checkpoint/spy.mem

                                  CHECKPOINT
                                  __________




                                14 January 1985

                            Comments to Stu Galley





RAISONS D'ETRE
_______ ______


   *   This is a collection of stories in one product.  Some of the
       stories should be short enough to finish in one session.  All of
       the stories take place in the same general setting.

   *   The setting should justify some of the limitations of our current
       technology.  Since it is hard to converse with characters, all or
       most of them don't understand English.  Since "geography" is
       limited in scope, the setting is on trains and in stations, where
       movement is naturally restricted.




SYNOPSES
________


All of the stories are based on a similar plot; the difference among them is

which role you play in the story.  I visualize printing the beginning of each
_____ ____

variation in the browsie, and continuing it on the screen.  In each variation,

you can also choose between easier and harder levels of difficulty.



"Traveller" Variation:
___________ __________


You're travelling alone, on business of some kind, on a train in the European

country of Frotzerland (see below).  Suddenly a fellow passenger, recognizing

you as friendly, bursts into your compartment.  He explains that he wants to

entrust his briefcase to you while he handles some dangerous business, but it's

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vital that you follow his instructions, which vary depending on the level.

Then he dashes out, and a short time later you see his body falling from the

roof past your window.  Obviously the "bad guys" are after his briefcase and/or

the "MacGuffin"!  When you open the briefcase (which is in itself a puzzle),

you discover the MacGuffin or clue(s) as to how to acquire it.


The easier level has these features:

   *   The briefcase contains the MacGuffin, as well as a camera and the
       name of an object (chosen by the program from a secret list),
       which is a password that you have to say to whoever meets the
       train.  So you have to reach the frontier, pass customs with the
       MacGuffin, and deliver it to the contact (a "good guy") who will
       meet the train at the first station across the frontier -- all
       while avoiding the "bad guy(s)" and not attracting attention to
       yourself.

   *   The "bad" spy (who killed the "good" spy in the beginning) tries
       to get the MacGuffin from you, without explicit violence.  You
       must avoid him/her, or you can get trapped and killed.

The harder level has the above features, plus these new ones:

   *   The briefcase contains the names of two objects, the password and
                                           ___
       a "passobject" that you have to display so the contact can
       recognize you.  The "good" spy had such an object, but now he's
       gone, so you have to improvise the passobject somehow.

   *   The "bad" spy is more aggressive and smart, and he/she will force
       you to fight rather than flee.  (Rated PG)

   *   You don't have the MacGuffin at the start; you must first contact
       an agent at the next train station down the line by displaying a
       second passobject in order to receive the MacGuffin.

   *   You're not on the right train for meeting the final contact.  You
       must consult your timetable, change your itinerary, buy a new
       ticket, catch the right train at the right station, and proceed
       as before.

   *   There's also a pickpocket on the loose.  If you bump into
       him/her, you may lose some item that you're carrying.  (I suppose
       the briefcase is immune, but on the other hand it's a pain to
       keep things in it.)



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"Spy" Variation:
_____ __________


In this variation you play the role of the "bad" spy that goes after the

"innocent" traveller and the MacGuffin.  Naturally, you think of yourself as a

"good" spy.  Your goal is to find the MacGuffin and alter it so that the "bad

guys" receive false information.  You begin on the roof of the train and

immediately fight the "bad" spy (who's "good" in the "traveller" variation).

Assuming that you win the fight, you next have to find the traveller with the

MacGuffin (or, in the harder level, the info to acquire it).  You could try to

get the briefcase and snoop in it, observe the other passengers' behavior (or

speak to them in English, but they may not answer), and/or observe the platform

during stops.  Once you locate the MacGuffin, you have to fight or trick the

courier, acquire the MacGuffin, alter it, and either return it to the courier

or deliver it yourself (using password and passobject).


Any feature not mentioned in the following lists is like the previous

variation.  The easier level has these features:

   *   The traveller carries the briefcase all the time, so you can tell
       who s/he is.  But you can't acquire it without trickery or
       violence.

   *   You have limited means of aggression, e.g.  just a gun and no
       special abilities.


The harder level has the above features, plus these new ones:

   *   The traveller hides the briefcase whenever feasible, so you can't
       tell who s/he is.  If you can find and open it, you may get
       clues.

   *   You have no weapon, but you can indulge in some unarmed violence
       (rated PG) or trickery (e.g.  pose as contact, or acquire
       passobject and pose as traveller) to try to get what you want.



