1630 lines
83 KiB
Plaintext
1630 lines
83 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
Whizzard's Guide to Text Adventure Authorship v1.0
|
|
by Kevin Wilson
|
|
|
|
Hello. I'd like to start out this guide by suggesting a few other
|
|
places you can look for information on writing text adventures. Then we can
|
|
move on to the good stuff.
|
|
|
|
Internet Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction, rec.games.programmer (for graphic
|
|
adventures and programming.), and occasionally rec.games.int-fiction.
|
|
If you like to get others' opinions of your ideas, or whatever, bring
|
|
them to r.a.i-f. It's my favorite newsgroup. It's also a good place to
|
|
look for betatesters for your games and to do a little bit of advertising
|
|
(nothing commercial please, only shareware.) Be sure that you understand
|
|
that r.a.i-f is primarily for discussing authorship, while r.g.i-f is
|
|
centered around game hints and such, looking for old Infocom games or
|
|
selling them, etc. See you there!
|
|
|
|
FTP sites: ftp.gmd.de is the primary repository of the great IF of our time.
|
|
There are also several authoring systems, and lots of Infocom information
|
|
as well.
|
|
|
|
Authoring systems: There is an authoring-system-FAQ (Frequently Asked
|
|
Questions) on ftp.gmd.de that will cover this section quite well. Let me
|
|
recommend either TADS or Inform. They are both excellent systems, each
|
|
with its own strong points. TADS is shareware, registration $40, while
|
|
Inform is freeware. I personally use TADS though, as I prefer its
|
|
C formatted programming style. Inform reminds me of LISP a bit.
|
|
|
|
Other Good Guides: There are only two decent authorship guides out there that
|
|
I've read. One is contained in the TADS manual that you receive upon
|
|
registration, and the other is in the Inform manual, in particular the
|
|
Player's Bill of Rights which has several good suggestions.
|
|
|
|
My e-mail address is currently whizzard@uclink.berkeley.edu, but that could
|
|
change for some odd reason. I'll try to keep the latest address in here
|
|
though, so don't worry. If all else fails, post on r.a.i-f looking for
|
|
me. Please report any mistakes or misspellings in this guide to me. I'd
|
|
appreciate it greatly. Thanks! And now for something completely
|
|
different....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
===========================================================
|
|
The Table of Contents Part 6
|
|
===========================================================
|
|
Above ..............Introduction and other sources of Info.
|
|
1 ............What does Interactive Fiction mean to me?
|
|
2-4 ...........................The three parts of a game.
|
|
5 ............Writing IF as compared to writing a book.
|
|
6 ................................The Elements of plot.
|
|
7 ..The Story, or 'Where do I find an idea for a game?'
|
|
8 .......................................The Zen of IF.
|
|
9 ..........................The Thirty-Six basic Plots.
|
|
10 ..................An in-depth look at my 9 favorites.
|
|
11 ...................Developing your game's Atmosphere.
|
|
12 .................The other people in your game, NPCs.
|
|
13 .....................The player's good buddies, pets.
|
|
14 .........................................Betatesting.
|
|
15 ..............The gimmick and its place in your game.
|
|
16 ....Packaging your game with an eye for registration.
|
|
17 ................Marketing and distributing your game.
|
|
Afterword and closing comments..........................
|
|
Useful Addresses........................................
|
|
An advertisement for Vertigo Software...................
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note: I often use he to refer to the player. This reflects on nothing
|
|
other than my own tendency to write to a male perspective. Sorry ladies.
|
|
|
|
This guide is written for the experienced text adventure player who
|
|
has decided to write his own game. I use references to several of the old
|
|
Infocom game. You may also notice that I refer to movies and TV to point out
|
|
dramatic techniques that I like. I tried to keep the information in this
|
|
guide new and entertaining. I would also suggest that you look at the Inform
|
|
manual before writing a game. It covers several basic strategies that I left
|
|
out, since it already exists elsewhere. I mostly concentrated on the actual
|
|
elements of writing and style that makes a good game. I hope you enjoy it.
|
|
|
|
1 --------- What does Interactive Fiction mean to me? ----------------------
|
|
|
|
Well, IF means a lot of different things to different people. Hence
|
|
the title above. This is simply an explanation of what IF means to ME. You
|
|
may not agree, that's your Constitutional right.
|
|
IF is an artform, a work of love. I use the term to refer to text
|
|
adventures exclusively. So, IF is to graphic games what books are to Network
|
|
television. They are geared towards a more cerebral audience. The people
|
|
that write IF usually have a deep-set love for language and its nuances. We
|
|
are not satisfied with a few little mouse icons as a user interface. Instead
|
|
we try to harness as much natural language as we can. Thus, you might be
|
|
able to type >PICK UP EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE BLOW-UP DOLL, and a good IF game
|
|
will understand you. Bear in mind, however, that any language, such as
|
|
English, is hopelessly large. We simply cannot cover every conceivable word.
|
|
But we try. Also, you should realize that IF has a fairly small market these
|
|
days. It has been shoved aside by graphic games and given a bad name in the
|
|
eyes of the new generation of computer users. My personal theory is that
|
|
each new generation is being raised with more and more emphasis placed on
|
|
visual stimulus in the form of television, WINDOWS 3.1, etc. This carries
|
|
over into their recreation, and so, we are left with a smaller percentage of
|
|
the populace each year that is literate enough to enjoy a good text adventure
|
|
and understand the references made in them. C'est la vie. The upshot of
|
|
this is that, if you enjoy IF, you really need to support the few authors
|
|
that produce it, or it's going to die out. So be sure to register your games
|
|
and run out and buy Lost Treasures of Infocom 1 and 2 so that Activision
|
|
knows what we like.
|
|
I seem to have departed from my original topic. You'll
|
|
find that I tend to drift around in my writing. Anyhow, back to IF. There
|
|
are a few requirements for any would be IF author. You need patience, lots
|
|
of free time, an eye for organization, excellent writing skills, and, most
|
|
importantly, a spell checker. IF players demand literacy in their games.
|
|
You need to have a broad background of reading and playing IF. The broader
|
|
your base, the more ideas you'll find will come to you. Anyways, that's a
|
|
fair view of my impression of IF. Oh, here's a list of my criteria for IF:
|
|
|
|
1.) Is it fun to play?
|
|
2.) Does it get my message across?
|
|
3.) Does it allow the player much freedom?
|
|
4.) Are the characters unique and well-done?
|
|
5.) Does it have replayability?
|
|
|
|
2 ----------- The Three Parts of a Game. Part 1: The Beginning -----------
|
|
|
|
IF can be split into three distinct sections, the beginning, the
|
|
middle, and the end. The beginning should be fast moving, short, and
|
|
attention grabbing. Here is where you will lose most of your potential
|
|
players. If they get bored early on, then they'll delete the game without
|
|
ever giving it a chance. I've been known to do this myself. Don't make the
|
|
initial puzzles too difficult. Don't worry if the beginning is fairly linear
|
|
in nature, you'll have plenty of time to branch it out in the middle. Also,
|
|
if your game has no set main character, here is where you should have the
|
|
player decide on the character's sex. The bathroom approach in Leather
|
|
Goddesses of Phobos was a good one, or the ticket in Ballyhoo. Try to avoid
|
|
the generic method of just asking what their sex is though, IF is all about
|
|
atmosphere and mood. Here is a list of important things to do in the
|
|
beginning of your game:
|
|
|
|
1.) Establish the setting.
|
|
2.) Grab the player's attention.
|
|
3.) Reveal the character's purpose and motivation.
|
|
4.) Establish the character's sex or identity.
|
|
5.) Introduce important characters for later use.
|
|
|
|
3 ----------------------------- The Middle. --------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Now that you've done all that, you've got to start giving the player
|
|
some room to maneuver. There should be several puzzles available to them at
|
|
any one time. Not all of the puzzles should be mandatory, and several should
|
|
have multiple solutions that work. I prefer at least one difficult solution
|
|
and one easier solution. This should be reflected through the points
|
|
awarded. Also, have some areas that are only available to the player if he
|
|
solves a puzzle one way, and a different area if he solves it another way.
|
|
Here's an example:
|
|
|
|
There is corridor ending in a blank wall just ahead. On the wall is
|
|
a lever. Examining it furthur, you see a pair of wings above it, and a fish
|
|
below it. The lever sticks out at a 90-degree angle.
|
|
|
|
Path 1:
|
|
|
|
>PULL LEVER UP
|
|
|
|
The corridor begins to grind upwards. As it does so, a beam of light
|
|
strikes the ground before you, gradually widening as the new exit is
|
|
exposed. Finally, the grinding noises stop, and you are left with a gorgeous
|
|
view of the blue sky.
|
|
|
|
>UP
|
|
|
|
You climb up the tilted corridor and find yourself on top of a mesa.
|
|
Clouds rush by above you in a manner reminiscent of time-lapse photography.
|
|
They seem to flicker through a variety of shapes familiar to you. Giraffes,
|
|
elephants, and horses all dance before you in a vast kaleidoscope of the
|
|
heavens.
|
|
There is a pair of wings lying nearby.
|
|
|
|
> GET WINGS AND WEAR THEM
|
|
|
|
Ok.
|
|
|
|
> FLY
|
|
(Up.)
|
|
|
|
You fly up into the sky, reveling in the magnificent feeling of
|
|
freedom that comes over you. As you climb in altitude, the wax on your
|
|
wings begins to melt in the desert sun.
|
|
|
|
> UP
|
|
|
|
You dip and bob on the gentle wind currents, climbing ever higher.
|
|
Suddenly, the feathers on your wings begin to flutter off as the wax that
|
|
holds them in place melts. You flail your arms wildly as you plunge
|
|
screaming down to the ground, to no avail.
|
|
|
|
** YOU HAVE DIED **
|
|
|
|
Path 2:
|
|
|
|
>PULL LEVER DOWN
|
|
|
|
The corridor begins to grind downwards. As it does so, the rippling
|
|
effect of light reflecting off of water becomes visible to you. Finally,
|
|
the grinding noises stop, and you are left with a wonderful view of an
|
|
underground beach and ocean.
