Adventure Gamers - Forums

Luhr28 - 18 March 2021 09:39 AM

Karlok - 18 March 2021 09:19 AM

Luhr28 - 18 March 2021 09:12 AM

I’m wondering if this game is the first to provide a dialogue tree in a text adventure?

Dialogue tree?? I type everything. Whatever gave you the idea I didn’t have to?

 

I know. I meant dialogue tree in the sense that we’re given a choice of what to say.

I mentioned the endless list of suggestions in Lost Pig, haven’t you played it?

EDIT: Oh wait, I get it. You can only say things at certain moments. That’s not in Lost Pig.

>wave h-remover at thicket
We reset the device to h. The thicket abruptly shrivels and flattens itself, and in its place a ticket flutters to earth.

>get ticket
We get the ticket. It reads ADMIT ONE in large black letters.

>e
New Church

>e
Church Forecourt

>n
Cinema Lobby
This is a small, one-screen theater. Evidently the next showing is not for a little while yet, because there are no patrons in sight.

“Ticket,” says the ticket-taker automatically.

>give ticket to ticket-taker
“Here, have a ticket,” we say.

The ticket-taker frowns slightly as he takes the ticket. He turns it over front and back; looks at us in confusion; looks at the ticket again. Then he goes to the phone and makes a call.

I’m nervous. It’s evident that he’s talking to his manager. He doesn’t take his eyes off us for a moment. He puts his hand over the mouth of the receiver so that we can’t hear the whole conversation clearly, but the gist is still obvious: “...be fake… but… a TRICKET maybe? or, like, a STICKET? ...oh, all right.”

Finally he hangs up.

“Sorry for the inconvenience,” he says. “Your ticket looks a little different from our usual ones, but I guess the printing has been changed.”

He tears the ticket briskly into confetti, destroying all evidence of our crime, and points off to the west. “The screening room is that way. Thank you and enjoy the show. It’s not for a while, though.”

>w

Screening Room
Whatever is scheduled for later showing has not started yet, and is probably not destined to start for some time; at any rate, the screen is blank and no audience has yet assembled.

My backpack is stowed under a seat in the third row from the back. I figured that it would be undisturbed there for a couple of hours, in the dark and out of sight, and if anyone found it they would probably turn it in to Lost and Found. But it is a big relief to find it still there.

There are a flash drive and a monocle in the backpack.

We can go north and east to the Cinema Lobby from here.

>x flash drive
This is it: all my notes; the syllable-and word-generating programs from which I built my language vocabulary; the lexicon and pronunciation guide and grammatical descriptions.

And then there’s the research to support the product: citations; copies of journal articles and scans from books; contact information for people in the outside world I think could help me.

It’s everything I’ve been working on for the last three years.

>x monocle
This is no mere fashion accessory. It is the very top grade of authentication scope, designed for people who have to use them all day, and normally available only to employees of the Bureau of Orthography. If we look through the monocle at something, we can see its true nature, regardless of spelling changes.

You like that? I thought you might be impressed. My father got it for me. “For research,” he said, but I think he knew I just coveted them. At any rate, you’re not the only one with equipment.

>n
We get the backpack. Mine: a little bit worn, but capacious. It doesn’t have any identifying marks on it, and I thought a brand-new bag would look more suspicious. It’s closed.

Projection Booth
The booth is small and lined with grey carpet. It smells faintly of hot dogs.

A jotter is propped up next to the projector.

[Your score has gone up by three points and is now ten.]

>x jotter
It’s a little spiral-bound notebook, the kind reporters in old movies carry. It’s full of notes: running times of movies. Numbers of people in the audience. Who clapped during potentially subversive scenes. Who arrived in a group of more than three.

On the jotter is written “Red: audience 14. FM couple. MM couple. M in raincoat. FFFFF group. F. MF. M.”

>wave j-remover at jotter
We reset the device to j. The jotter flickers and there is a brief image of an otter in its place, but a legal override kicks in: a J-remover is hardware-crippled to prevent generating any living creature.

BTW, I’m completely stuck in the game. So that’s possible in easy mode. I know what I need but don’t know how to get it.

> take jotter
> i

>get jotter
We get the jotter.

>i
We are equipped with the following essentials: a backpack, a flash drive, your J-remover, a monocle, and a tube.

We are also carrying a heel, a jotter, and some toes.

The flash drive and the monocle are in the backpack, which is closed for greater concealment.

> wave e-remover at tube

>x projector
It’s an old-fashioned film projector, with a spot to hold a reel of film. The lens points at the screen.

>look at jotter through monocle
The backpack isn’t open.

>open backpack
We open the backpack.

>look at jotter through monocle
(first taking the monocle)
The monocle pings happily as we sight the jotter with the crosshairs.

>wave e-remover at tube
We reset the device to e. There is a flash of psychedelic colors, and the tube turns into a tub. Now a handsome, giant-sized tub with RESTORATION GEL prominently emblazoned on the front.

>get gel
We better leave the restoration gel in there until we have decided what to put it on.

>use gel on heel
We dip out a pea-sized quantity of gel and rub it gently onto the heel. With an audible SPLORT, the heel becomes a wheel.

I’m starting to understand how you got into all the places you got into. Not that I judge you or your line of work, of course.

The wheel is far too large for us to carry, and falls onto the floor.

[Your score has gone up by one point and is now eleven.]

BTW, max score = 100

>s

Screening Room
Whatever is scheduled for later showing has not started yet, and is probably not destined to start for some time; at any rate, the screen is blank and no audience has yet assembled.

We can go north to the Projection Booth and east to the Cinema Lobby from here.

>wave t-remover at seat
We reset the device to t. The device buzzes, puzzled. It is unable to create anything recognizable called “seas”, or perhaps it just doesn’t have sufficient power to handle the seats.

>i
We are equipped with the following essentials: a backpack, a flash drive, a monocle, your T-remover, and a tub of restoration gel.

We are also carrying a jotter and some toes.

The flash drive is in the backpack, which is gaping wide open so everyone can see what’s inside.