Bronze Manual
Contents
1. A pleasant grassy field overshadowed by Mount Thunderbolt Just off to the east is the Old Mill and to the west the town cemetery A tailoring shop is northwest Nearby a mill door leads east to the Old Mill gt W Town Cemetery Here your ancestors and their ancestors are buried But not Igor s Igor is from out of town Convenientiv there is a coffin which has vet to be in terred gt open the coffin You open the coffin revealing a spare arm gt get the spare arm With your bare hands How unsanitary gt find the glove You head east to the field east to the old mill and up to the Laboratory Laboratory A small octagonal room On the surgical table is a Monster You can see a glove here gt wear the glove Taken It is made of black leather to match the rest of your black clothing You put on the glove gt go to the coffin You head down to the old mill west to the field and west to the town cemetery Town Cemetery Here your ancestors and their ancestors are buried But not Igor s Igor is from out of town Conveniently there is a coffin which has yet to be in terred gt get the spare Taken It s pleasingly muscular and will look good on the monster gt hint about the arm It would look good on the monster Shall I go on gt y You ll need something to stitch it on with too Shall I go on gt y Perhaps a needle and some thread from the tailoring shop gt go to2. possible working until late at night Now he speaks only to ask whecher the Beast treated you properly From his tone of voice he is obviously inquiring after your virtue mot anything so irrelevant as your health comfort or peace of mind You control Bronze by giving typed commands usually a sim ple imperative instruction for your avatar within the game Bronze understands many common verbs as well as the names of objects that appear in the game Most of what you type will have the pattern gt ACTION OB JECT an action to do and an ob ject to do it to Depending on the action it may be appropriate to add a phrase with a second object PUT THE FISH ON THE PLAT TER for instance What follows is an overview of the kinds of actions you can use for reference there is also a complete command list be low Looking and Other Senses You may want to start by fa miliarizing yourself with your en vironment Each time you enter a room you ll receive a short de scription of what the place looks like and what you find there If you d like to reread this de scription you can see it again by typing LOOK You can read more about individual objects by typing for instance EXAMINE THE MOAT Since you will be using it frequently that EXAMINE com mand can also be abbreviated to just plain X Most items you find in the game can be examined in cluding yourself You may also want to try your other senses LIS
3. TEN SMELL TOUCH and TASTE will sometimes give useful infor mation as well Moving Around Soon you ll want to explore a bit You can move by typing compass directions GO NORTH for instance or just N Bronze understands eight compass directions as well as IN OUT UP and DOWN Wherever you go during the game the exit directions from your current location will appear at the top of the screen in the status bar area Directions that lead to rooms you haven t yet explored will be highlighted in red Sometimes you may find you want to move more rapidly or go back to a place you ve visited without having to remember the path to get there In that case you You might not have thought it possible but you are looking forward to getting back may also type commands such as GO TO THE KITCHEN and make the complete trip automatically The ROOMS command will re mind you of the names of every room you have seen so far in the game The same approach works with objects the THINGS com mand will show you a list of items you ve noticed and commands such as FIND THE TAPESTRY will automatically walk you back to an object s location Using Objects The items you find are props you can use to make things happen Many of them work in the way you might expect given your experiences in daily life oth ers have special properties unique to the story Many of these you will be able to TAKE DROP or PUT ON
4. game quality and genre The Ratings site col lects opinions from players and keeps a running scoreboard of games in many genres It also con tains information about how long a given game might take to com plete For fuller reviews and discus sions of games and gaming and an introduction to the community of interactive fiction players and authors take a look at the online magazines SPAG and IF Review and the Brass Lantern website About the Making of Bronze Bronze was written in part as a demonstration of Inform 7 a pro gramming language created by Graham Nelson for interactive fic tion The annotated source code and design diary for Bronze are available online and may be of interest to anyone who would like to try his hand at writing interac tive fiction This game would also not have been possible without the efforts of its beta testing team for a complete set of credits accurate for the latest version consult the menu in the game have of course done our best to stomp out prob lems but if you do find any errors feel free to contact the author Emily Short emshort mindspring com to re port them and earn your own place in the testing credits Distribution While Bronze remains copy right of its author anyone is wel come to make copies and distrib ute them freely in physical or elec tronic form without charge as long as the following conditions are met You may not alter