|
|
|
|
>DOWN
|
|
|
|
You climb down the tilted corridor and find yourself on top a deserted
|
|
beach. There is a beautiful ocean stretching out before you in this sunless
|
|
grotto. Waves lap at the white sands, and seashells litter the beach
|
|
alongside clumps of seaweed and driftwood. Peering into the shallow water
|
|
just offshore, you can just make out the form of a pentagram.
|
|
|
|
>ENTER PENTAGRAM
|
|
|
|
Wading out into the shallows, you cautiously approach the pentragram,
|
|
aware of legends that demons or spells are sometimes contained in them.
|
|
Reluctantly, you step into the center of it. Your eyes are blinded by a
|
|
bright flash of light. When you can see again, you realize that you have
|
|
been transformed into an octopus.
|
|
|
|
>SWIM
|
|
|
|
Confused at first by your numerous limbs, you gradually get into a
|
|
sort of motion that involves pulling yourself along.
|
|
|
|
You are surrounded on all sides by a beautiful coral reef. Your eyes
|
|
seem to be quite similar to what they were in human form, so you get the
|
|
colors as well. Tiny fish dart around you, and a succulent crab scuttles
|
|
past.
|
|
|
|
>NORTH
|
|
|
|
You have entered a deeper part of the reef. The coral is less
|
|
concealing here, and the fish are bigger. Much bigger in fact, for there's
|
|
a shark swimming right at you!
|
|
|
|
>SOUTH
|
|
|
|
You try to make a break for the safety of the shallower part of the
|
|
reef, but your fear agitates the shark, and you end up as a light dish of
|
|
kalimari.
|
|
|
|
** YOU HAVE DIED **
|
|
|
|
From that point, the player would either be flying or swimming to his
|
|
destination. Each path would have its own challenges and rewards. I tend to
|
|
try to keep the paths at around the same difficulty level though. Once the
|
|
player has chosen a pathway, make them stick to it. They can always restore
|
|
an old game and try the other path. For that's why you're putting in all
|
|
these alternate pathways and multiple solutions, replayability. You should
|
|
design your game so that the player can go through two or three times and see
|
|
different puzzles and places each time. Here's another list of important
|
|
things:
|
|
|
|
1.) Establish a series of sub-goals for the player.
|
|
2.) Expand on the characters you introduced in the beginning.
|
|
3.) Foreshadow what is to come in the end.
|
|
4.) Branch the story out to allow the player more freedom.
|
|
5.) Provide a unified theme to the setting and descriptions.
|
|
6.) Provide numerous puzzles for the player's enjoyment.
|
|
|
|
4 ---------------------------- The End. ------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Now it's time to close up all your loose ends, explain anything that
|
|
you already haven't explained, and send in your Big Nasty (tm). The Big
|
|
Nasty (tm) is the final challenge, be it monster, man, maze, or whatever.
|
|
This is where you want to ham up your writing and get a sense of urgency
|
|
going. There needs to be a time limit for this part of the game. The bomb
|
|
is ticking away its last minute, or the evil Vorlung is about to pull the
|
|
switch that will transform beautiful Marie into a six-armed monster. The
|
|
last puzzle shouldn't be all that tough to figure out though. Understand
|
|
that the player has been through hell to get here. He's flushed and
|
|
excited, thrilled to be at the end of the game. So you want to make him
|
|
sweat a bit, but you want to deliver the ending to him as well. Here's an
|
|
example of a decent ending:
|
|
|
|
>LOOK
|
|
|
|
You are in the control room of the alien ship headed for Earth.
|
|
Looking out its viewport, you can see an image of your planet swelling in
|
|
size as this runaway ship continues on its disastrous collision course.
|
|
Looking around, you see a chair, or at least you assume that it's a chair.
|
|
It appears to have been designed with someone far thinner and taller than
|
|
you in mind. There is a silver globe on the right armrest and a dull black
|
|
cube in the left.
|
|
|
|
>REMOVE CUBE FROM ARMREST
|
|
|
|
Ok.
|
|
|
|
The earth looms immensely in the viewport. Fire begins to trail off the
|
|
nose of the ship as it begins to enter the atmosphere.
|
|
|
|
>PUT GOLD CUBE IN LEFT ARMREST
|
|
|
|
The cube fits snugly into the recess left by the dull black cube.
|
|
Immediately the back of the chair lights up with strange scrolling letters
|
|
as the ship begins to level out for a more gentle landing in Indiana. You
|
|
sink, exhausted, to the floor, and begin to wonder how to convince the
|
|
people gathering outside the ship that you're not an alien invader...
|
|
|
|
*** YOU HAVE WON ***
|
|
|
|
So you see, the game above centers around finding a backup navigation
|
|
cube and getting into the control room to repair things before the ship
|
|
crashes into the Earth. The last puzzle is simple, but you have a short
|
|
amount of time to work it out, as shown by the reentry flames. Another good
|
|
ending is used in Trinity, where you have to cut the wires and prevent the
|
|
atomic test. Use your imagination and make 'em sweat it out. One more list:
|
|
|
|
1.) Use a time limit.
|
|
2.) Create a sense of urgency.
|
|
3.) Keep the last puzzles simple.
|
|
|
|
5 ------------- Writing IF as compared to writing a book. ------------------
|
|
|
|
There's one primary difference, interaction. The player MUST be able
|
|
to control his own destiny within the context of your story. You really
|
|
should also put in at least one or two 'happy' endings. Without a worthwhile
|
|
endpoint, the player is going to feel reluctant to any more of your games,
|
|
for fear of another poor ending. One nice touch is to have the game post up
|
|
some suggestions for things the player can go back and try differently. So
|
|
in my water/wing example, it might suggest that they go back and pull the
|
|
lever in the other direction. Personally, I am going to try to make my
|
|
games so that you can never see the entire thing in one run-through. This
|
|
will undoubtedly upset many people, but I feel that it will eventually
|
|
become a nice quirk, giving my games a reputation for being worth the money
|
|
paid for them.
|
|
Ack, I've done it again. Way off topic. Ok, back on track. I
|
|
believe that almost any literary technique is valid in IF. Anything you can
|
|
use in a creative writing class would therefore be appropriate in your game.
|
|
This includes things like foreshadowing, characterization, repitition (as in
|
|
something that shows up in several settings as a philosophic theme to your
|
|
game. For example, litter might appear in many locations in a game about
|
|
environmental decay.) personification, subtle metaphors, etc. Good writing
|
|
is good writing. There might be a few techniques that I would use, but I
|
|
can't thing of any at the moment. And that's about the sum of it.
|
|
|
|
6 -------------------------- The Elements of Plot --------------------------
|
|
|
|
This is a reprint of an article I posted to r.a.i-f:
|
|
|
|
Anyways, I found a good description of the elements of plot in, of all
|
|
places, Vampire RPG. Here are the parts of plot that they mention:
|
|
|
|
Setting the Scene
|
|
The Hook
|
|
The Buildup
|
|
Cliffhangers
|
|
Plot Twists
|
|
Climax
|
|
Resolution
|
|
|
|
I'll look at each of them in turn as they relate to IF.
|
|
|
|
Setting the Scene - Give the player a few moments to get used to his
|
|
character before you start throwing things at him. Allow him to 'look at
|
|
myself' if you want, I find it makes a nice touch to give a physical
|
|
description there. (If you have a pre-arranged character that is.) Here's
|
|
a good point, if you have a long intro, allow the player the option to
|
|
restore a saved game before you make him sit through it. I try to put the
|
|
intro a bit into the game, with a relaxed setting for the first scene.
|
|
|
|
The Hook - Whap! Something happens. His best friend comes running in to
|
|
ask him to hide him from the police, his spaceship blows up, a murder
|
|
occurs, etc. Hollywood Hijinx did a really crappy job of this. The hook
|
|
is important to the game, vitally so. Make it dramatic, sudden, and
|
|
give it the promise of exciting adventure. Tantalize them, draw them into
|
|
the game. Trinity does a great job of this. [I have had several people
|
|
send me e-mail verifying this particular statement. One of them was quite
|
|
certain that his game had died for lack of a good hook.]
|
|
|
|
Buildup - Give the player some challenges to overcome that in some way relate
|
|
to the plot. Don't let the player get bogged down in one spot, multiple
|
|
solutions are great for avoiding this. Get the suspense building up as
|
|
soon as possible. Give the player a sense of accomplishment as he nears
|
|
his goal, but keep drawing him into the game. Don't let up at all. As
|
|
Vampire RPG says, "Do not falter."
