novelcs-insert - Museum of Computer Adventure Game History
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1. The original computer adventure was basically a romp through a series of caves in which the player was required to solve logic puzzles in order to survive and find treasures As the capabilities of microcomputers expanded and programming techni ques and languages became more sophisticated adventures became more and more complex Modern adventures involve scores of locations and dozens of objects along with various characters and complicated interrelationships among the objects The basic premise of the adventure remains virtually the same however There is a goal to be reached and danger along the way The computer acts as your guide describing the scenery and telling you what is happening Using multi word commands such as TAKE THE SWORD or READ THE OLD BOOK you convey your desires to the computer and it implements those commands You can pick up and manipulate ob jects interact with other characters and move from place to place in the microworld that is inhabited by your computer counterpart The computer provides responses to your actions as well and changes objects and locations based on what you have done Achieving the ultimate goal of the adventure which usually involves finding a treasure of some sort requires that you achieve many other minor goals A typical adventure might open with the ultimate goal of finding and recovering a priceless jewel from the depths of a dungeon in a haunted castle You begin the adventure outside a2. filled with items most of them useless to the plot that the player can pick up or buy The armory of a medieval castle might offer swords knives and all manner of exotic weaponry Again how many objects are present depends upon what level of detail you wish to include There are some objects which may suggest themselves as red herrings that is objects which seem valuable but which offer no real aid to the adventurer For example you might include an empty chest which the adventurer will assume is required to haul some object but which in reality will be used for nothing This type of element makes for a feeling of uncertainty in your adventure just like real life Problems and Plotting After working out your story line locations and objects it is time to start setting up obstacles These are the logic problems and puzzles that adventures are so famous for Some problems will be direct simple obstacles like the need to find a key to open a door Others will be tricky challenges involving not only the player s knowledge of your adventure universe but also his knowledge of general or special topics Adven turers have been known to consult encyclopedias in search of solutions to puzzles A typical adventure logic puzzle might involve a series of color coded buttons which need to be pushed in a certain order The clue to solving this may be in another part of the adventure but disguised in such a manner as to avoid e
3. COMPUTER NOVEL CONSTRUCTION SET Create Your TRUN a Time Interactive Fiction A 1 JA A Pola Oe A ie 8 ie 9 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the Computer Novel Construction Set With this program you will be able to create your own exciting text adventures The Computer Novel Construction Set is a powerful easy to use software package that will allow you to define your own Objects Rooms Vocabulary Timed Events and much much more Take the time now to read the TimeQuest Guide to Adventures and Adventuring This guide will give you some insight into the history of text adventures as well as some background knowledge which you will find useful when you begin creating your own text adventures While you are reading through the guide remember all of the features outlined can be implemented with the Computer Novel Construction Set The Computer Novel Construction Set package contains the following items e A Program Disk with the following Story Maker Program Story Player Program Sample Text Adventure Full length Text Adventure e A User Manual with the following Introduction Playing A Story Making A Story Reference Section Examples THE PROGRAM DISK Story Maker The Story Maker is the heart of the Computer Novel Construction Set This powertul utility allows you to build new text adventures or further refine existing ones Story Player The Story
4. For example a smoke filled room is required for the card game and a bank is required for the robbery Once you have established these loca tions others will be implied such as a street which connects the bank and the saloon Mapping Once you have listed your major locations you can begin mapping your adventure Begin with the opening location and interconnect all locations in a logical manner Do this on paper initially As your adventure setting grows new locations will suggest themselves For instance a spaceship control room may imply an engine room Objects With the basic mapping done you will need to decide what objects are necessary This can be determined in part by the story line If you are writing a fantasy quest adventure it is almost axiomatic that there will be certain valuable treasures such as jewels or rings to find A jungle adventure will most likely require that your hero have a rifle and perhaps a bush knife The major story events will also have a bearing on the objects required If you are writing a science fiction story and one of the locations is a spacecraft it is more than likely that there will be a spacesuit present The western story described earlier could require a gun and deck of cards Locations will suggest objects as well Depending upon how detailed and realistic you want to make your adventure you could include all manner of objects for the player to work with A department store location could be
