
diligent zine editor and a reliable source for game hints again
sometime in the near future.
I'm finding that each issue's Top 10 picks for Web sites devoted to
text adventure games are increasingly reflecting the impact of new
technologies. For example, this issue's list includes a wonderful site
with a number of Java-enabled Inform games you can play online -- if
your browser supports Java, that is. There's also a site devoted to the
long-awaited developments in playing interactive fiction games on
Apple's PDA, the Newton.
This issue also includes a thoughtful article by John Wood on player
character identity in interactive fiction. It's a response of sorts to
Doug Atkinson's article on gender and IF games back in issue #3, which
I think has generated more response than any other article to date in
the zine. Matt Newsome shares an e-mail exchange he had with Infocom
implementor Stu Galley, and the prolific C.E. Forman contributes his
review of Spiritwrak.
In other news, I've been asked to allow XYZZYnews to be translated into
German, which I'll be more than happy to see take place. I wouldn't mind
seeing translations into other languages either.
Until next issue, happy gaming!
Eileen Mullin
[email protected]
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Contents:
Top 10 Picks for IF on the Web
Letters
Player Character Identity in Interactive Fiction
Interview with Stu Galley
Sneak Previews
Game Reviews:
Gumshoe
Spiritwrak
What's On The Disk
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LEGALESE
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XYZZYnews is published bimonthly by Bran Muffin Communications,
160 West 24th Street, # 7C, New York, NY 10011, USA.
Email:
[email protected]
URL:
http://www.interport.net/~eileen/design/xyzzynews.html
Send all inquiries, letters, and submissions to any of the addresses
above.
Contents (c) 1996 XYZZYnews.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America.
Electronic versions: There are currently three versions of XYZZYnews
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http://www.interport.net/~eileen/xyzzy.9.html
Subscriptions: Both electronic versions are available at no cost. You can
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The print version includes a 3.5" Mac or PC disk and is $21 (U.S.) for one
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All products, names, and services are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
Editorial deadline for Issue #10 is July 15, 1996.
Editor:
Eileen Mullin
Contributors to this issue:
Stuart Beach
C.E. Forman
Matt Newsome
John Wood
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May/June Top 10 Picks for IF on the World Wide Web
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Infocom/Inform Games in Java
http://www.wpi.edu/~timbuktu/inform
Pueblo Multimedia MUD Client
http://www.chaco.com/pueblo/
GameSpot (includes walkthrough for Zork Nemesis)
http://www.gamespot.com/
Interactive Fiction (IF) Authorship
http://www.duke.edu/~srg3/IFAuthorship.html
J.L. Stroud, Jr.'s Tricky, An Interactive Novel
http://members.gnn.com/JStroud/mw5/tricky.htm
The Symbolic Theory of Game Design
http://www.symbolicsoft.com/theory/theory.htm
World Weavers World Wide Web Home Page
http://www.crl.com:80/~nimh/world_weavers/
Fundacion Pro-Imagyna (in Spanish)
http://www-fib.upc.es/~e4181785/
Text Adventures on a Newton Information Page
http://www.mit.edu/people/sanj/zparse.html
Jay's Interactive Fiction Page
http://www.cs.uml.edu/~jpenney/if/
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LETTERS
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Eileen,
I found the articles about playtesting in XYZZYnews #8 both informative
and entertaining. As a suggestion for further exploration of the topic,
how about an interview with Michael Kinyon? This guy tests more "modern"
games than anyone else in the entire IF community, and he earns frequent
praise for his work. Things I would like to learn from him: Why did he
decide to become a tester (rather than an author) of IF? What are the
most frequent bugs? (and are some of them compiler-specific?) Which
traps should potential game authors try to avoid? Are there noticeable
trends in modern IF? Any gossip about not-yet-finished games?
As always, I was stunned by the quality of your material. Thanks for
brightening up my day, and keep up the good work!
Martin
[email protected]
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Eileen,
I encourage you to reconsider [not printing articles initially published
on Usenet] for the following reason:
Usenet articles last for a few days; XYZZYnews lasts indefinitely. I only
recently rediscovered IF, and I found your magazine to be an invaluable
resource. If an article is sufficiently good, you should consider including
it whatever the source, so that the people who tune in months and years
from now will be able to benefit from it.
Just my two cents. Cheers!
Pat
[email protected]
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Eileen,
I'm in awe of the tremendous quality of your XYZZYnews 'zine; initially
I read the HTML versions, then I read issue #4 as a PDF (using the recently
published Amber version of the Acrobat reader for OS/2) and was much taken
with the beautiful layout. I also like the simple, but in-character, title
graphics you use on your HTML pages.
I started with Adventure (Colossal Cave) on IBM's VM/370 years ago, but
soon got my own computer kit -- a Z80-based Nascom-2 -- on which I was
lucky to enjoy products from Level-9, Magnetic Scrolls, Infocom, and
others. Somehow, I wish it were possible to port those games to one of the
modern parsers -- dream on! Although I have 2 Nascom-2 machines, neither is
in working order any longer. However, I haven't given up hope -- I still
have the cassette tapes (believe me!).
