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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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SID

IFT

(… being the newsletter of the ADRIFT community…)

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Editorial ...............................................................................................................4

Hot Off The Press ................................................................................................5

ADRIFT Forum Digest .........................................................................................9

Article:

“Thoughts On A Combat System” by David Whyld ............................................12

Article:

“View From A Newbie” by Mr Toad..................................................................16

Drifters’ Think About:

Inform 7 and what effect its release will have on ADRIFT

.................................17

In The Hot Seat (interview with Richard Otter) .....................................................19

New ADRIFT Games Roundup ..........................................................................26

In Progress:

“Core Bound” by Tech....................................................................................27

“Hackwork 1.0” by Tech.................................................................................27

“

Jim Pond: A Meeting With S.K.U.M.” by David Whyld.......................................29

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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“Katlin’s Story” by Tech..................................................................................31

“Mecasite” by Tech........................................................................................33

“The Road Home” by Tech .............................................................................34

“Sun Empire: Quest For Founders II” by Tech..................................................34

“Sun Empire: Quest For Founders III” by Tech.................................................35

“Sun Empire: Ghost Ship” by Tech ..................................................................36

“Twiddles’ Terrible Twin” by David Whyld .......................................................37

“Voyage Of The Starfarer” by AndrewF............................................................39

“Willow” by Mizgriz ........................................................................................41

“Wizardry” by Tech........................................................................................43

Article:

“Falling Off The Conveyor Belt” by David Whyld ...............................................44

Article:

“What I Didn’t Do On My Holidays” by Sprite ...................................................47

Reference:

Who’s Who & What’s What.............................................................................

Facts & Figures .............................................................................................

Word Search ......................................................................................................52

Why Not Testing Your Games Is Sometimes A Good Idea ..............................54

Contributions.....................................................................................................55

Back Issues .......................................................................................................56

pg_0004

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Editorial

nd so I found myself editing the newsletter.

How it came about, I'm not entirely sure. I’d thought about offering to edit it a time or two in the

past, but then got cold feet at the last moment and backed down. Ss it seemed to be doing pretty

well as it was, I was kind of reluctant to volunteer and risk a serious egging when the whole thing

went belly-up two issues later.

But then KFAdrift announced he wasn’t editing the newsletter any longer and offered it up to

someone else, and, lo and behold, I found myself volunteering. With, at the time, no real idea what I

was doing or how I was going to go about running the newsletter.

I’m the fourth person to take over the editorship (is that a proper word. Microsoft Word isn't hitting

it with a weird red underline so I guess it must be) of the newsletter and of the others, two have

since pretty much departed the world of ADRIFT for greener pastures. Is that an ill omen or just

pure coincidence. Check back here in a year’s time and if someone else is editing the newsletter

and I'm a rapidly fading memory on the forum, you'll have your answer.

But for now I'm here to stay, frightening thought though that might be to anyone reading this.

On with the show!

David Whyld

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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(… being the latest news from the big wide world of interactive fiction…)

ADRIFT 5 Looms

The latest update on ADRIFT 5 is that it should be due in the fourth quarter of

2006… as little as five months away, fingers crossed. A few of the proposed

features, as mentioned by ADRIFT designer Campbell Wild on the forum, are:

* Variables will still be Integer and Text, although I'll be extending this so you

can create Arrays of each.

* Properties will be completely separate things that you can assign to objects,

and can contain links to other items, or variable type values. I'm planning on

having object classes that have a pre-defined set of properties that you

can assign the objects to also (e.g. you could create a Weapon class that has

a strength property, the fact that it's dynamic etc).

I'd like to be able to set an object in Adrift to be a vehicle, so say I'm sitting on

a horse and type "East", then I'd go east on the horse, ins ead of the default

"fi s getting off the horse."

r t

You could create a Vehicle class, then within the directions tasks (which are

now editable within Generator rather than being hardcoded in Runner) you

could have special cases when you are on a Vehicle object.

Is this the Adrift version that will have more power when it comes to

conversation. It would be great if an unlimited amount of tasks could change

Ask character Subject output, though I suppose this could be handled with an

ALR and variables in the current version. Better too, if Adrift kept track of

whether the character had answered the question before, or if a question

could trigger a task/event/etc.

Yes, I'm planning on building in conversation trees that has logic flow

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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depending on previous questions asked.

I hope "better ambigui y resolution" means that if I type look at the blue dog

and there's a black dog also in the room, when the parser asks which dog I

mean, I type "blue dog" and it will understand my meaning.