5. or IN other objects Once you ve acquired a few you can also TAKE INVENTORY or just type I for short and get a list of things you re carrying There s lots to do with objects besides move them around of course Some can also be worn eaten opened unlocked and so on Other characters can be kissed attacked spoken to and given ob jects Topics of studv can be looked up in books and reference works Starting and Stopping A few other commands allow you to manage the game At any time you can SAVE your current game state like putting a book mark into your place in the story There is no limit to the number of SAVE files you can make so keep as many as you like RESTORE will open up an old SAVE file and let you resume playing When you re ready to stop QUIT will end your game session If you d like to keep a record of your play session you can also type TRANSCRIPT at any time and begin a text file logging what happens to you Finally if you try something and decide you didn t like the re sults Bronze will let you UNDO any move even if it was one that ended the game Asking for Hints Bronze is designed to be moderately challenging but not frustrating Just in case you get stuck though there is a built in system to offer you guidance about parts of the game that are still holding you up At any time you may type THINK and get some general clues about what you re supposed to be d
6. prefer In this case gt BROWN HORSE would be a good reply Sample Transcript Here is an example of play with a game like Bronze The commands in bold are the plaver s instructions to the game the regular type shows the replies This transcript does not demonstrate all possible commands but it does show how the most common ones behave and how a player might solve a problem within the game gt look Old Mill An abandoned water mill now used by you and your trusty assistant in many important experiments Creaky stairs lead up to your Laboratory Nearby a mill door leads west Your assistant Igor is staring out the door with a dazed expression on his face He is carrying nothing gt examine mill door It is closed and unlocked gt x Igor What he lacks in brains he makes up for in loyalty Er usually gt inventory You are carrying a magnifying glass an extra large needle gt give the glass to Igor Oh thank you Master says Igor eying the magni fying glass with gratitude though you doubt he knows what it is for gt look Old Mill An abandoned water mill now used by you and your trusty assistant in many important experiments Creaky stairs lead up to your Laboratory Nearby a mill door leads west Your assistant Igor is staring out the door with a dazed expression on his face He is carrying a magni fying glass gt hit igor This turns out to be a mistake as Igor is extremely powerful When h
7. BRONZE A FRACTURED FAIRY TALE E SHORT Welcome to Interactive Fiction Bronze is a work of interactive fiction which means that vou control the main character Her challenges and her choices are yours Bronze tells you the beginning of a story Then it puts you in charge and lets you decide what your char acter should do next You type commands for the main character to carry out and the story replies by telling you what happens next Think of the rooms as your setting and the objects you find as the props Part of your role in Bronze is to overcome obstacles to the progress of the main character solving problems working out what is going on in the story discovering ways to reach new locations and tools That aspect of interactive fiction is like a game And part of your role is to make her decisions Bronze has sev eral endings and they depend on your choices That aspect is like a story but an open ended one If you enjoy interactive fiction you ll find a wide variety of other works available to you most of them free These come in many styles some more like games some more like stories some are challenging some very easy some are serious emotionally demanding pieces while others explore the lighter side of life And like books works of interactive fiction come in assort ment of genres fantasy mystery horror and science fiction romance and his torical surreal and slice of life At the end of t
8. aracter has lived in the Beast s palace for vears and has manv recollections to reveal about places and things As you explore you ll discover what she remembers and thinks about these objects and rooms Below to start you off on an even footing with her is a floor plan of the castle It s a little rough but not to worry it s correct in every essential respect There are a few blanks a few rooms she has not yet visited You ll discover those together Records Room Upper Bulk Private Farlor Green r mpty fed mom r Bedmom Sedmom Crystal Bedrm Gilded Balony Rose Garden State Parlia T ans ation comer Bulb Rotunda deg ry m Chamber Chester Walk Walk s Eng Treasure Scrying Law Central ets PIG Room Library Courtyard Ga le Y af Gret Onng HII Entrance Hal Scarlet Gllry Historica Paintings rawbridge LL Toar he d Great Outdoors The status bar displays lu Rooms searched 6 53 your current location and the directions in which you may move When the seventh day comes and it is time for you to return to the castle in the forest your sisters cling to your sleeves Don t go back they say and When will we ever see you again But since they ve filled the time by telling you every word spoken to them by every male in the village you imagine they will find consolation somewhere Your father hangs back silent and moody He has spent the week as far from you as