What surprises me, and gives much pleasure, is the quality of recent output
in material such as Curses, Theatre, and so on -- I have to admit that
these "feel" at least as good as some of the Infocom games, although even
to myself, that is almost heresy!
These days, I play IF on my OS/2 machine and am currently enjoying Inform,
TADS, and AGT games. My son is building an Inform game, but I'd better not
try to steal his thunder, as he's now grown taller than me!
I like to enjoy IF in two ways: in competition with my son (15) -- he's
much smarter than me, darn it -- and in the company of my daughter (19)
during which we spark of new ideas on trying to solve problems. Both my
children are accomplished role-play games masters (dungeon masters), so
I guess their imaginations are sharpened through those experiences.
I wish you success with your other endeavors. I can only hope that we
r.a.i-f followers can enjoy reading your editorial and your 'zine layouts
for some time to come.
Thanks again for so much enjoyment!
Roger Lee
[email protected]
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Hello Eileen,
I discovered the XYZZYnews files uploaded to GMD have file names in capitals.
Not that e.g. Windows 95 cares (which I'm using), but a UNIX hacker (which
I am from time to time) might think it's less than practical.
Anders
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
In Issue #7 of XYZZYnews ["Interface Changes: A Brief Look at the Evolution
of the Adventure Game Engine], you didn't mention my favorite early Mac
text adventure with graphics...Transylvania, by Penguin Software. It was
available for the Mac in 1984. It used a simple two-word parser and
contained B&W graphics for each location, inventory item, and character.
The graphics were on the left side along with a short description of the
location below the picture. The text for actions taken and items available
scrolled along the right side of the screen. Text was input by the player
at the bottom of the screen. The object of the game was to rescue a
princess who had been captured by a vampire and hidden somewhere in a
haunted land. The only real problem was that in some locations, going one
direction then back the opposite direction did not always return you to the
location you came from. Other than that it was an excellent game which
mixed a text adventure with graphics very nicely.
Al Staffieri Jr.
[email protected]
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Eileen,
I just finished reading issue #8 and found it as enjoyable and informative
as ever.
I also read a letter in the #7 issue that caught my eye and I just had to
put in my two cents worth. The letter was written by Mr. L. Ross Raszewski,
regarding the AGT bashing that seems to be rampant in the IF community.
First off I agree with Mr. Raszewski that AGT is getting an unfair rap.
I feel that it is totally unfair to the authors of AGT-based games to be
judged solely on the fact that the game was written using AGT.
I recently read a review (I don't remember the zine) where the reviewer
said "I cringed when I found out the game was written with AGT." The review
was for the game "Space Aliens Laughed at My Cardigan." Now I will be the
first to admit that I played the game and it was horribly written. But that
doesn't alter in the least the fact that before the reviewer even started
he was already biased against it solely on the fact that it was written
using AGT.
About a year ago I stumbled onto AGT in the Gamers' Forum in CompuServe and
I was ecstatic. I had found something that I'd been wishing for, for 15
years but never knew existed. A way to write my own adventure game, without
the hassle of learning a complicated computer language. Then imagine if you
will my utter surprise, shock, and disbelief to read that most of the IF
community frowns upon the one thing that brought me back to text
adventures.
Now don't get me wrong I have enormous respect for those who write
adventures using the other popular languages (e.g. TADS, Inform, etc.) My
hat's off to these fine people. But after a hard day's work if I sit down
to my keyboard to work on a text adventure I want an easy-to-use language,
not a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo.
I am very close to finishing a text adventure of my own using the AGT
Masters Edition. And as long as the player doesn't try something that is
totally illogical the parser works great. For a while I considered entering
it in the IF contest on the Internet but decided not to. Mainly because it
is written with AGT and I'd rather it not be held up to the general
consensus, "It's written with AGT, it can't be any good."
I would like to think that the IF community would be glad that people
without a great deal of programming experience could have a tool such as
AGT as most creative and imaginative writers probably are not "hackers" or
"whiz-kid programmers" but that doesn't seem to be the case.
OK I'll get down off my soapbox now. Thanks for the opportunity to let off
a little steam. Please keep up the good work at XYZZYnews.
Ray Rettger
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
I have read the bugs page of the Zork games. Great stuff! Did you ever get
older versions of the three Zork games? Now that I know the old versions
have cool bugs I am looking for them. I know one friend of mine has Beyond
Zork, and Zork1 bought awhile ago. I have the Lost Treasures. I have figured
out that if you type things with self in them it does neat stuff:
eat self
wave self
throw self
-- Joe
[email protected]
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Requests for Information
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Eileen,
I've read the Spoiler Column for some time now, and I haven't as yet found
any hints/solutions for the game "Enchanted Castle."
