NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #27/NN_1992_27.iso/spool/rec/arts/intfict/877

Text File | 1992-11-15 | 3.5 KB | 68 lines

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From: Russell L. Bryan <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Searching for a sense of wonder
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Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 04:26:49 GMT
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In article <[e-mail]> Greg Ewing,
[e-mail] writes:
>In real life, faced with a locked door, there are many courses of
>action available such as picking the lock, kicking the door,
>removing the hinge pins, attacking it with an axe, etc. which are
>perfectly feasible ways of addressing the problem.

This is a tough one, because yes, these are all perfectly logical ways to
open a door.  The programmer's standard solution to preventing this is to
make the door too heavy to kick or to preach on the immorality of
destroying such a beautiful door.  Personally, I just wouldn't put an axe
in the game.

When my game is finally finished, I will welcome my beta-testers to
suggest ANY solutions which are not implemented in the adventure.  These
solutions WILL BE implemented before the game is released.  In fact, I
want to start listing my puzzles HERE and NOW, to see if all of you will
make suggestions, but that would make the game worthless in the end.
However, here's a taste for you all to comment on (keep in mind that this
takes place in the 30th anniversay, and some of the ridiculous objects
are MEANT to be ridiculous.  The following description is NOT verbatim.):

--

You are looking down yet another deep chasm, with a river of lava
bubbling far below (by this point of the game, you've probably seen
enough lava to scrap your vacation plans to the volcano planet of
Bubblyhotrock Centauri).  A rope spans the chasm from just above the
entryway here to just above the entryway of an opening at the other side
of the chasm.  On the other side of the chasm is a carriage of some sort.
 There is a lever on the wall.

--

Now, examining the chasm more closely reveals another cave about seventy
feet down the cliff face on the other side.  Examining the rope reveals
it to be about a hundred feet long.  The player decides to cross the
chasm on the rope, requiring that he goes hand-over-hand and that he
drops everything that can not fit in his utility belt.  If he attempts to
cross all the way to the carriage in this manner, he finds that the
carriage has no windows -- he will have to climb on top of it.  If he
climbs on top of it, the carriage overbalances and swings him right off
the side and into the river.  If (after restoring) he climbs part of the
rope and then cuts it (with the knife which fits in his utility belt),
then if he has gone thirty feet across the rope he will swing right into
the cave, and the carriage will come down with him, landing on the cave's
ledge.  If he cuts the rope at any other length, he swings safely to the
wall only to have the carriage land on his head from above.  That is only
the first part -- I haven't even gotten around to how he gets back.

OK, it's yours to cut apart.  What's the verdict on this puzzle?

-- Russ