seastalker/sample.mss

@style (spacing 1)
@title [SAMPLE TRANSCRIPT]
@center (SAMPLE YOUNG-ADVENTURE TRANSCRIPT)
@center (Comments to Stu Galley)

This transcript is not from SEASTALKER, but it shows most of
the usual things that you can do while playing. It shows
several simple puzzles and their solutions, and it should give
you a good idea of how an interactive text adventure story works.
(The comments inside brackets [] are not real parts of the transcript.
They just explain what's going on.)

@begin (example)

You are lying on your bed, trying to do your homework and listen to the
radio at the same time. Suddenly your telephone rings!

>ANSWER THE PHONE
You pick up the receiver, but you can't hear who's calling because the
radio is too loud.

>TURN OFF THE RADIO
That's better! Now you can tell that it's your mother, calling
from her office.

>MOTHER, WHAT'S HAPPENING?
"Someone just asked me to go meet a visitor at the airport. Could you
please drive here to pick me up?"

>MOTHER, RIDE THE BUS
"That wouldn't get me there on time."

>BORROW A CAR
You can't see any car here.
[It can make a big difference if the program thinks you're not talking
to someone.]

>MOTHER, BORROW A CAR
"I tried that, but I just can't find one. Won't you please do this favor
for me?" (Answer yes or no:) >YES

"Thank you, dear. I'll do a favor for you, soon. Goodbye!"

>MOTHER, GOODBYE
If it isn't one thing, it's another -- as soon as you hang up the phone,
the doorbell rings!

>GO TO THE FRON
(I don't know the word "fron".)

>GO TO THE FRONT
(I assume you mean the front door.)
It's in the front hall. Now you're there too.
(front hall)
The front hall is bare, except for a coat rack and two doors. A door
into the living room is on the east side, and the front door is on the
south.

>OPEN IT
When you open the front door, your friend Pat steps in and says, "Hi!
What's up?"

>MY MOTHER NEEDS A RIDE
(I don't know the word "needs".)
[And that command doesn't begin with a verb or a question word.]

>COME WITH ME TO MY MOTHER'S OFFICE
(Sorry, but English is not my native language. Please re-word that or
try something else.)
[The command looks okay, but the program doesn't recognize that form.]

>COME WITH ME
"Okay, let's go!"

>FIND THE CAR
It's usually parked in the garage.

>GO TO THE GARAGE
Pat goes with you.
(garage)
The garage is just big enough for one car, two bikes, and a bunch of
garden tools. There is a car-sized door on the east wall and a
people-sized door on the west.
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.

>GET IN
(What do you want to get in?)

>CAR
Pat goes with you.
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.

>START THE CAR
"Hey," says Pat, "why won't it start? Did you put the key in?"

>FIND THE KEY
You should know where it is -- it's your house!

>PAT, WAIT HERE
"Okay." Pat settles into the seat and gets comfortable.

>GO WEST
You can't go that way while you're in the car.

>GET OUT
(out of the car)
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.

>GO WEST
[If you're looking for something, you should probably go one room at a time.]
(kitchen)
The kitchen looks a lot like most kitchens: a stove, a sink, a fridge,
shelves, and so on. The last of this morning's coffee is in a pot on the
stove, and the faucet is dripping a little.

>DRINK THE COFFEE THEN FIX THE FAUCET
You don't have time for that.
You don't have time for that.
[Sometimes the computer will seem to act foolish or repeat things. After all,
it's only a machine!]

>LOOK AT THE SHELVES
The shelves hold cookbooks, spices, knick-knacks, a cookie jar, and so on.

>LOOK IN COOKIE JAR
It's full of cookies!

>TAKE A COOKIE AND A SPICE
cookie: Taken.
spice: Don't be silly!

>FIND THE KEY
It's right here, on the shelf.

>LOOK AT THE SHELVES
The shelves hold cookbooks, spices, knick-knacks, a cookie jar, and so on.
A car key is also visible on the shelf.
[Sometimes you have to try hard to find something in a crowded place.]

>TAKE KEY. WEST. PUT IT IN THE LOCK
Taken.
You can't go that way.
[If one of your commands doesn't work, the program ignores the rest of
your input line.]

>E
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.

>IN
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.

>INVENTORY
You are holding:
  a car key
  a cookie

>PUT KEY IN LOCK
Done.

>GIVE THE COOKIE TO PAT
"Hey, thanks!"

>I
You are empty-handed.
[The short word for INVENTORY is I.]

>START THE CAR
Vr-r-r-roooooom!

>BACK OUT
(I don't understand the word "back" when you use it that way.)
[The program recognizes the word "back" but not as a verb.]

>GO EAST
Oops! You ran into the closed garage door. It's a good thing you
weren't driving very fast!

>GET OUT
(out of the car)
(garage)
The family car, a snazzy convertible, is parked here.

>OPEN DOOR
(Which door do you mean, the car door, the car-sized door, or the
people-sized door?)

>CAR-SI
Okay, it's now wide open.
[If you want to count letters, you can always stop at six.]

>IN
(car)
You are now sitting in the driver's seat of the convertible, and Pat is
sitting beside you.

>E
As the car backs out of the garage, we come to the end of this sample.
Have a good trip!
@end (example)