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger - A cliffhanger is pretty much a teaser. Something that makes
|
|
the player suck in his breath, and then let it out on the next turn. A
|
|
decent, but not great, example is Trent's deaths in LGOP. How about a
|
|
lever that, when pulled, does something, but only after a turn has passed.
|
|
Just as the player is about to scream in frustration, the world is okay
|
|
again, and life is wonderful.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist - By all means throw in plot twists. They keep life interesting.
|
|
Maybe the bad guy is just a puppet controlled by an even greater threat.
|
|
A friend could betray the player. Or maybe the player really DID commit
|
|
the murder! Switch gears so fast you strip them. The player will sit
|
|
there with his mouth open for a moment, then he'll be hooked on your game
|
|
forever.
|
|
|
|
Climax - Ok, enough dilly-dallying, cries the player. I've furled the magic
|
|
fumongerabob, and bummoxed the mighty spiffywhacker, where's the Big Nasty
|
|
(tm)? Give it to them. Both barrels. Make their blood run cold as time
|
|
ticks away until the end of the world unless they stop it. If the player
|
|
isn't breathing hard, you're not doing your job. Then, if you like, just
|
|
as the Big Nasty (tm) kicks up the white flag, he pulls a fast one, and
|
|
the player has to take him down again. This is your moment to ham it up,
|
|
don't waste it!
|
|
|
|
Resolution - The One Ring is molten slag, the damsel is rescued, the
|
|
government is overturned. Let the player enjoy it with a spectacular
|
|
ending. (The Rube Goldberg ending in LGOP is classic) This is the last
|
|
impression your game will leave on the player, make it just as jarring as
|
|
the Hook so he'll come back for the next one. I've played too many games
|
|
with a crappy ending in reward for solving fiendish puzzles. It's an
|
|
unbelievable downer when you finish one of them. Ruins the whole game,
|
|
But on the other hand, keep it fairly short. Unwind the player, let
|
|
them relax with a job well done. And, if you want, as a final teaser,
|
|
throw in some foreshadowing... (A shot of an unnoticed Alien egg.)
|
|
|
|
-----
|
|
|
|
As you can see, most of my opinions on the elements of plot are unchanged.
|
|
Moving right along...
|
|
|
|
7 --------- The Story, or 'Where do I find an idea for a game?' -------------
|
|
|
|
Writers often get asked this question. I don't, but what the hell,
|
|
it's my textfile. I think the trick to coming up with ideas is to have a
|
|
broad reading base. The more stories you've seen and read, the more likely
|
|
you are to understand what makes a story 'good'. So read everything you can
|
|
get your hands on. Then, late at night, or early in the morning, an idea
|
|
will hit you. It takes time and a certain mood. Once you get the idea,
|
|
write it down quick, or you'll lose it forever. Actually, that's just the
|
|
way I do it. You probably will have some other way to come up with ideas.
|
|
I suggest that you play your favorite music and read a good book, while
|
|
keeping a notebook handy. That works for a lot of people.
|
|
|
|
8 --------------------------- The Zen of IF --------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Ok, you've suffered through a fair amount of information on writing
|
|
IF, so I thought I'd take some time out and plug a little humor into this now
|
|
monstrous manual to Zork, the Universe, and Everything.
|
|
|
|
The Interactive Fiction Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
WANTED: A good plot. We seem to have lost ours.
|
|
Inquire at Activision.
|
|
|
|
LOST: One umbrella. Embellished with the slogan, 'All prams lead to
|
|
Kensington Gardens.' Great sentimental value. Reward. Lost up in
|
|
a tree.
|
|
|
|
FOUND: One battered old text parser. It seems to somehow portray the lost
|
|
innocence and fun in video games. Appears to have been carelessly
|
|
tossed aside in the rush to appease mouse-hungry users.
|
|
|
|
Text from a bottle found washed ashore near the new Infocom's HQ:
|
|
|
|
"Help! We are being held hostage in a soulless land filled with gaudy
|
|
graphics, purposeless quests, and (horrors!) a graphical user interface!
|
|
Won't that nice gentleman with the brass lantern come to save us, please?"
|
|
|
|
-The Inhabitants of Zork.
|
|
|
|
Well, I did say 'a little' humor. Very little. Feel free to send me some
|
|
jokes and such to flesh out this section.
|
|
|
|
9 ---------------------- The Thirty-Six Basic Plots ------------------------
|
|
|
|
Some years ago, a man named Polti noticed that a few basic plots
|
|
were fairly commonly used. Later, a person named Loren J. Miller adapted
|
|
this premise to role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. After reading
|
|
her work, I brought this article to the Internet.
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
|
|
The Thirty Six Basic Plots in Text Adventures
|
|
|
|
First of all, _The 36 Dramatic Situations_ by Georges Polti is the
|
|
work that this is based on. I would also like to thank Loren J. Miller
|
|
who published an article in a local gaming magazine. Her article inspired
|
|
this interpretation of Polti's work. So, without further ado, here are
|
|
the 36 Basic Plots....Replete with ideas for using them. Enjoy, and if you
|
|
find this useful, send me some mail and let me know. Oh, and if you
|
|
disagree about these plots, you'll just have to talk to Polti. :-)
|
|
|
|
1. Supplication: A persecutor and a supplicant take a grievance before a
|
|
power in authority. This can be any sort of court case or any
|
|
variation on that theme. Personally, this strikes me as a better
|
|
subplot than a full plot, at least in a text adventure. I mean, sure,
|
|
Perry Mason is great for TV, but I wouldn't want to play it.
|
|
|
|
2. Deliverance: An unfortunate or group of unfortunates is delivered from
|
|
a threatener by a Rescuer. This is one of the classic folklore plots.
|
|
Perfect for text adventures in my opinion, if you use a little
|
|
creativity. Let's look at the various characters. The unfortunates can
|
|
be the player, the player's spouse, a friend, a distraught village, or
|
|
even the population of an entire world, or universe. The threatener can
|
|
be animate or inanimate. A force of nature is sometimes more
|
|
threatening than a sinister villain. A whole series of Jaws movies will
|
|
back me up on this one. You could have a dragon, an army, a robot,
|
|
an earthquake, a volcano, a hurricane, or a breakdown in the laws of
|
|
nature. The rescuer is most likely to be the player, otherwise they
|
|
might feel a little left out of the game. But then, you might think of
|
|
a nice plot twist and give that role to another character.
|
|
|
|
3. Revenge: An avenger and a criminal duke it out. I really won't dwell on
|
|
this plot because there are a thousand different ways to use it, and a
|
|
thousand motives for revenge. Look at any of a zillion cornball action
|
|
movies for ideas, or better yet, don't. I can't stand those movies.
|
|
|
|
4. Vengeance by family upon family: I'm not sure exactly why Mr. Polti feels
|
|
that this plot is so different from #3, but I suppose he had his
|
|
reasons, like maybe a grudge against his uncle or something.
|
|
|
|
5. Pursuit: Fugitive from punishment is pursued by a pursuer. This plot has
|
|
promise. _The Fugitive_ immediately springs to mind. Also I could
|
|
see a game of human hunting, in the tradition of all those stories.
|
|
_The Running Man_ has a similar plot (the book, not the movie.).
|
|
A nice gimmick for a game would be to allow the player to try it from
|
|
both viewpoints.
|
|
|
|
6. Victim of Cruelty or Misfortune: This involves unfortunates and a Master
|
|
or Unlucky person. I assume that it refers to a slave master here, but
|
|
I wouldn't write about slavery. It disgusts me. But then, an unlucky
|
|
person meeting with misfortune isn't too bad an idea. _Bureaucracy_ was
|
|
centered around that theme. Maybe the main character is cursed by bad
|
|
luck wherever they go. Or maybe it's just an isolated incident of
|
|
spectacularly bad fortune. Whatever the case, the point is that there's
|
|
no real villain in this plot, just victims.
|
|
|
|
7. Disaster: This one says Vanquished power, and a victorious power or
|
|
messenger. It seems to me that I'm not looking at this the same way.
|
|
I didn't think there were any victors in a disaster, although I guess
|
|
that Polti is referring to the disaster itself, or some sort of
|
|
metaphorical Nature. Famine, storms, floods, planets being demolished
|
|
to make way for galactic bypasses...good stuff. Make the player a
|
|
firefighter, or a rescue pilot, or even a super hero. Then, give them
|
|
some people to save, or a way to avert the whole disaster.
|
|
|
|
8. Revolt: For this, you need a Tyrant, and some conspirators. Stir in some
|
|
peasants, evil guards, and shake well. Or maybe the middle class has
|
|
finally had enough of our bureaucratic government, and the player is a
|
|
cop protecting the system that he doesn't even believe in anymore. And
|
|
who says that a text adventure has to be set around a human? Maybe the
|
|
player is an alien, trying to overthrow our government? All sorts of
|
|
different angles.
|
|
|
|
9. Daring Enterprise: This involves a Bold Leader (tm), a Goal, and an
|
|
Adversary. I would say that this plot has a lot of potential for text
|
|
adventures. Pick your setting at will. The goal? Nearly anything.
|
|
I could see the player as the captain of a colonizing ship bound for
|
|
Mars with a traitor on board, and a meteor storm ahead. This one has
|
|
the added bonus of having a built-in sequel. :)
|
|
|
|
10. Abduction: An abductee, abductor, and someone who is responsible for the
|
|
abductee (maybe the abductee themself). This plot would suggest a
|
|
rescue or an escape. Personally though, I would find a game from the
|
|
viewpoint of a kidnapper in poor taste. So, I would set it from the
|
|
abductee or guardian's viewpoint. Watch yourselves if you use this
|
|
plot. There's a lot of censorship floating around these days.
|
|
(Thanks Tipper. :P )
|
|
|
|
11. Enigma: You need an interrogator, a seeker, and a problem. Two words,
|
|
_The Prisoner_. This was the greatest example I've ever seen of this
|
|
plot, even though I only saw one or two episodes. (I hope to rectify
|
|
this someday and see the whole thing.) _Amnesia_ was the text adventure
|
|
version of this plot. However. Everything I've heard suggests that
|
|
this plot is bad form for a game. Look at _Hacker_. No instructions,
|
|
and just that stupid login prompt. This plot starts too slowly. Maybe
|
|
you can develop into this plot, but don't start with it.
|
|
|
|
12. Obtaining: There are two or more opposing parties, a sought-after object,
|
|
and an optional arbitrator. Gee. Here's an original plot. Go fetch
|
|
the ring, Bilbo. Bring back the holy Salmon, Mortimer. We need the
|
|
_______ of Unearthly might, Fred, can you get it for us? Tried and true
|
|
on one hand, overused on the other.
|
|
|
|
13. Familial Hatred: Here you need two family members that (well duh) hate
|
|
each other. That's what familial hatred means, after all. Anyways,
|
|
here's another subplot for ya. The trick with this one is that you
|
|
have to overlay it onto some exciting story or another. Just plain old
|
|
hatred doesn't cut it as a storyline.
|
|
|
|
14. Familial Rivalry: Preferred kinsman, rejected kinsman, object of their
|
|
desire. Shades of _Hollywood Hijinx_ here folks. I'm sure that you
|
|
guys can do better with this one. (Although, I did like the atomic
|
|
Chihuahua. That was fun, stomping and smashing things.)
|
|
|
|
15. Murderous Adultery: Exactly why this is in a seperate category from
|
|
adultery I may never know. I don't always agree with Polti, but he
|
|
did have several great ideas. Anyways, you have two adulterers, and
|
|
the betrayed party or parties. This is a classic for murder mysteries
|
|
all over the world.