Is there any way to get into the room with the smoke that comes out the
window? How do I dispatch the basilisk in the closet? How can I pass the
Hall of Dragons?
Please help me. You can email me answers, or maybe the URL of someplace
that does have these available. Thank you very much. I really appreciate
any help you can give me.
Jared Menard
[email protected]
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Hello,
After my 11-year-old nephew turned me on to the "Choose Your Own Adventure"
series, especially the few "serious" titles, I began to see the potential
for non-fiction using this form.
While searching the Web I came across XYZZYnews and thought you might know
about such material. I'm hoping to find what this category is called, sites
and places that I can announce the interactive non-fiction title I've nearly
finished, that helps people discovery their mission in life and develop
strategies to fulfill it. Any suggestions you might have are appreciated.
Sincerely,
Corl Riblet
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
Hi! I really liked your page on the infocom games bugs. I have about half
of those games and some of the bugs are really neat!
I am also desperately trying to find any information at all on the Mines
of Titan game that was written by Infocom. It's not a purely text game but
I thought you might have some information on it. I would really appreciate
it if you let me know if you do.
Daniel Wong
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
I recently purchased Zork Nemesis and I'm stuck and need help. I'm looking
for someone who can give hints. Please e-mail if you know how I can get
help.
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
I am looking for the original game "Leather Goddesses of Phobos" for DOS...
I have been unable to find it anywhere. I am also looking for the medical
simulator game called "Cardiac Arrest" by Mad Scientist Software... both of
these I found many years ago, and used to play. Now I have a computer of my
own, and cannot find them anywhere.
Can you help me???
Tim
[email protected]
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Infocom Bugs List Update
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To XYZZYnews:
Found a bug in Mini-Zork. I got an interpreter for my Psion palmtop that
runs Infocom games. I did get Mini-Zork. Try inflating the raft, put all of
your valuables in the raft, then deflating it! You can pick up the plastic
and carry it as a small item and not be encumbered by the treasures. Then
when you need something, pump it up and pull it out! One not make sure the
pump isn't in the boat when you deflate, otherwise you can't re-inflate it!
Eric Nichols
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
Hey there.. a few notes on the bug list:
I found a bug in Beyond Zork which is like the elvish sword/nicked sword
problem in Zork II.. If you're at the site in the jungle with the Crocodile
idol, and the crocodile (the animal) is there too, you can't refer to it.
>attack crocodile
Which crocodile do you mean, the idol or the crocodile?
>crocodile
Which crocodile do you mean, the idol or the crocodile?
Also, two notes from Zork III. I was thinking about the following:
>DUNGEON MASTER, KILL ME WITH THE STAFF
"If you wish," he replies.
If you insist... Poof, you're dead!
**** The dungeon master has died ****
The dungeon master follows you.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.
>DUNGEON MASTER, KILL DUNGEON MASTER WITH STAFF
"If you wish," he replies.
"If you wish," he replies.
You aren't even holding the staff!
In the first example, when you tell him to "kill me with staff," "me" refers
to the DM. It displays the message you would get if you typed "kill me".
However, he stays alive. I can't explain that. The second time, "You" is
referring to the DM. See if you can give him the staff somehow and try it
again.
And when you "trap" yourself in the Zork I area, can you enter the coal
mines? What happens when you try to go north from the top of the ladder?
Blazer
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
Firstly, congratulations on XYZZY news -- it's absolutely excellent. Just
thought I'd send something to the Infocom Bugs list:
In an old version of Hitchhikers I had there was a rather important bug
which meant that if you saved the game AFTER getting the vision about what
tool Marvin wants but BEFORE actually giving him the tool then the game
would not remember that you knew the correct tool. This effectively made
the game impossible to complete. Alas, I can't tell you the version number
of the game because it was at least two computers ago and I'm afraid I've
lost everything except the Microscopic space fleet. I've heard other people
reporting this bug tho'.
Fortunately, almost everyone was too impatient to save in between these
bits so hardly anyone was affected by the bug. I've not yet tried it in
the version of HHGTTG I got in LTOI 1 so I can't confirm that the bug is
in all versions.
Anyway, thanks again for the zine which is marvellous.
Richard
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
This part in Zork III:
>dungeon master, kill me with the staff
"If you wish," he replies.
If you insist... Poof, you're dead!
**** The dungeon master has died ****
The dungeon master follows you.
Your sword has begun to glow very brightly.
Maybe it's because the dungeon master will die before he harms you, once
you've gotten this far? And the last part may be because a dead dungeon
master is following you? Weird, but at least it's an explanation.
Patrick Walton
[email protected]
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To XYZZYnews:
Beyond Zork:
The butterfly bug:
I could never "take" the butterfly directly, and any attempt to offer it
to the woman told me I had to take it out of the goblet first, but if I
did "show butterfly to woman" the system would include "(taken)" in its
response and I would be holding the butterfly. Does this variant work in
#57?