Absolutely, and is not restricted to just the take/examine etc tasks as before.

* You can create a Touchable property, then assign that to any objects you

want, and have tasks for whenever you touch a touchable or non-touchable

object.

* The Map/Graphics etc windows in Runner are draggable, so you can lay it out

however you want.

* The Player is created as a normal character, which will allow 'switching'

between Characters and the Player as each Character has the exact same

properties as the Player.

* Perhaps a mapping tool that allowed you to drag things around.

Yeah, I'm deliberating over this one. I like the idea of having an auto-map, so

will either allow modification of the auto-map (e.g. stretch a room), or have

some kind of customisable map maker.

* Runner 5.0 should be able to load 4.0 games. Again, they may not be 100%

because of the magnitude of change, but I'll do my best.

* You'll have the freedom to group things however you want, so you could

always keep those tasks next to the rooms in question.

* Are you considering handling of mul iple instances of objects in ADRIFT 5.0.

Or will it be a flat model as in 4.x whereby if you have 3 rocks, they all have to

be implemented separately.

Yes, I'm hoping to build in multiple objects into v5.0.

* You can drag everything around in v5.0. You can even drag for example a

location onto a task description, where it will automatically add the function to

display the location description within the task.

* I'll try to improve the spellchecker in v5.0. Personally, I like the Word style,

where it underlines words it doesn't understand, and allows you to right-click

on them for a choice of words. We'll see...

pg_0007

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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ADRIFT Forum Reorganised & Upgraded

Several big changes have been made to the ADRIFT forum recently. Gone are the

Project Announcements and Feedback sections (the first now being part of Writing

Discussions and the second is in General Discussion) in an attempt to clear up the

forum and make it easier to access.

On the upgrade side of things, the forum has been a shiny new look. Unfortunately

the upgrade hasn’t gone completely smoothly as some custom member titles

(including my own till it was shortened) stretched across half the screen and gave

the forum a somewhat strange look when viewed in the Firefox browser. Hopefully

this issue will be fixed in a forthcoming patch.

Drifter Birthdays

May AndrewF (38)

May CowInParachute (17)

Heal Butcher (32)

June En Kerklaar (20)

Matthaius (20)

Seciden Mencarde (20)

June EricS39 (41)

June ShereKahn (38)

June The Amazing Poodle Boy (36)

June Matt (Dark Baron) (17)

June Blakk Matt (20)

thatguy (31)

June NickyDude (37)

June Kinvadren (23)

June betpet (31)

June Cannibal (36)

July proganyl (60)

July 30otsix (36)

July syke39 (34)

phickman7872 (34)

July The Mad Monk (17)

mammoth (38)

July 3-blind-mice (18)

July timothybard (24)

July Tonyg (18)

The Bold Slasher (15)

July Mel S (20)

July ejl0007 (32)

July nick (22)

driftingon (26)

pg_0008

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 8 --

IFComp 2006

The IFComp 2006 has just been announced - http://ifcomp.org/comp06/

In terms of IF comps, this is the big one and tends to attract upwards of 30 or 40

games at a time from practically every system out there. No good at game writing.

Don’t worry. That never stopped a lot of people from entering last year.

Inform 7 Arrives In Beta

On 30

April, Inform 7 arrived on the scene. After a quick look through it, I can

safely say that it seems significantly easier to use than any previous version. Heck,

you don’t even need to be a programmer to get your head around it! The clever

thing about it, and its killer feature from my point of view, is that it uses a ‘natural

language’ approach so that even a non-programmer can figure it out without too

much hassle. How well it will do in the long run remains to be seen, but it’s certainly

an impressive start.

The only downside with the program at the moment seems to be the way the

manual is written, making finding just about anything a frustrating experience.

Spatterlight

A new version of Spatterlight – a Mac OS X application that allows people on non-

Windows computers to play ADRIFT games – has been released. As I don’t have a

Mac myself, I'm not going to benefit from it personally but it’s nice to know the Mac

crowd now have another interpreter to play ADRIFT games on.

Full details: http://ccxvii.net/spatterlight/

Spring Thing 2006

The Spring Thing 2006 came and went. While last year’s Comp had a total of six

entries, this year produced just four. It also had a disappointingly low amount of just

fourteen voters. Not many when you consider the size of the online IF community.

Surprisingly enough, of the four games entered in the Comp two were with ADRIFT.