|
|
|
|
16. Madness: Madman, and a victim. Well then, I don't see why the madman
|
|
can't be his own victim, struggling against the slow fall into
|
|
insanity. Maybe he's the victim of some exotic poison, working away at
|
|
his mind. I still like the split personality murder plot, myself. Or
|
|
any other sort of debilitating madness that the player must overcome.
|
|
Or how's about this? The player is catatonic, aware only of some
|
|
fantasy world inside his own mind that is slowly becoming hostile to
|
|
him. Either he has to escape to the real world, or find a way to
|
|
truly enter his world before his family pulls the plug on him. I like
|
|
madness, it's a good plot.
|
|
|
|
17. Fatal Imprudence: Sort of like fatal stupidity. The ambassador to the
|
|
USSR accidentally leaves a compromising document in a briefcase that
|
|
is stolen, or a guard watching the crown jewels falls asleep and well,
|
|
you get the idea. For this one, you need an Imprudent person and a
|
|
victim or lost object.
|
|
|
|
18. Involuntary Crimes of Love: I suppose this could be classified as
|
|
Not-quite-Murderous Adultery. Or maybe the lovers are forced to kill
|
|
someone who stumbles in on their little affair. Use your imagination.
|
|
|
|
19. Kinsman kills unrecognized kinsman: Whoa, Oedipus Rex. Killer,
|
|
unrecognized victim, and a revealer. Another mystery plot or a nice
|
|
subplot that adds a poignant touch to any game.
|
|
|
|
20. Self Sacrifice for an Ideal: Hero, Ideal, thing or person sacrificed.
|
|
Just think of the Civil War, thousands of people gave their lives to
|
|
free the slaves in the south, even though they weren't really affected
|
|
by the slavery. Or the American Revolution's quest for freedom. There
|
|
have been innumerable causes throughout history, and many many more that
|
|
you could use as the motivation for a heroic sacrifice.
|
|
|
|
21. Self sacrifice for Kindred: Hero, Kinsman, person or thing sacrificed.
|
|
Not neccessarily a blood relation, just someone the sacrificer really
|
|
cares for and relates to. It need not be the player that does the
|
|
sacrificing, it could be an NPC sacrificing themselves for the player's
|
|
benefit, or for the benefit of another NPC.
|
|
|
|
22. All Sacrifice for Passion: Lover, object of passion, person or object
|
|
sacrificed. Reminds me of _Romeo and Juliet_. This is an excellent
|
|
plot, but it needs to be garnished with other subplots as well to make
|
|
a really good game. Really, all plots need that sort of enhancement.
|
|
|
|
23. Sacrifice of Loved ones: Hero, beloved victim, and a need for sacrifice.
|
|
I'm not really sure what would possess someone to give up someone they
|
|
love, but I'm sure you guys will come up with something clever. Oh,
|
|
wait, maybe something about a mercy killing, or maybe the loved one is
|
|
needed in a greater cause or something.
|
|
|
|
24. Rivalry between superior and inferior: Superior, inferior, object of
|
|
rivalry. Maybe a boss and an employee are both out for the same girl,
|
|
or an aristocrat and a commoner both seek the same public office, etc.
|
|
It's not too difficult to think of other stories for this plot.
|
|
|
|
25. Adultery: deceived spouse, two adulterers. Ah, goody, yet ANOTHER
|
|
adulterous plot. This guy really has a one track mind. I'll bet he's
|
|
got incest in here somewhere, by George.
|
|
|
|
26. Crimes of Love: Lover, beloved, theme of dissolution. Hmm, this sounds
|
|
like The Hand that Rocks the Cradle or some such movie like that. Lover
|
|
finds out beloved doesn't love him anymore, so he bumps her off. I hope
|
|
there's at least one good plot in this last batch of 12, or I'm going to
|
|
look pretty silly.
|
|
|
|
27. Discovery of dishonor of a loved one: Ponder. Could've sworn he used
|
|
this one already. Anyways, just think of _The Scarlet Letter_ here.
|
|
This might make an interesting story, but if anyone takes a Victorian
|
|
romance novel and makes it into IF, I'm gonna come a' gunnin' for ya.
|
|
|
|
28. Obstacles to love: Two Lovers, Obstacle. What sort of obstacle? The
|
|
tire run? :) Anyhow, this is an element of _Romeo and Juliet_ as well.
|
|
My plot outline for _The Last Day_ uses this as character motivation.
|
|
Really, I can't think of anything better to get a player moving than a
|
|
love interest/promise of nookie in the future.
|
|
|
|
29. An enemy loved: Beloved enemy, Lover, Hater. More Romeo, but there's a
|
|
good sci-fi movie that has some of this, called _Enemy Mine_. Well, _I_
|
|
liked it, anyway. Not neccessarily love, maybe strong friendship or
|
|
comraderie instead. An inter-racial friendship in the deep South 10-20
|
|
years ago. Or, in some places, even today. The hater is going to take
|
|
his bigotry out on the enemy and lover though, I guar-on-tee it.
|
|
|
|
30. Ambition: Ambitious person, coveted thing, adversary. Man, he was hard
|
|
up for ideas toward the end. Ambition is nearly always a facet of some
|
|
other aspect of a person's makeup. There are a few people who simply
|
|
lust for power, of course. They are called politicians. If you want to
|
|
write the _Dave_ of home computing, don't let me stop you. Other
|
|
ambitions center around money, love/sex, desire to avoid manual labor,
|
|
etc. Maybe you could write a game about a would-be video game designer
|
|
who's having trouble breaking into the business. ;)
|
|
|
|
31. Conflict with a God: Mortal, Immortal. Hmm, lots of possibilities here.
|
|
You could send the Angel of death after the player in a variety of
|
|
settings, like New York, or WWI or II. Or maybe you've been hankering
|
|
to write the IF version of Job? Don't forget the Greek gods, Roman
|
|
Babylonian, Pagan, and a zillion others. This one is fun because the
|
|
player is faced at an initial disadvantage and has to work from there.
|
|
|
|
32. Mistaken Jealousy: Jealous one, object of jealousy, supposed accomplice,
|
|
author of mistake. Oh boy! _Three's Company_! Seriously, this is an
|
|
absolutely lame story premise. I suggest you take up writing sitcoms
|
|
instead of IF.
|
|
|
|
33. Faulty Judgement: Mistaken one, victim of mistake, author of mistake,
|
|
guilty party. Hmm...the player is sentenced to death for a murder he
|
|
didn't commit. This sounds like a good start to a prison escape game,
|
|
where you have to prove you didn't do it, or, alternatively, flee the
|
|
country.
|
|
|
|
34. Remorse: Culprit, victim, interrogator. _Interview with a Vampire_?
|
|
The culprit would be confessing a past crime to someone, discussing a
|
|
victim, or so I would suppose. Of course, I'm not positive on this
|
|
one. My source gives only a tiny bit of information on it.
|
|
|
|
35. Recovery of a lost one: Seeker, one found. _The Vanishing_ would be a
|
|
good example to look at. This figures into most action movies as a
|
|
sub-plot as well. Unfortunately, it also figures into way too many
|
|
video games as well. Super Mario Bros., King Kong, Final Fight, the
|
|
list goes on.
|
|
|
|
36. Loss of loved ones: Kinsman slain, friendly witness, executioner.
|
|
The player learns of an uncle, sister, parent, etc. who has been
|
|
claimed by some exotic death, or killed simply by some street thug.
|
|
He decides to go see what happened/get revenge on their killer.
|
|
|
|
Having reached the end of the 36 plots, I guess I'll finish off by
|
|
listing those plots which, in my mind, have the most merit for IF currently.
|
|
Here goes, in no particular order:
|
|
|
|
Deliverence, Pursuit, Disaster, Daring enterprise, madness, self
|
|
sacrifice for love/an ideal, an enemy loved, conflict with a god, and loss
|
|
of loved ones. That's 9 out of 36 that I think have promise. You may
|
|
disagree with my choices of course, these are just my particulars, based on
|
|
this article. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I'll be sure to add it into
|
|
_Whizzard's Guide to IF Authorship_. :)
|
|
|
|
10 ---------------An indepth look at my 9 Favorites -------------------------
|
|
|
|
This part is new. I decided to spend some more time going over my
|
|
favorite plots. These are the ones that, to me, have the most potential for
|
|
use in IF.
|
|
|
|
1) Deliverence:
|
|
Unfortunate -
|
|
That blonde bombshell in almost every old detective movie.
|
|
Scientist's daughter (Mad or otherwise)
|
|
Mind-controlled innocent.
|
|
Abused child.
|
|
Group of Unfortunates-
|
|
The character's village, city, state, country, world,
|
|
galaxy, universe, and dimension are all good ones.
|
|
The character's family too.
|
|
Threatener-
|
|
Any army or other natural disaster.
|
|
Rescuer-
|
|
The player, of course.
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Portray a tranquil setting, with only a faint hint of what is
|
|
to come. The rescuer may be on vacation, or whatever you like.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
Something happens to bring the plight of the unfortunate(s) to
|
|
the rescuer's attention. It may anything from a murder, to an escaped
|
|
dying prisoner, all the way up to an alien invasion.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
The rescuer decides to look into the matter. You need to either
|
|
provide an overwhelming motive for him to get involved, or provide an
|
|
alternate storyline for the character to follow.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
Create imminent danger to an unfortunate with a puzzle between
|
|
the rescuer and the rescue. The buzzsaw scene in Hollywood Hijinx was
|
|
very vaguely an example of this.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
The unfortunate has been lying to the rescuer in some manner or
|
|
another. Either the danger was understated, or (for humorous effect)
|
|
greatly overstated. Perhaps the unfortunate represents the only true
|
|
danger to the rescuer.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
There should be a confrontation between the rescuer and the
|
|
threatener, whatever it may be. Be sure to eyeball the section on game
|
|
endings in this guide for general info. Reveal your plot twists now.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
Either the rescuer successfully completes his rescue, or he
|
|
flubs it. Or perhaps he discovers the true unfortunate held captive by
|
|
the phony one.
|
|
|
|
2) Pursuit:
|
|
Fugitive from punishment-
|
|
Ford Harrison (j/k)
|
|
An unjustly accused convict
|
|
A persecuted minority of some sort, such as a telepath or
|
|
space alien. (ET!)
|
|
A falsely villified person (Re, _The_Running_Man_)
|
|
Pursuer-
|
|
Police, secret service, enemy telepaths, air force.
|
|
Everyone.