Also note that the original value of the butterfly may be 5, 10, or 15 (random)
and that trying to sell it when the price would be -32768 (15 times for
an initial value of 5 or 15; 14 times for an initial value of 10) will hang
the PC version.
Hitchhiker's Guide, the new "feature":
Not a bug, but I recall reading that the "thing" can actually be used as
a container. Does this work in any/all versions?
Infidel:
The mast "bug":
I don't think it's a bug that removing the shims will allow the mast to
be lifted from above; it would seem that this is a logical alternative solution
to the problem. Depending upon the shape of the mast and the area above,
it really might be possible to remove it with one hand from above but not
from below (e.g. if you can use your foot to hold it steady).
Starcross:
Not a bug per se, but amusing little parser insight:
>IS
What do you want to is?
>IS ME
What do you want to is the you in?
>IS ME IN COMPUTER
No, it isn't.
Trinity:
Needless attention to detail award:
If you're in the reservoir when the bomb goes off, you get a different
description from if you're elsewhere.
Annoying extra typing requirement award:
Typing "TURN DIAL TO OMEGA" will select a symbol at random; you must use
"TURN DIAL TO SEVENTH SYMBOL."
Zork II:
You list "N" for all versions on bug #8. Were you unable to get this to
work? The key at least in the version I was using is to recognize that the
balloon will move up or down on, I think, every fourth turn.
Thus, you need to time the sequence of events according to this. If memory
serves, the protocol was to close the burner, wait for the balloon to settle,
open burner, leave, light fuse, and reboard. Note that the baloon MUST carry
you away the turn after you light the fuse or you will be blown up.
Anyway, those are all the touchups I remember. Thanks for the nice work.
John Payson
[email protected]
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PLAYER CHARACTER IDENTITY IN IF
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by John Wood (
[email protected])
Warning: this article discusses the background and plots of several games,
particularly TRINITY. There are, however, no spoilers for puzzles.
--------------------
I. Introduction
--------------------
Doug Atkinson's article about "Character Gender in Interactive Fiction"
in XYZZYnews #3 led me to thinking about the wider subject of Character
Identity. This article is shamelessly modeled after Doug's original.
Reading between the lines, the article identified about four or five basic
methods of identifying the Player Character's gender:
1. Indeterminate (JIGSAW);
1a. Not stated, but "feels" male (BUSTED);
2. Fixed gender (PLUNDERED HEARTS);
3. Determined by asking the player directly (BEYOND ZORK); and
4. Determined by player actions (LEATHER GODDESSES OF PHOBOS).
A similar division applies to the handling of Player Character (or PC)
identity.
--------------------
II. The Amorphous Hero
--------------------
The original -- and still most common -- way of handling Player Character
identity is to ignore it. The PC is, as Russ Bryan puts it, Everyman --
sometimes with a heavy emphasis on the "man" -- and you are free to project
whatever motives and emotions you like onto your character. This
accessibility can be comforting; you can pick up the game and instantly
know who you are. It is also easier to program interactions with the
non-player characters (or NPCs) when the only thing they need to react to
is the PC's actions.
There is, however, a disadvantage to this. When PCs have no defined character
they do not feel like part of the setting. Their interactions with NPCs
tend to be bland, and they become onlookers and outsiders.
The best games try to use this impression to their advantage. In TRINITY,
for instance, you start out as an American tourist in London -- you are
an outsider, and as a tourist it is perfectly natural that you will go around
examining things and collecting curios. As the game progresses, it forces
you into the role of onlooker as the episodic history of the atomic bomb
unfolds, until there eventually comes a point when you might just be able
to do something about it.
Few games manage to handle the amorphous PC with the panache of TRINITY,
however. The more usual approach is to drop the PC into a situation far
from home, thus justifying the lack of a sense of belonging, but to ignore
other consequences (the magpie syndrome, the lack of interaction).
Examples from Infocom include WISHBRINGER, HOLLYWOOD HIJINX (which avoids
most interaction problems by having few other characters to interact with)
and MOONMIST. This last is interesting because it gives you the illusion of
choice, when it asks you for your name and title. These details actually
make little difference to the game -- you are just "the detective", an
outsider tolerated because of your reputation and friendship with Tamara (a
relationship that is less well developed than it could have been with a
defined player character).
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III. Part of the Genre
--------------------
In the earliest games and their imitators the PC is simply the "adventurer,"
the eyes and ears of a player at the keyboard. However, almost every game
since then has given you some context for your character, no matter how
vague -- in TRINITY you are a tourist, in MOONMIST a detective. Then there
are games where the context goes a lot further towards defining your
character. These are the genre games.
Genre games share some of the advantages of the amorphous hero. So long as
you are familiar with the genre in question you can still quickly spot the
kind of person your PC represents, and because the authors know how the PC
should react NPCs can still have (relatively) straightforward reactions.