ADRIFT games seldom make their way into anything but ADRIFT Comps so it was

unusual to say the least to have half the Comp entries. Even nicer that one of them

came second (not mine unfortunately but then it’s nice to see

any

ADRIFT game do

well in a non-ADRIFT Comp).

pg_0009

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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by Shuarian

This is the first issue of the Adrift Forum Digest. The goal is to highlight a selection

of the most interesting forum threads. This issue covers the time period of April 1st

to May 22, 2006. Apart from getting published here, a comprehensive list which also

covers older topics is available on the Adriftwiki:

http://insideadrift.org.uk/mwiki/index.php.title=Adrift_Forum_Digest

Adrift 5.x

-Adrift 5.0 Map

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=5251):

In a poll, Campbell asked what kind of modifications people would like to see for the

map system in Adrift 5. Most people either wanted a new layout designer or keep

the current system with a few changes.

-What Adrift 5 Needs Most Of All

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=4530):

In this thread, started by David Whyld, ideas and suggestions for the upcoming

release of Adrift were collected and discussed. Campbell answered many

questions, and asked for any proposals to be entered at the Bugs & Enhancements

page.

Programming Help

- Moving on the turn count

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=4;t=5263):

The topic deals with the timing of tasks in combination with turns. Possible solutions

can be achieved through tasks or variables.

- Notepad / journal

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=4;t=5264):

Deals with the setup of a journal for the player-character which adds new entries

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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every time the player comes across certain items or places. It can be solved by

using a combination of the ALR and variables.

- Changing static object's description.

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=4;t=5256):

Explains how to use an alternate description for a static object once it has been

modified (by a task) with a dynamic object.

- Repeating positive scores when repeating a task

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=4;t=4592):

Ways to increase a score every time a task is repeated. Solutions include separate

tasks or a custom variable for the score.

Game Design, Writing Techniques

- How do you write yours.

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=6;t=520:

In this thread, people tell in which way and order they write their games. Not

surprisingly, there are many different approaches.

- Realism

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=458:

Talks about the concept a player has regarding the realism of games. What people

understand under 'realism' is different, and changes depending on the setting of the

game. It was agreed that consistency within the fictional world plays a very

important factor.

Player Preferences

- Colors.

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=5215):

TDS was asking how open people are towards a game which changes text and

background colors frequently. The general consensus was that the readability of the

text is the most important point, while changing colors itself doesn't pose a problem.

- Sound and graphics

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=4555):

Asked whether using the sound and graphics capabilities of ADRIFT is popular,

most drifters had a preference for text only adventures, although many also liked

having graphics or sounds in their game. Including them only optionally appears to

be a good idea.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Non-Adrift related IF Topics

- Inform 7 (http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=5240):

The release of the public beta of Inform 7 was noted with high interest, especially

because the natural language approach seems to make learning Inform 7 easier.

Quite a few people expressed their intention to give it a try. Also discussed was how

Inform 7 will influence the appeal of Adrift, and how Adrift 5 will compare to it.

- ifwiki.org

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=5237):

This thread mentioned the state of Adrift entries on the IFwiki. David Welbourn used

the opportunity to introduce the IFwiki and to give his account on its history and

purpose.

Miscellaneous

- Newbies and mazes

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=4621):

Apparently, mazes are more popular among first time IF authors than among most

players. Reasons mentioned for this were nostalgia as well as the relative simplicity

of creating mazes.

- Why haven't you finished a game.

(http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/iB/ikonboard.cgi.act=ST;f=1;t=4590):

Given the few releases of new games, David Whyld made a poll asking why people

haven't finished their games. Among other answers, the most common cited

obstacle was the lack of time due to the influence of real life.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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by David Whyld

Yes, roll your eyes and yawn: it’s another article about combat systems in Adrift

games.

Still with me. Good. Then I’ll proceed.

After having a bash at various ideas for combat systems in one game or another, I

was left with the conclusion that combat systems just aren't very interesting. In

graphical games, they're great because you get to look at all the fancy special

effects going off, you can work on your strategies, plan tactics, etc, etc, but in a text

adventure all you’ve got to look at is, pretty much, this kind of thing:

> hit goblin with sword

You hit the goblin with the sword and inflict 2 points of damage.

The goblin hits you with its axe and inflicts 3 points of damage.

> hit goblin with sword

You hit the goblin with the sword but miss.

The goblin hits you with its axe and inflicts 1 point of damage.

> hit goblin with sword

You hit the goblin with the sword and inflict 5 points of damage.