9. e strikes back out of reflex he throws you across the room and into the wall You have died Would you like to RESTART RESTORE a saved game or QUIT gt undo Old Mill Previous turn undone gt up Laboratory A small octagonal room On the surgical table is a Monster You can see a glove here gt x monster Really extremely attractive if looked at from the proper perspective It does still need an arm though gt d Old Mill An abandoned water mill now used by you and your trusty assistant in many important experiments Creaky stairs lead up to your Laboratory Nearby a mill door leads west Your assistant Igor is staring out the door with a dazed expression on his face He is carrying a magni fying glass gt w first opening the mill door Field A pleasant grassy field overshadowed by Mount Thunderbolt Just off to the east is the Old Mill and to the west the town cemetery A tailoring shop is northwest Nearby an open door leads east to the Old Mill gt close door You close the mill door gt look Field A pleasant grassy field overshadowed by Mount Thunderbolt Just off to the east is the Old Mill and to the west the town cemetery A tailoring shop is northwest Nearby a mill door leads east to the Old Mill gt nw Tailoring Shop Here you buy all your capes your frock coats and your other body enveloping wares You can see a spool of thread here gt se Field
10. his Guide are some suggestions about where to find more When the seventh day comes and it is time for you to return to the castle in the forest your sisters cling to your sleeves Don t go back they say and When will we ever see you again But you imagine they will find consolation somewhere Your father hangs back silent and moody He has spent the week as far from you as possible working until late at night Now he speaks only to ask whether the Beast treated you properly Since he obviously has his own ideas about what must have taken place over the past few years you do not reply beyond a shrug You breathe more easily once you re back in the forest alone Bronze is and is not a retell ing of the story of Beauty and the Beast a familiar place to start if you are just getting into interac tive fiction but with some sur prises as well There Are No Mistakes During the course of the game you may find you have to choose between one course of action and another You can al ways save your place in the game try one thing and then try the other so don t worry about getting the game wrong There are several ways the story can come out but there is no way for your actions to put you in a per manently stuck state No matter what you do it will always be possible to reach the storv s end Familiar Territorv While vou mav not know the territorv the main ch
11. ith out downloading a whole applica tion over again Some interpreters even help you organize your col lection of interactive fiction Chances are that if you have a copy of Bronze you also received or were told how to download an interpreter for your operating sys tem As of this writing the best interpreters for this purpose are Zoom for the Macintosh and Unix machines and Windows Frotz for Windows Interpreters are also available for many less common operating systems and Bronze can even be played ona PDA though it will run slowly unless the PDA is a fast model Zoom for the Macintosh http www logicalshift demon co uk mac zoom html Zoom for Unix http www logicalshift demon co uk unix zoom Windows Frotz for Windows http www d kinder btinternet co uk frotz html Command List Not all these commands are important in Bronze Most have syno nyms which are also recognized for instance awake and awaken are understood to mean the same thing as wake up But these are all vou will need answer text to someone attack something blow something held climb something close something drink something drop things held eat something held enter something examine something or X exit fill something find anything you ve seen get off something give something to someone go direction N S E W NW NE SW SE up down in out go to any roo