Furthermore, these reactions can now appear less generic because of the
framework provided by the conventions of the genre. For example, LEATHER
GODDESSES OF PHOBOS is a genre game where there is little overt PC
characterization. Despite this, the PC still has more personality than an
amorphous hero, and engages in much more (ahem) personal interaction with
the NPCs.
Genre games also offer the opportunity to go further, however. Doug Atkinson
discussed PLUNDERED HEARTS at some length in his article (another game I
have yet to play). The PC in the game is defined by the conventions of
the romance/adventure genre, and Doug observed that this is one game where
puzzles take a back seat to story -- characterization, character interaction,
and plot. This is something that is hard to accomplish with an amorphous
hero.
Another example of a genre game is GUMSHOE. I have only played a little
of this, but it succeeds in conjuring up the right images for a hard-boiled
detective story. You know how to behave because you are playing a private
eye in the Philip Marlowe/Sam Spade tradition.
--------------------
IV. I Yam What I Yam
--------------------
Whereas the characters of a genre piece are stereotypes, the PC in an
adaptation game such as SHERLOCK or the HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE are recognizable
because they are known entities. In a way, these ARE genre games. The
adventures of Holmes & Watson or King Arthur and his knights are so well
ingrained in English-speaking culture that the images they conjure up
provide us with just as complete a set of expectations as do the broader
genres such as hard-boiled. I am less sure about the global nature of
HHGTTG, but I do not know of anyone who has played the game without
previously encountering the radio series, TV series, or books.
--------------------
V. You Don't Know Me, But...
--------------------
Although superficially similar, fixed-character PCs created purely for a
piece of Interactive Fiction are very different from their more famous
adaptation counterparts. When the authors cannot rely on players having
background knowledge and expectations built up from exposure to other
media, they have to do a lot more work. On the other hand, there are also
much greater opportunities for developing the story when the authors have
this much control. Without genre-defined preconceptions the instant
recognition is lost, but so are the constraints that so often result in
cardboard characters going through the motions.
A MIND FOREVER VOYAGING is the only Infocom game I have played that falls
firmly in this category. Parry Sim is supposed to be an artificial
personality, but that personality is to my mind more richly developed than
any other Infocom PC. As a commercial product AMFV has the benefit of
packaging, and Infocom used this to good effect with the episodes from
Parry's earlier "life," but most of his character is expressed through the
simulation sequences during the game.
Notice that I refer to Parry as "he" throughout. Whereas it is easy for
players to identify directly with an amorphous hero and it is natural to
say things like "you are a tourist," the fact that Parry is so well defined
forces players to take a step back. You can still identify with the PC,
but it is more like empathizing with the lead character in a film or novel
-- you do not "become" Elizabeth Bennett when reading Pride & Prejudice
or Han Solo when watching Star Wars.
A more recent game with a well-defined fixed-character PC is CHRISTMINSTER.
Roger Giner-Sorolla includes a detailed analysis of Christabel's character
in his Usenet article, "Crimes Against Mimesis," so I won't go into too
much detail here. Suffice to say that CHRISTMINSTER is another good example
of what can be accomplished with this style of game.
--------------------
VI. Multiple Personalities
--------------------
In THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, you swap characters for parts of
the game. In BORDER ZONE, you play a different character in each
installment. In SUSPENDED, you control one character but effectively have
multiple viewpoints via the robots.
If handling one character is tricky, why would authors want to introduce
more? One reason is to explore a variety of viewpoints on the same
situation. The "party" is also an established feature of roleplaying games,
both tabletop and computer, and once we move into the realm of graphic
adventures these features become much more common. In DAY OF THE TENTACLE,
for example, you control three characters in three different time zones.
So why are there so few multi-PC text games? It is easy to see why few
allow you to choose your character. Text adventures depend heavily on
description and interaction for their atmosphere. There would be little
benefit in having multiple PCs unless those characters were well defined,
and their interactions with NPCs suitably varied. This requires enormous
effort on the part of a game's authors if the different characters are
interacting with the same people and places, since NPCs need different
responses for each, and ideally location and object descriptions would vary
slightly too.
This argument would not apply to a text version of DOTT, however. There
the characters are in distinct settings, interacting with different NPCs,
so it would merely mean writing the three sections of the game in differing
styles. A partial answer is, I think, that care needs to be taken to ensure
that players can identify with their PC. when the viewpoint keeps switching,
the task becomes that much harder.
I still think there is scope for further experiments with multiple PCs.
For example, in the Arabian Nights genre destiny governs all and stories
are nested within stories, so I am going to experiment with playing out
these "inner" stories from a PC's perspective. If the playtesters like
it... well, we'll just have to wait and see.
--------------------
VII. Character Building
--------------------
In all the games discussed so far, the PCs are defined (except perhaps for
name and gender) by the game's authors, but there are ways to offer players
some part in this decision process. The previous section gave reasons why
it would be difficult to provide a choice of distinctly characterized PCs,
but there are aspects of a PC apart from personality that could cause less
trouble: the attributes and abilities commonly given numerical values in
roleplaying games. Very little has been done with this. BEYOND ZORK is
the only text-based game I have played that takes up the idea, and (so far
as I could tell) the attribute scores made little difference to how the
game played.