5. Player allows the story you have created to be played Give a copy of your game to your friends and let them experience your creations Sample Story This story in conjunction with the Making A Story section of the User Manual will give you a guided tour through the creation of a story Full length Text Adventure Entitled Save The World this exciting adventure was created by the designers of the Computer Novel Construction Set It is a challenging James Bond like adventure which illustrates the full range of features available in the Computer Novel Construction Set THE USER MANUAL Introduction This section introduces you to the Computer Novel Construction Set and gives you information on how to use the program and manual most effectively Playing A Story This section will teach you the basic techniques needed to play a text adventure created with the Computer Novel Construction Set Making A Story This section will show you how the Sample Adventure was constructed step by step It will teach you the basic techniques needed to use the Story Maker by giv ing you detailed instructions on how to create your own story Reference Section The Reference section contains detailed information and will answer any ques tions you have about the program Whether you are a first time user or a seasoned adventurer the Reference section will expose you to the full power of the Computer Novel Construction Set Examples T
6. asy discovery Perhaps the player sees a series of colored doors as he walks down a hallway and the sequence of these doors hints at the button pushing sequence Add a little spice to some of the problems by making the wrong solution a fatal one or at the very least one which results in the player losing the game In the button pushing example just given the wrong sequence might set off a bomb Complicate problems whenever possible adventurers love complex problems If the player needs to get a key to open a door put some obstacles between the player and the key the ghost bucket and water problem sequence discussed earlier is an excellent example of a problem complication Or add a double whammy by putting in two keys one that is easy to find the wrong one and one that carries its own complications You will be surprised to find just how much these story elements will interact Your story line objects locations and problems in the story will begin to affect one another very early on and changes in one element will almost always feed back to other elements The result of that is that as you work on your adventure new locations objects problems and solutions will suggest themselves Like most works of art a piece of interactive fiction is very flexible and self perpetuating Descriptions As your adventure develops you should be making notes about what is in each room as well as the room s general appearance Yo
7. castle faced with the problem of getting into the building Once inside you are faced with a variety of dangers trap doors murderous ghosts and the like as well as a number of puzzles that must be solved before the treasure can be found There may for instance be a locked door leading to the dungeon a door that will require a key to open Finding the key would become a major goal but other small goals must be reached first Let s say for instance that the key is in the possession of a ghost who can only be destroyed by water This means that a container and water must be found The container is easy enough to find but what about water Maybe the water is in a well out side but the outer door is locked which means that you must now find a way to get outside You can imagine how challenging adventures can be Modern adventures afford the adventurer much more than simple exploration and manipulation of objects however With today s adventures you may sometimes get clues from querying the computer if the author of the adventure has included that feature You can even develop your character or other characters in the story based on how you as a player interact with other characters Indeed many adventures take on the elements of print fiction with true plots character development and more than one way to solve problems As you become adept at using the Computer Novel Construction Set you will be able to include a
8. ect as in SLIDE DOWN THE POLE MAPPING Mapping is of utmost importance in adventuring With as many as 100 rooms in some adventures it is difficult if not impossible for the adventurer to keep track of all the loca tions and how to move from one room to another Also a map provides a in way to record the location of items of interest or danger You should lay out your map on a large piece of paper Don t make your notations too large you never know which way the map will run Begin with the first room and use standard compass notation i e North will be the direction to the top of the page Use squares circles triangles whatever shapes you find pleasing Or you may wish to use different shapes for different types of rooms Leave enough room to note items of interest and show the directions of any exits STRATEGIES In a well written adventure meaning one that is logically laid out and is consistent in its rules your best strategy is to observe everything and try anything that is obvious Keep your mind open quite a bit of mythology pops up in adventures If for instance you are standing in front of a massive door that won t open try saying OPEN SESAME If you find an old lamp rub it Pay close attention to room descriptions and to any changes that come about as a result of your actions or time passing Watch the wording of the text this can sometimes provide clues in the manner of riddles If an adventure