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Firstly, you need to justify the pursuit. Tell the player who is
|
|
chasing him and why. Also give the player an idea of any unusual powers
|
|
or abilities he has, often used in sci-fi versions of this plot.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
Perhaps the player's escape from his enemies. Or perhaps a close
|
|
call with an enemy agent. If the player has powers, give him the chance
|
|
to use them here.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
The player begins to see signs of a subtle, but vast network
|
|
that is working against him. The puzzles get more fiendish as pursuit
|
|
becomes more and more serious. Helicopters and advanced equipment show
|
|
up more and more until....
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
Something goes wrong. An arranged rendevous doesn't show up, or
|
|
some device important to the character's efforts fails him. He is left
|
|
in a dangerous and precarious position. Maybe a friendly person has to
|
|
bail him out. Perhaps a similar fugitive, either an old hand or a
|
|
possible love interest.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
Friendly fugitive betrays him. Or perhaps is captured trying to
|
|
protect the character. Maybe the enemy is just a cover for a deeper,
|
|
more sinister organization planted inside it.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
The fugitive confronts the head of the organiztion, tries to
|
|
rescue his love interest, is captured by that deeper organization, or
|
|
has to perform something particularly hairy to get away.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
The player wins his freedom or flees to another country or what
|
|
have you. He also defeats the evil organizatio and rescues his love
|
|
interest. The player reaches deep inside himself and discovers a new
|
|
power that was previously dormant or supressed and uses that power to
|
|
overcome his enemies. Any or all of the above are appropriate.
|
|
|
|
3) Disaster:
|
|
Vanquished Power-
|
|
Mankind
|
|
Any government
|
|
Civilization
|
|
Victorious Power-
|
|
Mother Nature
|
|
Atomic War
|
|
Natural Disaster
|
|
Pollution
|
|
Anarchy
|
|
Messenger-
|
|
TV/Radio
|
|
A neighbor
|
|
A raiding party
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Establish the setting, then add some foreshadowing, like an old
|
|
man with a sign saying 'The End is Near' or something. Create a feeling
|
|
of tension and suspense for the player.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
The unthinkable happens. The end really does come. Hell, even the
|
|
old man is rather shocked. Earthquakes are a good, current topic for
|
|
disaster games right now. Atomic war could be fun to write about too,
|
|
but you'd have to steer clear of anything tying it to Trinity, and watch
|
|
out for reviews comparing your game to it.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
The survivors emerge from the rubble. Frenzied looting and killing
|
|
begins. The player has to protect himself (and his family?) I think the
|
|
game I'm describing here is going to need a warning label for Tipper Gore.
|
|
Serious themes abound, maybe tempered with humor from a religious cult or
|
|
crazy old coot. Anyway, the character's goal is either to save lives, or
|
|
get himself and/or his family to a safe place. He should accomplish this
|
|
during the buildup. After all, we have nastier things in store for the
|
|
climax...
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
The child is hanging from the edge of the cliff, with a slippery
|
|
hold on an exposed root. The raiders are shooting at you. The car is
|
|
teetering on the edge of the bridge. You get the idea.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
An unexpected source of the disaster. Secret government
|
|
experiments gone wrong. I would avoid any sort of dream sequence/
|
|
earthquake simulator in virtual reality endings. It cheapens what the
|
|
player has accomplished. The disaster is real. It has to be. Other
|
|
plot twists include follow-up disasters (germ warfare), foreign invaders,
|
|
and betrayal by a friend.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
Well, admittedly, a disaster is hard to follow-up by definition.
|
|
But still, there are ways to do it. Any earthquake sufficiently offshore
|
|
can generate a tsunami. That would one-up it. An organized, well-armed
|
|
group of raiders, perhaps military, can be a difficult challenge after
|
|
the character has settled into a home. Whatever you do here, it should
|
|
be exciting and fast-paced, with a time limit.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
There are several ways to end a disaster adventure. Most of them
|
|
involve finally settling down in their safe haven and starting over. Or
|
|
the rescue team arrives, or the invaders are repulsed. Use your
|
|
imagination.
|
|
|
|
4) Daring Enterprise:
|
|
|
|
Bold Leader-
|
|
The character. He can be:
|
|
A spaceship captain
|
|
A military leader
|
|
A visionary inventor or investor
|
|
A colonist
|
|
An engineer
|
|
Goal-
|
|
Colonize the planet
|
|
Get the settlers there alive
|
|
Build your revolutionary invention
|
|
Get elected
|
|
Finish your engineering marvel
|
|
Successfully complete your project or experiment
|
|
Adversary-
|
|
Saboteur
|
|
The government
|
|
A politician
|
|
The elements
|
|
An alien race
|
|
Shortage of funds or materials or labor
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Define the Daring Enterprise. What the hell is the player trying
|
|
to do anyways? How can he possibly pull it off? Who is his adversary?
|
|
Does he know all this? Where is the game taking place? Try to create a
|
|
tone of excitement and breathless anticipation. The character is excited
|
|
with his project or he wouldn't be a part of it. His head is filled with
|
|
ambitious dreams and an idealistic outlook.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
Take great enjoyment in destroying his idealistic outlook.
|
|
Something vital but fairly easily repairable goes wrong. Perhaps it
|
|
claims the life of his spouse or a dear friend. Perhaps it was on purpose.
|
|
The player would be rather interested to find that out.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
More and more things start to go wrong with the Big Plan. People
|
|
are becoming worried and many want to pull out. The player must unify
|
|
them or all is lost. The player begins to follow a trail of clues that
|
|
leads him towards the climax.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
His wife steps into an elevator. Suddenly it begins falling the
|
|
forty stories to the ground. He has only a few moments in which to save
|
|
her by activating a backup system, shorting out the control box for the
|
|
runaway elevator, or using some anti-gravity device or another. Other
|
|
ideas can consist of delayed impending death caused by the things going
|
|
wrong.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
It isn't sabotage. The man who sold them their materials was
|
|
pawning off shoddy goods that break easily.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
The player confronts the source of his difficulties. Justice is
|
|
tinged with revenge here. Concentrate on fast-paced action. I can't
|
|
stress this enough. The climax HAS to be the most exciting and stressfulf
|
|
in order to make a successful game.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
This should involve the completion of the project or invention.
|
|
Mankind takes a giant step forward thanks to the daring and cleverness of
|
|
the player. Do a little ego boosting. ;)
|
|
|
|
5) Madness:
|
|
|
|
Madman-
|
|
The player. Choose from a wide array of illnesses.
|
|
Victim-
|
|
Accidentall murdered person.
|
|
The player.
|
|
The madman
|
|
Madman's loved one.
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
You don't necessarily have to make mention of the madness, but you
|
|
had better explain things if its one of the big selling points of your
|
|
game. I'd like to do a game about a comatose patient lost in his own mind
|
|
or a fantasy world therein. I would replace the normal status line with
|
|
and EEG graph like _/\_/\_/\_ that progresses to /\/\/\/\/\ then
|
|
__________ or some erratic pattern as the patient's condition worsens.
|
|
The goal would be to either escape your mind, or find a way to remain in
|
|
the fantasy world permanently (and maybe physically). There are other
|
|
ideas that could be used for a plot, hundreds actually. I can think of
|
|
way too many to start listing them here. Again, use your imagination.
|
|
This guide is only that, a guide. You have to come up with your own
|
|
ideas. Good luck.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
After the player adjusts to his situation, it changes. His idyllic
|
|
fantasy world becomes an ensnaring nightmare. The police arrive and arrest
|
|
him for a murder he didn't commit, his other personality did. He finds a
|
|
suicide note that his other personality wrote (if he's aware of the other
|
|
personality.) and has to figure out a way to prevent the personality from
|
|
killing him. Something thrilling and exotic. Madness is something that
|
|
is endlessly fascinating to us. We just can't make any sense of it, by
|
|
definition. We study it in all its myriad forms, trying to cure these
|
|
people who don't perceive reality in the same manner as us. I like to
|
|
think that there's a madman somewhere looking for a cure for sanity. Your
|
|
game has to show a reality different from ours, and do it quickly, or the
|
|
player will get bored and quit.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
Reality and madness roll over him in succeeding waves. He is
|
|
projected back and forth, torn between two worlds. The madness may either
|
|
constitute a positive place, or a negative place that is worse than
|
|
reality. The player has to decide what to do to resolve the rift, because
|
|
it will slowly destroy his mind, until nothing is left. Or perhaps it's
|
|
a different type of madness, and events in the fantasy world reflect what
|
|
is happening in reality, causing the player to commit terrible deeds by
|
|
accident. Perhaps even a murder, then police pursuit could blend and
|
|
mesh with images of hideous beings pursuing him, screaming for his soul.
|
|
Like I said, a fun plot.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
Have the player cross between worlds at particularly stressful
|
|
moments, leaving his fate in the other world in doubt.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
His madness has been caused purposely by someone or something.
|
|
In a perverse twist, his life has become better since he went mad.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
The two worlds come together in a clash. He must decide between
|
|
the real world and his family or the fantasy world (and a love interest?).
|
|
Maybe he has some climactic thing to do in each world before he can
|
|
decide. In any event, if he doesn't manage it, something fatal happens.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
The player's access to one world or the other is cut off, leaving
|
|
him in the world of his choice. He is a hero wherever he stays, and his
|
|
family/love interest is at his side. He lives happily ever after.