Perhaps the random nature of a percentage-based ability is not best suited
for text games, but it is not the only method. One alternative is to offer
traits that are either on or off: PCs have the trait, or they don't. For
example, a PC may be Strong and Clumsy, or Weak but Nimble. The former
could bypass a locked door puzzle by breaking it down, the latter by picking
the lock. This method has the advantage that it is clear-cut -- there is
no chance that a strong PC will fail to break down the door, nor that a
weak one will succeed.
Authors can restrict the area of effect for these abilities to the purely
physical world, or they can be more ambitious and allow NPC reactions to
change as well. For example, NPCs may feel intimidated by the strong PC,
but would perhaps place more trust in the weak one. This is edging towards
the problems presented by a choice of distinct personalities; the advantage
is that the authors have complete control over how far they wish to take
it. The artificiality of NPCs treating all PCs the same during the game
is replaced by the artificiality of a "character creation" process for one
PC at the start.
Interestingly enough, this scheme also offers a means of helping beginning
players. In WISHBRINGER, they could use the magic stone to bypass difficult
puzzles while seasoned players carried on without it. Similarly, beginners
could take a Strong, Nimble character while diehards could attempt the game
with someone who was Weak and Clumsy.
--------------------
VIII. Conclusion
--------------------
Although I have presented fixed categories for the handling of PC identity
in this article, the descriptions I give are flagpoles with games
positioned around and between them, rather than pigeonholes. For instance,
I have "categorized" MOONMIST as an amorphous hero game even though it is
part of the mystery genre. I felt the game made little use of the genre's
conventions, in effect saying "You are the detective -- now detect." Other
mystery games such as WITNESS use the trappings of the genre to influence
the player.
JIGSAW is another game that by all reports defies simple classification
(again, I have not played it for long). It looks like an amorphous hero
game, but (from what others have said) the characterization is such that
it could also be described as a fixed-character, though undetermined gender,
game.
I am not ranking the categories, with the amorphous hero at the bottom.
Although I do agree with Doug (and others) that fixed characters offer
more scope to expand the story side of IF, my favorite game to date
remains TRINITY (with LEATHER GODDESSES supplying my favorite ending).
In evolutionary terms, there has been an "adaptive radiation" rather than
a "ladder of success."
In some ways, the more you understand the motivations and limitations of
a PC, the more satisfying the game. This can be achieved using any of the
game styles described above, so long as the authors use methods appropriate
to the style.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Q&A With Stu Galley
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[Matt Newsome (
[email protected]) contributed the following brief
exchange he had with Stu Galley, author of The Witness and Seastalker for
Infocom.]
Q. Do you still see the other Implementors?
Yes, the ones that still live near Boston usually gather at Steve Meretzky's
house every year on Oscar night to predict the winners and watch the results.
Q. I read that you started work on HGTTG2 (Restaurant). Can you give a
quick synopsis of the type of thing you would have included/did include?
I started working from "The Original Radio Scripts" (Pan Books, London,
1985). The first game ended in the middle of the third program, so I
wanted to carry on with Magrathea, Deep Thought, Milliways, and so on.
There would have been time travel, and perhaps a quest to find a "spork"
and/or "towelette" from the restaurant.
Q. If you still have Dave Ardito's Zork I poster, would you/he be prepared
to put a GIF of it on the net? (pretty please!)
I don't know where to find a scanner that's big enough. I think there
might be a small version in the above-mentioned archive at GMD.
Q. I'm English -- can you *please* explain what you all meant by MSG
overdose?!
Chinese restaurants in the States often add monosodium glutamate to the
food they serve in order to enhance the flavor. Some people react to the
substance with dizziness and other strange mental activity.
Q. Reading the transcript of the [Infocom reunion] conference on Feb 18th
1992, I got the impression that the only thing stopping more Infocom games
from being made is the financial security issue. Could you not produce
smaller games and release them as shareware? It's a fast way to the niche
market, and people have been known to make thousands from it! What do you
think?
I think it's very risky. I have heard only a tiny number of success stories
among all the hopeful shareware authors. Do you have documented info that
contradicts that?
Q. What does "Burma Shave" mean (from the signposts in Enchanter)?
It's a company that used to advertise in the States with a series of small
signs along a highway, instead of a giant billboard.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SNEAK PREVIEWS: Are AGT Games Making a Comeback?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At least among game authors, it appears to be enjoying a certain resurgence.
The two games below were both designed using AGT, although their plots
differ strikingly.