9. has a feature that displays accumulated points or which allows you to ask to see the accumulated points check point values frequently especially before and after you get or manipulate objects If you get points for picking up or doing something with a certain object this can be a clue Save your game frequently If you think that moving into a certain room or taking a particular action is going to be fatal save your game This will avoid your having to go back through the adventure from the beginning HOW AN ADVENTURE IS WRITTEN If you ve played an adventure you ve no doubt been amazed at the depth and range of experiences available as well as the realism present You should be aware however that all of this is an illusion created by the author s text and the computer program s magic USING THE COMPUTER NOVEL CONSTRUCTION SET In using the Computer Novel Construction Set you will find that the program parser and data base are already operating for you All you have to do is tell the system which words it should understand how to react to certain verb noun combinations commands what text will be used how to interconnect rooms and how to deal with such extras as timed events scoring the beginning of the game and the end of the game The Computer Novel Construction Set keeps track of which objects you are car rying objects which are present in each room when to display text and other features that maintain the i
10. his section illustrates how to incorporate some basic text adventure scenarios into your stories The section uses detailed examples which will help you to understand some of the Computer Novel Construction Set s more powerful features If you have not done so already turn the page and read the TimeQuest Guide to Adventures and Adventuring We are sure that the information contained in the following pages will stimulate your imagination and inspire you to create your own text adventures TIMEQUEST GUIDE TO ADVENTURES AND ADVENTURING You are standing at the edge of a cliff Thick fog hides what lies below but the sound of waves slapping against rocks is very distinct The deep throated baying and growl ing behind you is growing louder the pack of wild dogs has caught up with you You edge toward the brink of the chasm wondering if you could survive the fall What do you do now WHAT IS AN ADVENTURE If you are playing a computer adventure of the type that you can create with the Com puter Novel Construction Set what happens next in the scenario above would be up to you Computer adventure games are perhaps the most sophisticated form of single player entertainment ever devised Combining intellectual challenge with the lure of wealth and the excitement of exotic surroundings adventures are a unique partnership between the author and the reader one in which the player helps to create the story as he progresses through it
11. ll of these features in your own adventures and much more HOW AN ADVENTURE IS PLAYED In a typical adventure the documentation and on screen text set the stage for your story This includes the setting the situation that you will find yourself in and in some cases what your goal will be Once you ve loaded the adventure you are presented with an initial scene descrip tion In adventuring by the way all locations are referred to as rooms Even if a location is outside in a meadow it is still referred to as a room This initial descrip tion should tell you what the room or area looks like and the directions of any exits unless those are part of a puzzle to be worked out by the player There should also bea listing of the objects present except when one object is inside another or must be searched out Let s assume that you are playing an adventure that opens with a scene something like this Office You are sitting at a desk in the office of a small shop There are books and papers scattered all over the desk A doorway leads to the East You can see a flute here You can see a box of jewels here You can see a throwing knife here you are holding you can see flute knife jewels HANDLING OBJECTS At this point you will want to look at or examine as many of the objects in the room as possible In general you can GET TAKE or PICK UP objects Most can be EXAMINEd or LOOKed at this will usually ge
12. llusion of the story In creating your own adventure however you will have to go through the same creative process as anyone who creates an adventure or writes a novel You will find that this is something of an evolutionary process that is your adventure will grow of its own accord and in some instances even write parts of itself as you develop it PLANNING YOUR STORY The first step in creating your adventure is to determine just what type of story you wish to write fantasy modern adventure science fiction mystery romance or whatever With this established your next move will be to create the story line which is basically a chronicling of the major events in the story as well as determining what the major goal will be Rooms ROOMS ROOM NAME ROOM DESCRIPTION kitchen family room OBJECT OBJECT front yard corner store OBJECT OBJECT sidewalk Mars Next plan your locations If you are writing a science fiction adventure you will pro bably have an alien world or two and a spacecraft For a western your setting might be a small town Begin by describing the opening scene and then moving to the final scene After this determine just what locations are required by your story A western story for example might begin in a saloon and end in the middle of a deserted street In bet ween there may be a card game a train or bank robbery and a gun fight These events require different locations