The goblin hits you with its axe but misses.

No matter how you vary things, how you change the text to make the basic

descriptions more exciting, what you're left with at the end of the day is still just lines

of text scrolling by on the screen and which

just isn't very interesting

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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So I got to wondering how best to write a game that uses combat and yet make it so

the player doesn’t end up quitting the first time they're forced to fight. I came up with

the idea of some descriptive text for each round of combat, probably something

along the lines of:

You and the goblin attack each other, your sword whistling through

the air as it hits your enemy, knocking it backwards. The goblin roars

in anger and attacks on its own; fortunately the blow fails to land as i

missed your arm by a fraction of an inch.

Better than before, but still a long way from being workable. This also introduces the

problem of there needing to be a

lot

of descriptive text for even a relatively short

combat. Above, you have a single round of combat in which the player hits and the

goblin misses. Ideally you'd need to allow for:

* the player and the goblin both hitting

* the player hitting and the goblin missing

* the player missing and the goblin hitting

* the player and the goblin both missing

Four lots of descriptive text for each round of combat, and the combats might last

for half a dozen rounds or more. So each combat in the game would require at

least

twenty-four different sets of text for it. A lot of work indeed. Then, too, you're faced

with the problem that the descriptive text in itself isn't really that interesting for the

player when it’s scrolled past their eyes for the tenth time in succession. Using the

ALR to vary the descriptions would work to some degree but you’d still be talking

about a considerable amount of time and effort.

So back to the drawing board: how to make a combat system that works but isn't

boring.

I decided to go back to the basics of what a combat system is: namely, a way to

determine who wins a fight. Ideally this doesn’t need to take place over a number of

rounds because it ought to be possible to determine who will win and who will lose

based on the respective abilities of each combatant before the combat even begins.

If the player has better fighting abilities, better weapons and better armour than his

adversary, he’s going to win. If on the other hand, he’s weaker than his adversary

and with worse weapons and armour, he’s going to lose.

Simple.

You could even put in some descriptive text for winning and losing. With just two

possibilities, it wouldn’t require a lot of text for each combat and would be an easily

manageable amount.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Of course, the obvious problem with this is that there's no real sense of adventure in

it. If the player is tougher than his adversary, he wins. If he’s weaker, he loses. It’s

also kind of depressing from the player’s point of view to know that if he loses a

combat once, he’s going to lose it every time because his adversary’s tougher.

So to keep things moving smoothly, we need to introduce a randomness element.

Probably in the following format:

* If the player and the adversary are of equal powers, there ought to be a 50/50

chance that the player wins.

* If the player is slightly tougher than his adversary, the odds ought to be 60/40

on the player’s behalf.

* If the player is a lot tougher than his adversary, the odds ought to be 70/30 on

the player’s behalf.

And so on…

Likewise:

* If the player is slightly weaker than his adversary, the odds ought to be 40/60

on the player’s behalf.

* If the player is a lot weaker than his adversary, the odds ought to be 30/70 on

the player’s behalf.

And so on…

So the randomness is back but is this the ideal combat system. No. Why not.

Because this way the combat is over with too soon. It’s basically a one second

combat that ends with either the player dying or the adversary dying with no way of

affecting things beyond that.

How to get around this. A round-by-round combat system isn't going to work, and

nor is a combat that is decided in a second. Being killed due to purely random

elements would annoy most people; if it happened right at the end of the game, it'd

be the kind of thing that would get people quitting the game in droves.

A game I'm working on now – provisional title

Shattered Memory

but likely to change

before (if) it gets completed – uses a combat system in which everything is decided

in a single round. Originally I had it that the player died if they lost the combat

round; then I decided that was a bad idea because it either meant starting the

player off with great fighting abilities and/or weapons to give them a decent chance

of pulling through, or risking everyone quitting the first time they found themselves

killed by a randomly rolled variable. One way I saw past this was to introduce one of

pg_0015

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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two ideas:

* The player can’t die no matter what. Either he’s got some kind of power that

returns him to life if he

does

die or simply prevents him taking enough

damage to kill him. Nice idea in theory but how long it is likely to be effective

for. Sooner or later, you're going to realise you're playing a character who

can’t die. After that, the edge that the combat system is intended to introduce

is lost because the player is aware he can’t die and so starts taking

unnecessary risks.

* The player can die… but with consequences. Say, each time the player dies,

he suffers a score penalty, or loses an item, or a part of the main game quest

is cut off for him. Nothing fatal in itself but enough to convince whoever’s

playing the game to be more careful and to take less risks.