Pastoral Pitfalls is a new AGT game in which the player takes on the role
of a Lutheran minister. The object of the game is to complete as many
pastoral acts (that is, acts performed by a pastor) within the course of a
"normal" day. Pastoral Pitfalls was written with the beginner in mind,
and the puzzles are meant to inform and educate at the same time as they
entertain. Quite naturally, the game includes religious content, although
the purpose of the game is not to "convert" or "bash" anybody -- simply to
demonstrate, often in a humorous fashion, the difficulties of keeping pace
with today's parish pastor. Pastoral Pitfalls is written by Guy Marquardt
(
[email protected]).
In the game Panic!, Station Andromeda is a major crime-crushing facility in
a semiquadrant of the Solar System, Mark Two. Using the most highly-trained
officers and the most advanced Armada 959 Cruisers, they are extremely
successful. Now you will get to see what it's like. You play the role of
officer Kyra for four days of non-stop crime fighting. The situations
include a raid on corrupted Sirius Systems, a rescue mission at Station
Echelon, and a Descent into a death-trapped pit to rescue a hostage. The
game also includes the new, improved AutoNav system in the Cruiser, which
lets you go anywhere if you have the right NavCard, or word of
authorization.
Panic! is written by Colin Marshall (
[email protected]) under the label
FunWare Games. Colin noted, "Panic! is my most advanced game yet, using all
but the graphics feature of the Master's Edition AGT. Even includes
characters with Artificial Intelligence, such as Standard Andrea, who is
your partner for most of the missions. The reason this game is just a sneak
preview right now is because I have a minor bug that won't stop. Expect
Panic! on ftp.gmd.de in late July or early August." The game will be
shareware, but users can send in a $10 registration fee to receive Panic 2.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
GAME REVIEWS
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-----------------------------
SpiritWrak (Release 2)
Parser: Inform
Author: Dan S. Yu (
[email protected])
Availability: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/inform/spirit.z5
Requires: ZIP interpreter
Response to the XYZZY command: "A hollow voice says, 'cool!'"
-----------------------------
"SpiritWrak" is the first all-text adventure to be set in the Zork universe
since the demise of Infocom. It takes place in 976 GUE, after the great
Guildmaster (your character in "SpellBreaker") has brought an end to the
Age of Magic and given birth to the Age of Science.
You have to wonder whether this is an infringement of copyright. After all,
Activision still holds the entire Infocom universe in its unyielding grasp.
On the other hand, there have been three or four Internet MUDs (multi-user
dungeons) based loosely on the Zorkiverse, and I've never heard of their
authors getting sued. In SpiritWrak, unlike the MUDs, the Zorkian names and
places are complemented by some true atmosphere and Infocom-style puzzles.
The plot? You're a monk in a secret monestary where magic users continue to
practice spells, though the game refers to them as "prayers" or "chants."
Brother Joseph, the leader of the sect, has inadvertently used a Holy Rod
to summon the demon Anabais into the world, much like Belboz and Jeearr in
"Sorcerer." The demon shattered the Holy Rod into four pieces and scattered
them, so the player's quest is to get them back. The journey takes players
to the four corners of both the Eastlands and Westlands, to the Zorkian
cities of Frostham, Gurth, Aragain, Anthar, Miznia, and (New) Borphee,
among others.
The game's spell-casting system was quite obviously lifted directly from
Graham Nelson's sample game Balances. Players must memorize spells before
they can be cast, and once cast they're forgotten. Unfortunately, while
this system worked great in the classics, nowadays it's a bit irritating
to have to re-memorize spells again and again. A method such as that used
in Legend Entertainment's SpellCasting trilogy, where the player can simply
cast magic straight from the book, would have worked far better, and is
strongly suggested for use in future games of this type. I also missed the
amusing ability to cast spells on random objects. Most of the time, this
produces only a message to the effect that the spell doesn't work at all,
with no adequate explanation as to why.
Compounding this problem is the fact that magic is still deteriorating,
so there's a chance a spell will fail even if a valid target is chosen.
This feature wasn't really necessary and could have been eliminated, in
my opinion. Also, as the game has no day/night cycle, uncasted spells aren't
cleaned from the player's memory, and the player can't "forget something
in the shuffle" by trying to memorize too many. The only way to get rid
of a memorized spell is to cast it. Such quirks require "spell management"
in addition to the normal inventory management of IF, and it ultimately
detracts.
The puzzles are generally not hard -- very few are close to the mind-benders
in "Sorcerer" and "SpellBreaker" -- but many of them, particularly the new
ones added for Release 2, are quite clever, if a bit gratuitous. Release
2 also removes a couple of the less-than-intuitive puzzles and adds more
zorkmids for increased flexibility in riding the Great Underground Subway.
Nearly everything is satisfyingly logical, and there is plenty to do --
the game itself is vast, with a wide area open for exploration from the
inception (though Yu does take a few liberties with Zork geography).
