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135 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
135 lines
5.5 KiB
Plaintext
Junior-Level Adventure #2
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Working Title: DEVILSTONE
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Market and Audience
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DEVILSTONE is an easy-to-play introduction to interactive fantasies like
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ZORK. Its goal is to familiarize novices with the conventions and
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traditions of the genre. Text, plot and puzzles will be geared to the
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comprehension of a bright sixth-grader.
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Plot Synopsis
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You're an apprentice postal clerk in the sleepy village of Frobton. As
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another eventless afternoon draws to an end, your boss Mr. Blather hands
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you a special delivery envelope addressed to Ye Olde Magick Shoppe, a
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little-visited establishment on the far side of town. You obediently
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hop onto your bicycle and pedal through the friendly streets, where you
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are greeted by old neighbors and ritually chased by a poodle. After
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passing Hoople's Drug Store, the Palace Theater, the Park and other
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familiar landmarks, you cross the little creek at the edge of town and
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climb the steep hill up to the Magick Shoppe.
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The Shoppe is a fascinating place full of strange machines, forbidden
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books and fake ice cubes, all presided over by a sad old woman. She's
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mourning the loss of her beloved pet cat, which disappeared under
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mysterious circumstances a few nights ago. The letter you are
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delivering turns out to be a ransom note:
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"Bring the one true Devilstone to me before the moon sets, or you will
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never see your cat again!"
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or words of similar ilk, signed by a dangerous-sounding witch.
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The bereaved woman vows never to surrender the Devilstone to anyone, cat
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or no cat, and somehow manages to recruit you for a rescue mission. Your
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only defense against the Evil Witch is to be the Devilstone itself, an
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ordinary-looking pebble said to possess considerable Magick power when
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used according to the instructions provided.
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Upon leaving the Shoppe, you discover that the entire town of Frobton
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has been skewed into some kind of alternative reality. All the
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landmarks and faces have taken on a sinister, larger-than-life aspect:
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-- The little creek that used to run around the outskirts is now a dark,
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raging river. There's only one bridge, and that is guarded by a
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creature which less original scenarios would refer to as a Troll.
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-- The poodle that used to chase your bicycle has evolved into a
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Hellhound. Its appetite for bicylists is unaffected. Good thing your
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bike changed into a broomstick.
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-- The little park in the center of town has become a dense forest full
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of wild beasts, quicksand and other inconveniences. But it's better
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than walking the streets, which are patrolled by the Witch's Goon Squad.
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-- Mr. Hoople's Drug Store and Ice Cream Parlor is now a swarmy tavern
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full of ne'er-do-wells, misfits and troublemakers like yourself. You
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can buy supplies here that may prove useful in your quest. But don't
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expect much sympathy from Mr. Hoople, who is a spy for the Evil Witch.
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-- The Palace Theater appears to be running a propaganda film called THE
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WITCH IS WATCHING. A better title might be WATCHING THE WITCH, because
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what you see on the screen corresponds to what the Witch is actually
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doing at that moment -- a good thing to know if you're trying to avoid
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her.
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-- The Post Office you used to work in is now the fortresslike lair of
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the Witch. Those unfortunate enough to visit the witch's Dungeon will
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notice that the Chief Torturer bears a remarkable resemblance to Mr.
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Blather.
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Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to rescue the poor
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little kitty cat without being turned into a furry toilet seat cover or
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a Commodore 64.
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Spellcrafting
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Unlike ZORK IV and V, it takes more than a magic word to make the
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Devilstone do its thing. Each of the dozen or so available spells
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requires the player to locate some object or solve a puzzle before the
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miracle can be invoked. Some silly examples:
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-- To "Fly," you must find a feather and wear it in your hair.
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-- To "Walk Across Water," you must put white sand in your shoes.
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-- To "See Through Walls," you must be holding a lighted candle.
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The props you need for each spell are "spelled out" in the Devilstone
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instruction card provided with the game (see below).
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Other possibilities include:
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-- Spells can be used only a few times, or once.
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-- Using the Devilstone helps the Evil Witch find out where you are (a
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"lighthouse" effect a la Tolkien). This implies that it should be
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possible to solve any problem without using the Stone, thereby rewarding
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clever players with less interference from the Witch.
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-- A "panic button" spell that works like an on-line hint service.
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Characters
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-- Mr. Blather. He has two cameos, first as your boss at the post
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office and later as a torturer in the witch's Dungeon.
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-- The Woman in the Magick Shoppe. She sounds and acts like a feeble
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old lady, but is sharp enough to get you to do her dirty work. Like the
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other characters in DEVILSTONE, she talks a lot but doesn't move around
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much, if at all.
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-- Various Townspeople. Amiable enough in Frobton, their New Frobton
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counterparts greet you with warnings, sneers and sharp farming tools.
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Some of them are employed by the Evil Witch as spies and/or goons.
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-- The Evil Witch (to be named later). Impervious to water and falling
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houses.
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Package Ideas
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-- A small white pebble.
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-- Instructions for using the Devilstone. Instead of a booklet, it
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might be more fun to design a cardboard slide-rule device that lets you
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"dial up" the combination of objects you need to invoke a spell.
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-- A sealed special-delivery letter containing the ransom note.
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-- Two maps, one for each "version" of Frobton. It might be possible to
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use a single map with a clever transparent overlay or something.
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