12. m help inventory or I jump kiss someone listen listen to something lock something look look inside something look under something look direction look up text in something novice mode on off open something pull something push something push something direction put things in something put things on something quit or Q read something restart restore ring rooms rub something save scry in something show something to someone sing sit on something sleep smell something squeeze something swim switch something on off take things take off something taste something things think think about any thing touch something transcript on off turn something unlock something wait or Z wake wear something held A few other useful things to know ALL refers to all items you can see so for instance TAKE ALL will pick up every portable thing in sight AGAIN or G repeats the ac tion you just did Words that express ways of doing something like QUICKLY or QUIETLY are not useful in the game and will generally not be understood You do not need to refer to specific body parts so not HIT THE DOOR WITH MY FIST but just HIT THE DOOR If the game asks you a ques tion like Which horse do you mean the white horse or the brown horse you may answer with just the name of the object you
13. oing you can also type THINK ABOUT a specific object or room and get more direction Bronze will re spond by prompting you with suc cessively more specific clues Or telling you that you re pursuing a blind alley Or that the problem is one you re not going to be able to solve until you ve dealt with some thing else HELP will give you a menu with a complete set of instructions inside the game in case you don t have your guide Aa handy Novice Mode Getting the hang of inter active fiction commands can be a little bit challenging for a brand new player So Bronze includes a novice mode that offers guidance every turn listing some words that Common Interpreters you might use to interact with the objects you can currently see In novice mode the names of impor tant objects are also highlighted in the text to help distinguish critical items from ordinary scenery Use the training as long as you like and when you feel comfort able without it turn it off by typ ing NOVICE MODE OFF You can always turn it back on and hints will remain available regardless of the mode of play A Point or Two About Technology Bronze is designed to be played on an interpreter think of the game as an mp3 file and the inter preter as iTunes The interpreter delivers the story to you but the unique information is kept in the story file itself which is small and compact You can play other sto ries on the same interpreter w
14. ough in this case and so on From here the player might go on to explore Mount Thunderbolt install a lightning rod and wiring and bring the Monster lurching to life Interactive Fiction Archives Reviews and Information Baf s Guide to the Interactive Fiction Archive http www wurb com if Interactive Fiction Ratings http www carouselchain com if SPAG Review Magazine online http www sparkvnet com spag IF Review http www ministrvofpeace com if review Brass Lantern http www brasslantern org Finding More Interactive Fiction Most interactive fiction cur rently released is free which means that you are al lowed to download and play it without charge on any computer you like If vou d like to try some of these here are some resources The Interactive Fiction Archive f isanimmense repository contain ing interpreters programming languages documentation and over two thousand games some of them dating Em Jp A s back to the 1970s yal i Se and some of Aq ve them brand TA new Sifting TAQA ti the riches for fora something you d enjoy can be pretty daunting so the best way to approach it is to consult Baf s Guide to the Interac tive Fiction Archive Baf s Guide records games and authors pro vides reviews of many works and lists the recipients of awards and winners of competitions The Interactive Fiction Ratings site is another source for informa tion about
15. the game or remove the authorship attribution You may not distribute the game for profit without the author s explicit written permis sion Charging a fee to cover physical media or shipping is ac ceptable Notifying the author before including Bronze in any compila tions would be a welcome cour tesy but not required
16. the tailoring shop You head east to the field and northwest to the tailor ing shop Tailoring Shop Here you buy all your capes your frock coats and your other body enveloping wares You can see a spool of thread here gt get the thread Taken Very stout thick thread which should come in handy gt se Field A pleasant grassy field overshadowed by Mount Thunderbolt Just off to the east is the Old Mill and to the west the town cemetery A tailoring shop is northwest Nearby an open door leads east to the Old Mill gt e Old Mill An abandoned water mill now used by you and your trusty assistant in many important experiments Creaky stairs lead up to your Laboratory Nearby an open door leads west to the Field Your assistant Igor is staring out the door with a dazed expression on his face He is carrying a magni fying glass gt u Laboratory A small octagonal room On the surgical table is a Monster gt i You are carrying a spool of thread a spare arm a glove being worn an extra large needle gt sew arm to monster Briskly you stitch the spare arm onto the monster It fits beautifully and is only a tiny bit longer than the arm on the other side Your creation is complete So many years of determined effort and now it needs only to be brought to life gt kiss monster The Monster needs a kiss of lightning and while the ladies all say your touch is electric it s probably not en
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