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"Conductor" Variation:
___________ __________


Your role is the conductor on the train, and your goal is to avoid getting

blamed for any trouble that occurs in your jurisdiction, like delays,

stowaways, violence, or smuggling.  (Note:  as a conductor, you can speak the

local language, which thus will be "dubbed" into English; but by the same taken

the "traveller," spy, etc.  will be dubbed into Frotzian.) Your first duty is

to punch all passengers' tickets after each stop; if you miss one, he/she will

turn out to be a railway employee who is testing your performance, and you lose

your job.  (This means you can't freely observe the suspect(s) during

ticket-punching time, so the McGuffin may change hands without your knowing

it.) Your second duty is to stand at the front end of the platform in each

station and give the order for the train to depart.  At the frontier

checkpoint, you should stand by the customs agent and try to detect any

smuggling, such as the MacGuffin.  If you observe the passengers while making

your rounds, you might be able to spot someone on a spy mission by their odd

behavior.


Any feature not mentioned in the following lists is like the previous

variations.  The easier level has these features:

   *   It is sufficient to catch either traveller or spy with the
       McGuffin in hand.  At the checkpoint, all passengers empty their
       pockets to aid inspection.


The harder level has the above features, plus these new ones:

   *   At the beginning, your train isn't headed for the frontier.  But,
       if you report spy activity to a station guard, you will receive a
       new assignment on the train that the traveller and spy will use.
       (Your bosses will explain that a professional agent is replacing
       you in order to catch the spies; but -- by Murphy's Law -- the
       spies change trains too!)

   *   You get a better ending if you don't apprehend the smuggler at
       the checkpoint, but rather apprehend the contact also, at the
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       station past the checkpoint.



Other features:
_____ _________


For variety, the variations also differ in:

   *   which objects are the password and passobject (and in the harder
       levels the passobject is harder to obtain);

   *   which fellow passenger is the "bad" spy (this is especially
       appropriate for a spy story, since appearances deceive and all
       that);

   *   which person waiting at the station is your contact (ditto);

   *   and perhaps which train you begin on, thus changing your plan for
       catching the right connecting train (so it's vital to have the
       timetable and hence the package, in order to play).




INNOVATIONS
___________


Characters:  Besides the "major" characters, with whom you can have some

meaningful interaction, there will be numerous "extras" appearing in the

"crowd" scenes, such as on the train and the platforms.  (Other new products,

such as "Cutthroats" and "Suspect," have these to some extent.)


Limited freedom of action:  Since you're on a train most of the time, the

limited geography is more acceptable, as is the slow way you move about.  Also,

it would be fun if the "bad guys" could capture you, bind and gag you, injure

you, etc.  Then many verbs would not work, and you'd have to escape by some

cleverness.




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SETTING
_______


Some people might think that the story should be set in a real country, like

Yugoslavia.  It would immediately lend realism and a sense of "being there."

But there are problems.  Would a player who happens to know Croatian complain

that the other characters don't understand it? Or, more likely, would the

story's timetable have to conform with a real one from that country? Would

everything have to be realistic:  train layout, station layout, food menu, ...?

To avoid these problems, I'm assuming (for now) that the country is fictitious.


Frotzerland is a country somewhere in the middle of Europe, with a neutral but

paranoid government.  (Any similarity to actual countries living or dead is

just "tough noogies.") The Frotz National Railway ("Ferroglip Natsiolim

Frotzilim") tends to run on time, so you can usually depend on the printed

timetable.  All action takes place on the trains and in the stations.  A train

is made up of several identical passenger cars (technical note:  single ROOMs

serve multiple locations), each with several compartments, a corridor, and two

rest rooms; also cars for baggage and dining.  The stations are all identical

too, with these interesting rooms:  platform, waiting room, cafe/store, rest

rooms, ticket/info window, baggage room.  You can't leave a station without

boarding a train, since the police would take you in for an improper visa.




CHARACTERS
__________


The characters include:


   *   The innocent traveller, who through pure chance gets mixed up in
       spy business

   *   The "good" spy (at the beginning) is a James Bond type, daring
       enough to go fight the "bad" spy and lose big.
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   *   The "bad" spy

   *   The train conductor -- helpful but suspicious, s/he doesn't want
       trouble in HIS (or HER) jurisdiction.

   *   The contact(s)

   *   Waiters, clerks, passengers, spear carriers, etc.


Some of the characters will be chosen from the following list, depending on

which plot variation you choose.  (Appearances will be randomly matched with

personalities.)


   *   a devious "femme fatale"

   *   an attractive man

   *   a merciless, masculine woman

   *   a jovial, rotund, threatening man

   *   a regal older woman

   *   a tall, thin silent man

   *   and so on




PACKAGE
_______


   *   In the "browsie" could be a short prose introduction to each
       plot, in lieu of a long "boot screen."

   *   Timetable (and route map?) should be printed in a color(s) that
       can't easily be photocopied, and it should be a "feelie" so
       pirates can't read it in their local store.

   *   train ticket(s)

   *   "sound sheet" with useless phrases in Frotzian and English

   *   tourist guide to Frotzerland for "browsie"