|
|
|
|
6) Self Sacrifice for love/ideal:
|
|
|
|
Hero-
|
|
The player
|
|
The player's love interest
|
|
Ideal/Love-
|
|
Freedom
|
|
Player's love interest
|
|
Peace
|
|
Equality
|
|
Thing or person sacrificed-
|
|
Player's love interest
|
|
Player
|
|
A golden oppertunity
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Define the player's current situation, describing what he's
|
|
fighting for and why he's doing that. Perhaps you could also describe
|
|
what he's up against.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
An initial battle or event that causes the player to take arms
|
|
against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Perhaps because of
|
|
his love interest, or perhaps, in spite of.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
Perhaps the war for freedom (or whatever) has been going on for
|
|
awhile now, and the rebels finally have the chance to strike a death blow
|
|
against the oppressive government. Of course, this storyline is anything
|
|
but original, but then, I've seen some excellent implementations of it.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
I'm not really sure for this plot. Watch Star Wars for ideas.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
His love interest is fighting for the other side.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
A big confrontation between the player and his love interest. The
|
|
outcome of this battle will determine the future of our world. The love
|
|
interest sees the error of their way and sacrifices themself for the
|
|
plyer.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
The world is safe. The player is sadder, but wiser, and has the
|
|
satisfaction of having accomplished his purpose.
|
|
|
|
7) An Enemy Loved:
|
|
|
|
Beloved Enemy-
|
|
Alien
|
|
Opposing army member
|
|
Lover-
|
|
The player
|
|
Hater-
|
|
Other members of the player's army.
|
|
Members of the human/alien race
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Explain where the player is, and let him know about the enemy.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
He encounters his enemy in a situation where the war they are in
|
|
has no real meaning. A fight would mean the death of both of them.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
The two of them learn to survive together, each needing the
|
|
other's skills and talents. They face natural challenges or disasters
|
|
together, wild beasts, primitives, etc. They form a friendship eventually.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
The enemy is about to be killed, or the player is hiding from an
|
|
undefeatable enemy, hoping not to be found, while it searches the bushes
|
|
around him.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
I'm at a loss here. I can't think of anything that can really
|
|
compete with the inherent irony of this plot.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
A rescue force arrives and doesn't approve of the relationship
|
|
between them. If the two are of the opposite sex, they might even
|
|
be in love with each other. (Ok, so the 'opposite sex' bit isn't very 90s,
|
|
I'd hate to try and sell such a controversial game.) Eventually the
|
|
player has to protect his friend/lover and must choose between rescue and
|
|
friendship/love.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
Traditionally, the player would reject his society for his loved
|
|
enemy, but I say let the player make that decision. Don't try to pass
|
|
moral judgements like that without a good in-story reason.
|
|
|
|
8) Conflict with a God:
|
|
|
|
Mortal-
|
|
The player.
|
|
One of the player's worshippers.
|
|
Immortal-
|
|
The player's god.
|
|
The player.
|
|
|
|
Setting the scene:
|
|
Define just who the player is, and what his relations with his
|
|
god/worshipper are. Also setup the character's position in life.
|
|
|
|
Hook:
|
|
I can see two angles on this. Either the player is being tested
|
|
or toyed with by his god, or he IS a god, contesting with another god over
|
|
his worshipper. Either has numerous possibilities. I could see a
|
|
confrontation between the player and Death. Or a Job-like scenario from
|
|
Job or God's point of view. I'm sure the player would enjoy the novelty
|
|
of being a god.
|
|
|
|
Buildup:
|
|
The worshipper experiences a series of tests of his faith. Or he
|
|
has to evade Death, which seems to have some grudge against him. Or he
|
|
has to guide his follower through some tests or hardships.
|
|
|
|
Cliffhanger:
|
|
Your guess is as good as mine.
|
|
|
|
Plot Twist:
|
|
His 'god' is really a collection of special effects. Death is
|
|
after him because he is immortal. The worshipper considers converting to
|
|
a new religion.
|
|
|
|
Climax:
|
|
There is a direct mortal-immortal confrontation. The god decides
|
|
to do things personally rather than rely on agents to do what he wants
|
|
done.
|
|
|
|
Resolution:
|
|
Either the worshipper was found lacking, passed the test, or
|
|
switched religions. This plot is fairly flexible with what you can do
|
|
with it.
|
|
|
|
9) Loss of Loved Ones:
|
|
|
|
Kinsman slain-
|
|
Pick a relative, any relative.
|
|
Friendly witness-
|
|
Friend of player
|
|
Executioner-
|
|
Assassin
|
|
Bounty hunter
|
|
Random slaying
|
|
|
|
I would use this plot as an element in a game rather than basing the
|
|
game around it. It's an excellent way to add drama to a story, but it's not
|
|
gripping enough by itself to be a full story.
|
|
|
|
11 -------------- Developing your game's Atmosphere -------------------------
|
|
|
|
This is another reprint.
|
|
|
|
Atmosphere is vital to the feel of a text adventure, or even a graphic
|
|
adventure. But the trouble is, it's also a very tenuous thing to grasp hold
|
|
of. But, I'll do my best to see if I can decipher some of it both for my
|
|
own information and anyone who is interested. To do this, I'll look at some
|
|
specific atmospheres and see how I would create them.
|
|
|
|
Horror: I'll start here because it's one of the easier effects in my mind.
|
|
First, I'd start out by watching my vocabulary closely. I'd use words
|
|
like leprous, misshapen, and cancerous. Anything that gives a diseased
|
|
feel to the story. Then, I'd use a couple of Cliffhangers (see my plot
|
|
post) to frighten or unnerve the player. Also, I'd have some innocent
|
|
item produce frightening effects. I'd delve deep into horror stories
|
|
of all sorts and come up with a suitable Big Nasty (tm). Now, this is
|
|
only my personal opinion, but I would put the player's personae in danger
|
|
rather than a companion. Brings it home better. ( still think Horror of
|
|
Rylvania is great.) Hmm...some sort of wasting curse or slow possession
|
|
would be fun. Creaking doors, footsteps, I MIGHT use, MAYBE. Probably
|
|
not. They've become quite hackneyed. I liked one scene in Piranhas 2
|
|
where this guy drops his watch into a murky sink and you just know a fish
|
|
is gonna eat him when he reaches in...but it doesn't. Then, just as he
|
|
turns around, a fish jumped him. (Flying fish, hilarious stuff.) Scared
|
|
the hell out of me because I was busy relaxing. I might even plunk the
|
|
player into a dark room with a nasty, player only hears a slight breathing
|
|
and a steady scraping of feet that gets closer as he fumbles a match,
|
|
and then strikes another just in time to illuminate a living corpse's
|
|
face staring mindlessly at him. It's the little touches that make the
|
|
big impacts.
|
|
|
|
Next, I'll look at umm...
|
|
|
|
Mysterious - This one is fun. I get images of thick fog and strange lights.
|
|
Of corpses that have no business being where they are, and of course,
|
|
sinister men huddling in London alleys with scalpels. (There's a thought,
|
|
anyone want to write a game about Jack the Ripper? I'd be glad to help
|
|
with publishing and packaging and such.) Words like tenuous, inexplicable
|
|
and the ever popular moonlit trip from the tongue. I don't like secret
|
|
passages in old houses though. My idea of mysterious is this:
|
|
Something called _Lost in the Fog_. The player is a survivor from
|
|
the Titanic, adrift, clutching a life preserver. Freezing in the ice cold
|
|
waters that killed many of the survivors, it seems that death is
|
|
inevitable. Just then, a bell rings distantly through the fog, and the
|
|
player can swim for the sound. He finds the sound is coming from an old
|
|
Spanish Galleon, miraculously afloat.
|
|
He climbs aboard, and hears footsteps. The player evades the
|
|
footsteps and searches the ship, discovering that its crew is somehow
|
|
alive as well. Have they been transported forward in time, or he
|
|
backwards? One of the player's ancestors is aboard the ship, and will
|
|
befriend the strange young man who calls his name. But according to
|
|
legend, the ship went down in a vast vortex that appeared inexplicably
|
|
in its path. Just then, the player hears a loud rushing sound, and
|
|
realizes that history can't be changed, but perhaps, just perhaps, it
|
|
can be avoided. (Also, any Twilight Zone episode (the old series))
|
|
|
|
Exciting - It's probably inaccurate to describe exciting as an atmosphere,
|
|
but I want to, so nyah. Vocabulary - Lots of active verbs, words that have
|
|
connotations of motion, and active, moving sentences. This style would be
|
|
great for a James Bond styled game. Lots of leaping off cliffs, moving
|
|
trains, airplanes, skyscrapers, etc. :) Keep things moving is rule number
|
|
one here. Don't let up except for the odd romantic moment, if then. I
|
|
can think of at least as many bad guys as I have plots. Big muscle men,
|
|
Chinese plotters with fu manchu 'staches, sinister Russian agents, and of
|
|
course, the odd mad genius out to destroy the world. Actually, I'm
|
|
just joking. I'd never use any of those hackneyed characters. If you
|
|
can't come up with original ideas, then come up with a new hobby.
|
|
Originality is something lacking in a lot of games, and that needs to be
|
|
rectified as soon as possible. Anyways, I'd probably use the odd spy
|
|
gadget or two though. At least if I were writing a spy game. It might
|
|
be much more fun to write about a bounty hunter chasing down a mark. In
|
|
that case, it would all be standard gear. (Notice that I haven't ruled
|
|
out a hanglider anywhere. I hope to use one in a game someday.) You
|
|
could have car chases, bombs, gunfights, seduction, skydiving, white water
|
|
rafting or a high-speed motorboat chase. Lots of fun stuff to do.
|
|
|
|
Exotic - (As if the other atmospheres weren't.) I think the closest Infocom
|
|
game to come to this was well, actually, none of them. I would consider
|
|
exotic to be set in a lush tropical forest, or in Jamaica with a mysterious
|
|
houdoo cult, or on an alien planet where you do more than explore an old
|
|
station. Instead, I'd want to encounter and study an alien race. How
|
|
about a game set in a series of parallel universes, all somewhat different?
