GENERAL I-F INSTRUCTIONS
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[NOTE: Some of the conventions described in this file are unique to TAPESTRY.]
WHAT IS INTERACTIVE FICTION?
I-F is a story in which you are the main character, the flow and
direction of the story is dictated by YOUR actions. This story is "written"
via a dialogue between you and the computer. The computer describes your
surroundings and the situation you find yourself in. You, in turn, respond
by telling the computer what you wish to do. The computer then responds with
the consequences of those actions, and so on...
BASIC INTERFACE
Below is an example of what you might see when reading a work of interactive-
fiction:
DEEPER IN THE CATACOMBS
Your intoxicated brain whirls a bit as you make your way down the winding
staircase. To either side lie the long-dead and decomposing bodies of the
Montressor family. The air here is slightly damper than above, and smells
faintly of rot and, oddly enough, roses.
The long and twisting stairs lead upwards and a slight side-passage can be
seen to the east.
"Come, my friend," says Montressor, pulling at your hand and guiding you
towards the passage. "The cask...the casks awaits."
> ASK MONTRESSOR ABOUT THE CASK
The greater-than symbol at the bottom is the computer's way of saying "What
do you want to do now?" As you can see, the person reading the story has
decided to try asking Montressor what he is talking about.
Time in an interactive-fiction story stops when the symbol appears. It only
continues when you have completed typing in your response and pressed the
RETURN key. So, you can sit and think about what you want to do next for as
long as you want.
You can make time pass in a game without doing anything at all (if, for
example, you wanted to see what Montressor would do next before taking
action...) by simply typing WAIT.
BASIC COMMANDS
You, the main character, can take any number of actions within the context
of the story. The most common action is that of movement. To move to
another location within the story, simply type the direction you wish to
go. Compass directions (north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast,
southwest, northwest), up, down, in and out are all valid movement commands.
LOOK is an important command, as it describes your immediate surrounds.
EXAMINE allows you to look closer at an object nearby. If you choose, you
can try TAKE, and pick it up. To get a list of what you're holding, use
the INVENTORY command. And if you find that you don't want to carry an
object any longer, DROP it.
LIVING THINGS
Many interactive-fiction tales contain NPCs (Non-Player Characters) with
which you, as the main character, can interact with. There are several
conventions in talking with NPCs. The ASK and TELL verbs can be used
to exchange information, as in:
Linus is here, pacing fretfully.
> ASK LINUS ABOUT HIMSELF
He looks at you, then shakes his head. "It's Susan. She's been gone for
two hours and I haven't heard a word."
> TELL LINUS ABOUT SUSAN
"What about Susan? Do you know where she's gone?"
> TELL LINUS ABOUT THE CAMPING TRIP
Linus's eyes go wide, then he smiles. "Of course! I'd totally forgotten!
Thank you!"
Commands can be given to NPCs by addressing them directly, for example:
You leap into the nearest cab. As you do, the cabbie turns around and sneers.
"Where to...?"
> CABBIE, TAKE ME TO WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK
"You got it," he responds, slaming down upon both the meter-flag and the
gas pedal simultaneously.
Questions can be answered using the SAY verb:
Cynthia is here, looking pensive.
> ASK CYNTHIA ABOUT HERSELF
She sighs deeply. "I've been looking everywhere for my grandmother's brooch.
You haven't seen it have you?"
> SAY YES TO CYNTHIA
Her eyes widen. "Really? Where?"
> SAY THE ATTIC TO CYNTHIA
"Oh! I must go get it immediately!" she cries as she runs up the stairs.
REFERENCES
Sometimes you'll come across references such as books and papers. Interaction
with them goes something like this:
Your thesis papers lie here in disarray.
> EXAMINE MY THESIS PAPERS
They're in a horrendous pile, a mocking reminder of how disorganized you are.
> READ THE PAPERS
Futile sifting through the papers, you remember that they're (vaguely)
organized into the introduction, the main paper, and the conclusion.
> LOOK UP THE INTRODUCTION IN THE THESIS PAPERS
Sifting through the papers once more, you find the introduction and read
through it. Seems good enough...
> READ THE MAIN PAPER
*YAWN* This'll take forever, and you remember Cynthia reading through it
earlier. She said it was fine. Might as well hand it in as-is.
> EXAMINE THE CONCLUSION
La-la-la. Sift-sift-sift. Sort-sort-sort. Now where is that conclusion...?
Ten slight-more-frantic minutes later you realize that the conclusion is
missing!
Note that LOOK UP, READ, and EXAMINE are all valid ways off examining
sections and topics within a reference.
TELEPHONES
Telephones in TAPESTRY are handled like this:
Your old rotary phone lies on the table next to your phone book.
> TAKE THE PHONE BOOK
Taken.
> READ IT
Hmm...unlike the telephone it's brand-new. You only have two numbers in it:
Linus and Cynthia.
> CALL CYNTHIA
The phone rings a few times, but there's no answer.
> CALL PIZZA HUT
You don't know that phone number.
> CALL LINUS
The phone rings a moment, then picks up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Linus? It's me."
"Hey! What's up?"
> ASK LINUS ABOUT PIZZA HUT
Linus laughs. "You don't know the number? Hold on, I'll look it up."
There's silence for a moment, then Linus gets back on the line and gives
you the number.
"Thanks, Linus. You're a lifesaver."
"No prob. Anything else?"
> HANG UP
You hang up the phone.
> DIAL PIZZA HUT
You dial the number Linus gave you. The phone rings a moment, then the
line picks up.
"Hello, Stevenson's Mortuary. How may I help you?"
As you can see DIAL and CALL can be used to contact a person or location
you know the number for. Once a person has been reached, they can be
communicated with as if they were standing right there. and the HANG UP
command hangs up the phone when you're finished.