The fact that the game is a direct and unauthorized continuation of the
beloved Zork history, rather than being set far into the future (as was
Return to Zork) may initially turn off some players, as it did myself, but
I gave SpiritWrak a chance, and it grew on me. It has that intangible
Infocom-esque nostalgia -- the sense of interconnected puzzles, items, and
travel that recent commercial adventures have failed to capture. Thus
SpiritWrak seems a more natural extension of the Zorkiverse than, say,
Activision's newly released Zork Nemesis, which feels more like a tribute
or pastiche. A great many obscure names, places, and other references, many
only recognizable from the original Infocom packagings, can be found in
SpiritWrak, and they fit in quite well without appearing to flaunt their
own presence.
Continuing the tradition of Zork and Enchanter, two of Infocom's most popular
releases, is a difficult undertaking for any IF author, and I applaud the
efforts of "SpiritWrak." Still, it remains to be seen how much of Dan Yu's
expanded Zork history will be taken at face value with regards to future
Zork adventures.
--C.E. Forman
-----------------------------
Gumshoe (Release 1)
Parser: Inform
Author: Mike Oliphant (
[email protected])
Availability: ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/games/inform/Gumshoe.z5
Requires: ZIP interpreter
-----------------------------
You wake up on the floor outside your office, in a drunken stupor. You
haven't paid your secretary in weeks, the rent money is due today, and
you're in deep to gangster Jimmy Voigt. But just when all hope is gone,
you finally get a case that just might save your neck...
These private detective cliches are the opening of Gumshoe, an IF
investigation that may not add anything new to the detective genre as a
whole, but manages to take text adventures in a direction relatively
explored. Infocom's mystery games typically cast players as a police
detective, and, though they broke from this mold with Moonmist and even
more with Suspect, the hard-boiled private detective genre was never
attempted.
Any sort of detective story is difficult to do effectively, as investigating
skills tend to be necessary in every IF environment. Players typically need
to pay close attention to their surroundings and piece together plot events
to discover what needs to be done next. Still, Gumshoe manages to be fairly
convincing, and contains a fair amount of depth for such a small game. Travel
to various places is accomplished via taxi, which creates the illusion of
vastness in a game whose areas have at most four or five locations.
The NPCs are mobile, well-programmed and responsive, and interactions with
them are necessary to gather information and make progress. Some, such as
the bar customers, have vital clues that you need to extract while others,
such as police detective Boggs, will do everything in their power to stop
you. This sense of being the underdog and working against everyone else
contributes largely to the sense of satisfaction obtained from overcoming
the obstacles.
Overall Gumshoe is not difficult, but it's easy to get stuck if you miss
an important clue or item somewhere. A couple of objects aren't listed in
any of the descriptive text, and players must deduce their presence. It
is possible to get the game into an unsolveable state in some instances,
but as the game is relatively short, having to restore is not a problem.
A nice feature is a "bad" ending you get if you earn your fee but don't
accomplish everything you should have.
Though released early, Gumshoe would have made a nice entry for the 1996
IF competition. It's about the right length and demonstrates good Inform
skills. I'm interested to see what Mike Oliphant has in mind for the
competition itself. With another entry like Gumshoe, he can't go wrong.
--C.E. Forman
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WHAT'S ON THE DISK
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The companion disk for XYZZYnews #9 contains the following game files. It's
a good deal for people who have slower modems -- at 2400 bps, it'd take a
heck of a long time to download the contents of the companion disk. It's
also a good deal for people with limited or no access to FTP sites or
online services as a source for new games. If you're reading an electronic
version of this issue, you can obtain this games disk with a print copy of
XYZZYnews #9 by enclosing $3.50 for postage and handling with the coupon on
the bottom of this page. If you play and enjoy these games, please pay the
shareware fees as applicable.
SPIRITWRAK--Can it be, a new text adventure game set in the Zork universe?
You're a monk in a hidden monastery where a terrible event has occurred
-- the demon Anabais has broken the Holy Rod into four pieces and dispersed
them -- and it's up to you to restore things to rights. This Inform game
by Dan Yu is freeware. (See review in this issue.)
LOOKING FOR GODOT--You kept telling your English teacher you would return
his copy of Waiting for Godot back "tomorrow." He's getting sick of waiting;
you'd better find it tonight. You have just completed a thorough search
of the porch and come up with nothing; where could it be? This Inform game
by Patrick Shaughnessy is distributed in the public domain.
PAST TENSE--You receive a package at your house addressed to an Agent Pritel
with instructions for a mission...but wait, you're not Pritel! Naturally,
the intrigue is just beginning...One neat feature about this TADS game by
Daved Nault is that you can toggle between present and past tense. Source
code is included.
GUMSHOE--This hard-boiled detective story by Mike Oliphant pits you as the
down-and-almost-out Joe Gumshoe with one big case to crack. This Inform
game is freeware. (See review in this issue.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
XYZZYnews Magazine/Disk Order Form
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Checks and money orders preferred. Please send coupon with
payment to: Eileen Mullin, XYZZYnews, 160 W. 24th Street, Ste. 7C,
New York, NY 10011.
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