|
|
Say, they are all heading towards a similar destruction, and only you can
|
|
save these multiple worlds. Vocabulary - If it was set in a real place,
|
|
I would spend a week or two on researching its most bizarre aspects.
|
|
Otherwise I would spend a week making up consistant information on it.
|
|
(Someday, when I'm a big rich game writer, I'll just fly there and visit,
|
|
heheh.) The action doesn't neccessarily have to keep going at all times in
|
|
this atmosphere. It's okay to have rooms that have no purpose other than
|
|
interesting descriptions and information. (Although it is better to tie
|
|
that info into your puzzles.) Puzzles, ESPECIALLY in this atmosphere,
|
|
should reward the player with new areas to explore. Don't let the
|
|
commonplace slip into the game, unless it's to contrast it with the
|
|
strange local customs. Keep the descriptions full of dreamy words and
|
|
use all five senses here. Smells, tastes, feels, everything you can pack
|
|
into it to make the player experience being there. Make the Big Nasty (tm)
|
|
fit the setting appropriately. A crazed, loa-possessed cultist for the
|
|
houdoo game, a strange snake-god in a lost city, the force behind the
|
|
imminent destruction of the parallel universes. Just keep the player aware
|
|
at all times that he is in unfamiliar lands.
|
|
|
|
As you can see from the long descriptions, atmosphere is important
|
|
for any game. Be sure that you build up a feeling of unity in your
|
|
descriptions. The language used should tie together the setting and the
|
|
emotions you wish to evoke.
|
|
|
|
12 ---------------- The other people in your game, NPCs ---------------------
|
|
|
|
First, another reprint, then I'll expand my views somewhat.
|
|
|
|
5 Laws of IF NPC Creation:
|
|
|
|
1. Never, EVER, EVER have an NPC comment on the player's body odor. Why?
|
|
Damned if I know. This is just one of those rules that everyone blindly
|
|
follows without questioning.
|
|
|
|
2. Make 'em unique, even if ya gotta steal 'em from somewhere else.
|
|
|
|
3. Don't stereotype them please, I find this endlessly annoying. My one
|
|
exception to this rule is the senile old wizard, who I find endlessly
|
|
amusing.
|
|
|
|
4. Make their actions consistant with their personalities. 'Sir Robin
|
|
charges valiently into battle.' just doesn't make any sense. (For the
|
|
Monty Python impaired, Sir Robin was King Arthur's cowardly knight.)
|
|
|
|
5. Give 'em some emotions, and some conflict to sort out. Maybe the NPCs
|
|
daughter is dying, or they're extremely frightened of the dark and panic
|
|
blindly when shut into a dark room. Don't let the PC run roughshod over
|
|
'em, they have feelings too. If a PC attacks them, they should react
|
|
according to their personality. Maybe they think it's a joke, maybe they
|
|
think the PC has gone mad and kill the PC, maybe the police come and
|
|
arrest the player, or maybe the NPC just dies...
|
|
|
|
NPCs are the backbone of your game. Their unique personalities and
|
|
quirks will stick in the player's mind far longer than the puzzles you set
|
|
for him to defeat. What do most people remember, the Wizard of Frobozz, or
|
|
the key and doormat puzzle. I can't really do a definitive work on NPCs.
|
|
There are too many possibilities for you to contemplate. Instead, I'll
|
|
list a few important characteristics below, with a brief sentence on each.
|
|
|
|
1) Appearance - This gives the player a mental image of the NPC.
|
|
2) Speech Mannerisms - Such as a foreign accent, odd speech pattern.
|
|
3) Body Language - How the NPC stands, gesticulates, smiles, etc.
|
|
4) Motivations - Not neccessarily known to the player.
|
|
5) Interests - Shows in their room's furnishings, their belongings. Tells
|
|
a lot about a person.
|
|
|
|
If you pay attention to these details, your NPCs will be more
|
|
believable and interesting to the player. Particularly handle #2 and #4,
|
|
and eveything else will fall into place. Have fun.
|
|
|
|
13 ----------------- The player's good buddies, pets ------------------------
|
|
|
|
This is a reprint of another article, this one on pets.
|
|
|
|
1.) The term pets can apply to any object that follows the player around
|
|
fairly consistantly. A pet is not necessarily helpful, nor is it
|
|
necessarily harmful, it just is. Pets are not constrained to living
|
|
creatures, nor are they even constrained to animate beings. Take, for
|
|
example, the radio in Wishbringer that gave you advice.
|
|
|
|
2.) Pets tend to be very versatile objects, frequently their personality
|
|
will pervade the entire game. (Floyd, of course.) This can be a good
|
|
thing, or a bad thing, depending on how it is handled.
|
|
|
|
Okay, here are some pet ideas. Let me know if you've seen any used already.
|
|
|
|
1) The player is a wizard, with an imp familiar that is more often than not
|
|
leading the player into danger.
|
|
|
|
2) (A more general idea) The player is a non-human, with a non-human
|
|
companion. Part of the game is determining how best to use that companion
|
|
(say, for instance, the player is a rhinocerous, and has a friendly bird
|
|
that helps them spot danger.) This could also be interesting if you
|
|
have a human player, but a really exotic pet, like a shapechanging blob
|
|
of jelly. (see A Boy and his Blob, on Nintendo systems)
|
|
|
|
3) Heheh, here's a whimsical thought...Remember that cartoon with the frog
|
|
that would sing and dance, but only when no one else was around? Well,
|
|
that could be a rather amusing plot device, especially for those who have
|
|
seen the original cartoon. (Or maybe you find a talking dog with a similar
|
|
limitation, or a talking....horse?) (everyone sing along...A horse is a)
|
|
|
|
4) Non-living pets. Robots are the pet of choice in this department, but
|
|
there are a lot of humorous ideas packed away under this heading.
|
|
In THGTTG, the aunt's thing almost took on a personality of its own,
|
|
just by following you around, so maybe there's this certain object that
|
|
shows up everywhere, like a Monkey's paw, or a cursed ring. That's
|
|
by no means the only way an item can develop a personality, either.
|
|
The Jack-of-all-traits in Nord and Bert was quite interesting just
|
|
because of all the things you could do with it. And the two teleport
|
|
spots in Starcross. Any item that simply has a number of uses and
|
|
lingers in the game seems to me to become a sort of pet.
|
|
|
|
5) Non-living interacting pets. Ok, so you don't buy that bit in #5, well
|
|
obviously, objects can interract with the player in a number of bizarre
|
|
ways. Maybe the player is losing his grip on reality as a result of
|
|
some poison in his body, so items start talking to him and arguing among
|
|
themselves. His couch plays psychiatrist, his TV plays evangelist, his
|
|
shoes start remarking about the treatment he's been giving them.
|
|
("Oi! Not another puddle! Walk around it you arsehole!") Or perhaps
|
|
they can just naturally talk. (Via the talking credit card in Time Trax)
|
|
|
|
14 -------------------------- Betatesting -----------------------------------
|
|
|
|
I can't emphasize this part of game design enough. You really need
|
|
a good sized troop of testers. You won't find every bug, not even after the
|
|
game is released. But do try to get all the really nasty ones out first.
|
|
Call for volunteers on r.a.i-f, you'll probably get from 10-30 eager beavers.
|
|
Don't feel threatened. You'll be glad you had so many responses when mail
|
|
starts bouncing back to you saying no such account, and people flake because
|
|
of an unexpectedly heavy classload this semester. Take it in stride. Also
|
|
corner a few of your local friends and tie them to a chair and make them play
|
|
it for you. You'll get a faster response on bugs that way. I have found
|
|
that my game will work perfectly unless I let someone else touch the keyboard
|
|
while it's running. Then, pfft. The very first command one friend entered
|
|
crashed the game, and he gave me a dirty look. This will happen. Gird your
|
|
loins for the horrible, demeaning process of debugging. Betatesting is an
|
|
experiment in puclicly embarrassing yourself. It's got to be done, though,
|
|
if you want to produce quality games. So cheer up, and keep your mind on
|
|
the fact that you aren't paying your testers anything except maybe a small
|
|
registration discount on the game they're testing. Muahahahaha.
|
|
|
|
15 ------------- The gimmick and its place in your game ---------------------
|
|
|
|
Think of all the old Infocom games and consider how many of them had
|
|
a gimmick built into the game. Trinity had its pop-up poetry, Seastalker
|
|
its little radar map, Suspended its six robots, etc. You should put some
|
|
serious consideration into a gimmick. They cause your game to stand out from
|
|
the crowd. If anyone comes up with an intriguing gimmick they don't want,
|
|
pass it along to me. I'm always glad to get ideas, and I give credit where
|
|
credit is due.
|
|
|
|
16 ------- Packaging your game with an eye for registration -----------------
|
|
|
|
Now, what do most people remember about Infocom games? The neat
|
|
little trinkets and books that came with them, usually. Bear this in mind
|
|
as you plan your game. You should be planning the more physical aspects of
|
|
it even as you write it. Find out what packaging will cost as soon as
|
|
possible. Look at your budget (or lack of one) and decide what you can
|
|
afford to include. For my first game, I'm planning on strictly printed
|
|
props like diary pages and flyers. Later, if I get a good response, I may
|
|
go out on a limb and have a Space Miner's Union Member card done up, or any
|
|
of a zillion other things I could do. The trick is to keep your costs down
|
|
and shop around until you find the VERY best buy for your buck. The one cent
|
|
that you are paying more per copy adds up quickly to equal lost revenue and
|
|
funds for your next game. Even something as mundane as a rock can become an
|
|
exotic keepsake if you do things right.
|
|
Another aspect of packaging is notification of contests and/or
|
|
newsletters available from your company. I highly recommend contests open
|
|
only to registered users. It's just one more thing to help convince them
|
|
that their money would be best invested in your wallet. A newsletter will
|
|
probably have no immediate benefits. However, you will accumulate a core
|
|
group of steady customers that you can easily get input from. A company
|
|
can survive just off a good hardcore user group if it's big enough.
