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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.
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.
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...
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.