13. t you a detailed description of the object Books notes and signs can be READ and boxes and doors can be OPENed Buttons and levers can be PUSHed or PULLed Some objects can also be DROPPED or THROWN although throwing an object may have a different result from dropping it You can usually do the obvious with special objects such as playing a musical instrument blowing a whistle turning on a radio and the like You may of course have to find another object to make a special object work For example a radio could require batteries Once you have examined everything in the room and taken everything that is of interest you should think through the possible uses that the objects may have Some objects provide clues the throwing knife for example should tip you off that there may be something for you to throw the knife at Unless of course the author of the game put the knife in simply to mislead you Some adventures include objects that have no real use in solving puzzles but which aid in creating a feeling of realism and com plicate matters by being misleading Take care in picking things up though some objects may be booby trapped Think of how two objects might be put together too this could be important later on For instance you may find a cartridge in one room and later on find an object that has a slot in which to insert the cartridge In general it is a good idea to try to do everything you can with objects especially
14. u can also add suspense by having Timed Events touched off by a player action the player might pick up a bomb for disposal and have only so much time or so many moves before it explodes NAME OF TIMED EVENT WHAT TRIGGERS TIMED EVENT PLAYER LOCATION REQUIRED STATE REQUIRED OBJECT PROBABILITY TIMED EVENTS NAME PLAYER LOCATION REQUIRED STATE WHAT DOES THE TIMED EVENT DO STATE SET MESSAGE PRINTED EFFECT ON OBJECT SECOND OBJECT NEW LOCATION PROBABILITY DELAY STATE SET MESSAGE PRINTED EFFECT ON OBJECT SECOND OBJECT NEW LOCATION Allowing the player to interact with other characters is an excellent way to add interest and heighten realism Interaction may be as simple as a character responding favorably when the player bows to him or as complex as the character asking ques tions It is also possible to establish variable states in which a character will refuse to help the player if the player was not courteous to that character earlier in the game In the end you are limited only by your imagination The Computer Novel Construc tion Set will enable you to do almost anything you wish in the microworld of your adventure 11 IATL SOFTWARE Hayden Software Company 600 Suffolk Street Lowell MA 01854 32900 00
15. u will also want to develop one line descriptions for objects that you will allow the player to examine These will be the LOOK descriptions that you specify in the Computer Novel Construction Set Story Maker program Room descriptions should give the player an immediate feel for the location that is let the player know right away if he is outside or inside and the general type of location he is in kitchen meadow etc Next list objects present along with any important details such as exits unusual features great for giving clues and the like 10 Each object name should give the reader a good mental image of the object usually just a single noun such as Flashlight or Rifle is enough Use detail in LOOK DESCRIPTIONS to provide clues The end of the rod has a socket in it or to explain unusual detail This is an antique jewelry case with a secret compartment in the bottom When writing descriptions strive to use the most specific image producing nouns and verbs possible For instance use German Shepherd instead of just Dog and Sauntered or Strolled rather than Walked slowly EXTRA FEATURES If you wish to add polish to your adventure don t leave out Timed Events The Computer Novel Construction Set offers you two ways to handle these You can establish limits in your adventure by placing a time limit on how long a player has to solve a puzzle or reach a goal Yo
16. when you are stuck in a particular location When trying to perform actions such as crawling through a small hole or opening a stuck door keep in mind the fact that some steps require that you have certain objects present or not present MOVEMENT After exploring a room and the objects within it s time to move around In our hypothetical adventure you can move to the East on or can you Perhaps if we MOVED the DESK we would find that it hides a secret passageway Moving East will take you to another room or perhaps outside or into a pit It s up to the author to decide where various directions lead and it s up to the player to find out In general you can move to any of the four main compass points NORTH SOUTH EAST or WEST In most adventures the room descriptions assume that you are facing NORTH at all times Movement may also be accomplished by CLIMBing or JUMPing Climbing usually requires that you specify an object to climb as in the command CLIMB THE TREE although you may also CLIMB DOWN if the author permits it Jumping normally implies jumping down as in jumping down from a ledge but you might also jump up to grab a rope or jump across or over something You should also keep in mind the possibility that other movement type verbs may work in the adventure SLIDE RUN SIT STAND and LAY are all verbs that can be used to move from one place to another although these verbs are usually used in con junction with an obj
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