In all honesty, it’s likely to be impossible to design a combat system that’s ideal.

You either have endless amounts of text scrolling past the player in the format listed

first above, or you have a combat that’s over in the blink of an eye. Saying that, I

still think the combat systems are fine in principle. It just needs someone to go and

make a really good one.

pg_0016

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 16 --

by Mr Toad

Ok I'm new to Adrift, I've had a play and yes I have a few words to say about the

Parser and the community as a whole.........

Firstly ADRIFT itself uses a Windows style GUI which is both non-threatening and

easy to use. Within a couple of hours I had a few rooms set up complete with a few

items and puzzles. But still felt that I hadn't broken the surface yet.

For one ADRIFT gives the user the power to enter what commands need to be

typed to complete puzzles, so after playing a few frustrating IF games where its

harder to find the right verb than it is to solve the puzzle, its time to put things right!

Next comes the community.

Although I have not yet asked for any help or support when using ADRIFT (yet

being the word!) I have browsed this section of the forum and the threads speak for

themselves. It seems you guys are only too happy to help and all bugs seemed to

be ironed out very quickly. Maybe Campbell really sees this as his pride and joy or

maybe he is a very professional person who hates to see mistakes in his work. But

what ever the reason problems aren't problems long.

While I'm on the community side of things I have to mention the reviews! That’s

right were over to the dark side!! Having read some of the reviews I find them

slightly blunt but honest. I know some people would feel put out by a bad review,

but try try again I suppose would be the message and maybe one day someone will

write something that even David W will like! :P

So in conclusion I found ADRIFT easy to use but difficult to master. As a community

drifters are likeable and honest and if your game doesn't get a shining review my

advice is try harder next time.

pg_0017

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 17 --

’

Inform 7 and what effect its release (albeit in beta format) will have on Adrift

KFAdrift

I think it will certainly have an effect on Adrift as it gives another possible type of

environment for the non-programmer to use. From what I have seen though, it is a

programming language and requires a specific wording to implement everything.

There has been talk of it using natural language, but seems to be natural language

for a robot.

The way it works could provide some food for thought for Campbell's development

of Adrift 5 in implementing game elements and simply allowing the author more

freedom.

David Whyld

My first impression of Inform 7 was that it was pretty amazing. Compared to the

complexity of Inform 6, or Tads, or even a ‘simply’ programming language like Alan,

Inform 7 just seemed

easy to use it was hard to believe someone hadn’t come

up with the idea of a natural language program years before. But when I started

trying to do anything harder than create a few rooms with a few objects in them, I

ran into problems. Partly this was due to the manual – which seems to be written in

a confusing manner and divided into chapters whose headings make precious little

sense unless you really sit and read through the entire thing from start to finish – and

partly because, while it might

seem

incredibly easy to use when you first start with

it, the difficulty factor really cranks up the moment you start trying to do anything

more complex. After several false starts, much head scratching and a lot of hunting

through the manual to try and find out how to do something that I’d have done in

ADRIFT in two seconds flat, I decided to push Inform 7 aside for the time being.

But how will this affect ADRIFT and its stranglehold on the non-programmers’ side

of the IF market. At this stage, it’s difficult to say. In the past, if you wanted to write

IF and you either didn’t know how to program or weren’t interested in learning, you

had a choice of either ADRIFT or Quest. 99% of people picked ADRIFT as it’s

overall a better program, is far easier to use and has a larger user base. But now

there’s a third contender and this time it’s one with a far better pedigree than Quest.

pg_0018

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 18 --

So does this mean a migration of people from ADRIFT to Inform 7. Maybe. At the

moment, it’s difficult to say what will happen one way or the other. If you're looking

for the easiest system around, you're still far better off with ADRIFT… but, saying

that, if you're prepared to put in the extra effort of learning Inform 7 (and it’s a

lot

extra effort compared to learning ADRIFT), it’s probably fair to say that, when the

final version comes around, Inform 7 might be the better choice. Of course, it all

depends to a large degree just how much effort you're willing to put into something

that is nothing more than a hobby.

pg_0019

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 19 --

Interview with Richard Otter

And this month (hopefully the first of many months) we have an interview. This time

with none other than prolific ADRIFT author Richard Otter (aka Rotter).

First of all, thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for the newsletter. Let’s start with a

few easy questions to get the ball rolling:

IA: Who is Rotter. Tell us a bit about yourself.