|
|
|
|
17 --------------- Marketing and distributing your game ---------------------
|
|
|
|
Oh what a tangled web we weave. In the new world economy, you want
|
|
to be able to gain access to as many dollars, pounds, yen, rubles, and marks
|
|
as you can. This isn't easy to do. There is a distribution company that
|
|
says they will send your game out to thousands of BBSes on a CD for just
|
|
$100 a year (to cover membership). It's called ASP, and I don't think I want
|
|
anything to do with it. They have some conditions which they slap on you for
|
|
the privilege of you paying them to distribute your game. You have to
|
|
include their various legalese files with your game. You cannot cripple it
|
|
in any way. You may not use any obstrusive regstration reminders in your
|
|
game. If I'm paying them good money, then I want quality service, no
|
|
questions asked. More useful to us are the various credit card vendors that
|
|
will take your credit card orders for a small part of your fee. This strikes
|
|
me as an excellent strategy to attract impulse shoppers to our games. Get
|
|
'em while they're dying to get the free hint book and paper cup included with
|
|
every copy of your game. Hell, let em order two copies. I'll include all
|
|
these important info things at the end of this guide. By the way, you'll
|
|
probably also need to get a P.O Box to serve as a registration sending point.
|
|
Now, don't neglect your customers. Get orders out in a timely
|
|
manner, and send a letter of apology to anyone whose order you take too long
|
|
on. A letter should be enclosed in any event. This is one of the elite of
|
|
the computer world, a registered user. Be courteous, but try not to kiss up
|
|
too much. They should feel rewarded for their honesty, not like they're
|
|
doing you a favor. If your program is good, then it deserves the
|
|
registration. If you have future projects planned, then try to stick a
|
|
'catalog' in with your registered version describing them. Keep track of
|
|
your registered users, and send out pamphlets when you have another game and
|
|
some money to spend on them. Good god, what I wouldn't do for a roster of
|
|
the Zork User's Group, or a list of those people who sent in the warranty
|
|
cards from Lost Treasures of Infocom 1 and 2. Sadly, the former no longer
|
|
exists, and Activision has the latter. Too bad they'll never use it in the
|
|
manner in which it is meant to be used. See if your local computer stores
|
|
are interested in carrying a few registered versions in stock, but don't hold
|
|
your breath. I would suggest print advertising if it weren't for the
|
|
tremendous expense involved.
|
|
Now that you've jumped those hurdles, you're going to try for some
|
|
FREE advertising, or nearly so. Contact every magazine listed at the bottom
|
|
of this guide and offer to send them a registered version to review. Do
|
|
this only after you have a product that stands up to betatesting and looks
|
|
as good as you're willing to pay for. Enclose a short note notifying the
|
|
magazine that they are not eligable for any contest you're running. You're
|
|
giving them a free sample, it's not fair to let them win the goodies too.
|
|
Anyway, keep in close contact with them, answer their questions, offer to
|
|
write articles on the hardships of IF. If you're lucky and your game is
|
|
good, it'll get some rave reviews. If you get poor reviews, try not to take
|
|
it too hard. The magazine is just doing its job as it sees fit. Try harder
|
|
next time, or, if they are violently opposed to text adventures, stop sending
|
|
them sample copies to review. A text adventure should be judged on merit
|
|
rather than lack of flashy graphics and sound.
|
|
Well, if you've gotten this far, congratulations, you did well. You
|
|
have released a new text adventure out into the hungry waters of the market.
|
|
Cross your fingers and whisper a quiet prayer to the gods that blessed Zork
|
|
I really hope that the money starts flowing in, at least enough to make it
|
|
worth your while. As I said, IF seems to have a small market, but I think if
|
|
we have enough quality products out there that are well marketed, we might be
|
|
able to edge our foot back in the door. Keep pushing your game every chance
|
|
you get. Post it on flyers around your school, or the bulletin board at
|
|
work. People are always interested in a small 'home-town' company. Work
|
|
your way up to the point where you can afford trinkets for your packages,
|
|
and glossy pictures on the box covers. Eventually you may have a respected
|
|
company, able to leave the difficult whitewater shareware market and move on
|
|
to the smoother retail market. My best wishes go with you.
|
|
|
|
Afterword and Closing -------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Thank you for taking the time to read my guide to writing text
|
|
adventures. I hope that you've profited from my work. I hope that you've
|
|
found it somewhat witty and not too boring. I hope that you'll write a
|
|
text adventure. If you do, send me a copy, would you? I enjoy these sort of
|
|
things. What follows this is a list of useful places to contact as you are
|
|
getting your game together. There are also some helpful hints intersoersed
|
|
in there. Finally, there will be a warning, and then a plug for my own
|
|
company, Vertigo software. You needn't read it if you don't want to.
|
|
Goodbye and remember:
|
|
|
|
"Imagination sold and serviced here."
|
|
|
|
A List of Useful Addresses --------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Most useful addresses you can get from The Shareware Book. It is ftp'able
|
|
from wuarchive.wustl.edu as /systems/ibmpc/msdos/info/sharebk1.zip. This
|
|
is a fairly comprehensive guide. Actually, I believe that I will just refer
|
|
you to it here because I can't hope to match the number of useful addresses
|
|
he has in this book. Excellent book, but be warned, it will depress you.
|
|
He takes the standpoint of a hardcore businessman that sells business
|
|
software. The only mention of text adventures per se is a small blurb in
|
|
the 'Not Hot' section advising you not to write them. I say write your game,
|
|
but don't let your hopes get up too high. Also, in regards to the book, I
|
|
would work my way up to some of the things he describes. Definitely try to
|
|
find and use an uploading service though. You do want as much distribution
|
|
as possible. And definitely rig an agreement with some company to handle
|
|
credit card orders. That's really all I would worry about until you get a
|
|
magazine review or two, and start to sell some copies. Maybe after awhile
|
|
you could try and distribute overseas. I'm not too clear on what's involved,
|
|
but it seems complicated. There are some registration services overseas that
|
|
you might use, though. Well, that about covers it. All the addresses and
|
|
phone numbers and such are in this book. Good book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisement Warning -------------------------------------------------------
|
|
*****************************************************************************
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
|
|
Mankind must put an end to War, or
|
|
War will put an end to Mankind.
|
|
|
|
- John F. Kennedy
|
|
|
|
War has never been pretty. It probably
|
|
never will be. But you're not worried
|
|
about that right now. Your name is Frank
|
|
Leandro, and you're in the middle of a hot
|
|
poker game. That, of course, is when the
|
|
grenade comes rolling across the floor.
|
|
For you see, you're an enlisted man in
|
|
Vietnam. The year is 1968, and you're
|
|
about to die. But, as Alexander Smith once
|
|
wrote, "Death takes away the commonplace of
|
|
life. "
|
|
Indeed, you find yourself suddenly
|
|
caught up in the land of Avalon, where King
|
|
Arthur was sent after his mortal battle with
|
|
Mordred. But all is not well in Avalon.
|
|
Arthur and his knights are fading spirits,
|
|
while Mordred and Morgan Le Fay play havok
|
|
with the land. And somehow, you're supposed
|
|
to use the Holy Grail to restore yourself to
|
|
life, only Mordred has poisoned it. You've
|
|
also got to deal with cruel faeries, spiteful
|
|
squirrels, senile sorcerors, and deadly dragons.
|
|
Man, being dead is a real pain in the butt.
|
|
|
|
Technical report:
|
|
|
|
NPCS: Currently: 18 Expected: 30+ (There is a host of distinctive beings
|
|
to interact with.)
|
|
|
|
ROOMS: Currently: 50 Expected: 120+ (Five seperate realms to explore,
|
|
all unique, all colorful.)
|
|
|
|
COMBAT: Both randomized and item-keyed combat. (Sometimes ya gotta
|
|
fight dirty...)
|
|
|
|
In addition, there are 3 NPCs that can follow you around, influencing what
|
|
you see and experience depending on which accompanies you. Add to this the
|
|
possibility of having 2 companions at once, and the possibilities expand
|
|
exponentially! Multiple solutions for nearly every puzzle! Take a step down
|
|
the food chain, or face down the devilish inhabitants of the realm of Faerie.
|
|
Explore, experiment, experience!
|
|
|
|
In addition, if you register Avalon (at an estimated cost of $25), you
|
|
will recieve:
|
|
|
|
A beautifully packaged disk containing the latest version
|
|
of Avalon.
|
|
A full-color artwork on the cover of the package.
|
|
A FREE hint book that reveals the darkest secrets of Avalon. You
|
|
will even discover where Elvis is hiding! All encoded for your
|
|
safety, with the more blatent spoilers embedded into the game
|
|
itself. These will cost you points to learn and negate your
|
|
chances at winning the Avalon Sweepstakes (see below) if you are
|
|
too free with them!
|
|
Three pages torn from the Diary of Frank Leandro. Peer into his
|
|
soul and discover what makes him tick.
|
|
Several flyers from various pro and anti-war organizations that
|
|
give you the facts behind the war.
|
|
A catalogue of upcoming Vertigo Games.
|
|
|
|
All this...AND, you will have a chance to win the Avalon Sweepstakes.
|
|
For you see, only registered versions contain the password necessary to win.
|
|
You must win with a perfect score, using no more than 2 spoilers. (WARNING:
|
|
Some solutions give more points than others. Only by doing everything the
|
|
hard way can you get a perfect score.) The first person to mail in the
|
|
password will receive Frank's dogtag and 10% all future Vertigo products!
|
|
Second place receives 5% off the next 2 Vertigo products they register.
|
|
As this guide goes to print, the exact conditions are uncertain, so watch
|
|
for news on r.a.i-f.
|
|
|
|
Finally, if there is interest, I will be publishing a newsletter called
|
|
_The_Brass_Lantern_, there to 'shed light' on all the intricacies of
|
|
starting your own software company and writing your own text adventures,
|
|
not to mention juicy tidbits about future Vertigo developments as they
|
|
occur, fun bugs to try out, puzzles, original fiction, poetry, and
|
|
even contests to hold you over until the next Vertigo game is released.
|
|
|
|
|