Rotter: Well, as a quick look at my profile will tell you I’m not the youngest member

of the forum. Married for 20 years (to the same woman), I have three children, two

of whom are teenagers (tell me about it!) and two dogs. So my house is never quiet,

always full of children (both my own and dozens of their friends), always noisy and

mostly untidy.

To pay the bills I’m the network manager at a medium sized company, which

involves anything to do with servers, computers, laptops, printers, cabling, installing

software, supporting users and so on. Unfortunately my main hobby is computers

as well, so my wife claims she is a computer widow.

My interest in IF is from the glory days of adventure games in the 80s and 90s. I

must have played all the old ZX Spectrum classics such as Sherlock, Hobbit, Lords

of Time, Snowball and Subsunk. I even had a go at writing my own stuff in those

days using the dear old Quill by Gilsoft.

IA: You seemed to write a lot of games initially – four in 2004, five in 2005 – and

then… nothing. You haven’t quit or run out of ideas, have you.

Rotter: Run out of ideas. Certainly not! No, after last years IFComp I basically

burned myself out. I had never put so much effort into one game before and

pg_0020

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 20 --

certainly never tested one so much. So, I decided to take a rest for a month and

then start on my End of Year game. Unfortunately just at that time real-life

interrupted in a big way and it is only now I have some spare time again. Don’t

worry; I’ll get some games out this year somehow.

IA: Which of your games so far do you think has been your best work and why.

What would you say sets that game above all the others.

Rotter: This is an easy one to answer, my entry in last years Finish the Game

Comp, “Pathway to Destruction” is by far my favourite game to date.

Why. I think most will agree that the ideas behind my games are ok but it is usually

the implementation that lets them down. With Pathway I feel I got it right. For me

everything worked well, the plot, the locations, the implementation and it was one of

those games that seemed to write itself.

IA: The more you use ADRIFT, the more proficient with i you become. Have you

ever considered revising an old game of yours and adding extra aspects to i that

you didn’t at the time because you either didn’t know how to or never thought of.

Rotter: The simple answer is, for the most part, no. I will always put right things in

my games like bugs, typo’s, poor spelling and loose grammar as soon as they are

reported to me. Once I’ve released a game I’m usually content to leave it as it is and

more importantly I’m usually bored with it by the time it is released. Any new ideas I

might have I would rather use in a new effort.

Although, I do have one game that I’ve never been that happy with and that is

“Target”. Despite winning the comp it was entered in, it should have had far more

content and the only NPC in the game doesn’t really work. I’m still keen to create a

game which is different each time it is played but it is more likely to be a “Target 2”

rather than a rewrite.

IA: You hosted an Intro Comp last year. Any plans to host another at any time in the

future.

Rotter: I am considering running about another Intro Comp this year, as I feel

anything getting people creating in Adrift is good. I loved the ‘Finish the Game’

comp last year and the recent ‘Writing Challenge’ for that reason (I was

disappointed that I was not able to put in an entry).

I was very interested by a recent thread on the forum regarding a one-room

competition. Not sure I’d run it myself as I would love to write a one-room adventure

myself as this is one thing I haven’t attempted yet.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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IA: Do you finish all of the games that you start writing or have some of them fallen

by the wayside.

Rotter: What drifter doesn’t have games that fall by the wayside! I’ve released about

nine games to date but must have twice that many sitting on my hard desk. After a

quick look, I basically have four categories of games on my computer –

a) Stuff I’m working on,

b) Stuff I think will work but I’m leaving for the moment,

c) Stuff which started but I got fed-up of,

And finally

d) Things which seemed a good idea at the time.

IA: (if yes to the above question) Tell us about some of the games that, for one

reason or another, have never been completed. Also, do you intend to go back to

them one day.

Rotter: Two games stand out for me as being really disappointing and these are two

I created with the Quill years ago, namely “Delron” and “Wakemare”. I started a new

version of “Delron” and “Wakemare” when I first discovered Adrift. I have put a

considerable amount of effort into both since then and “Delron” has even been beta-

tested. I even named my website after this game but I just can’t make it work as a

modern game. I pick up “Wakemare” at irregular intervals and add little bits to it but

to be honest I just get bored with it.

A game called “Taken” (a ‘d’ on my list) is about a woman who is kidnapped and the

game revolves around her efforts to both stay alive and escape from her captor. I

love the idea behind this game but just can’t seem to make it work at the moment.

I’m hopeful that one day this game will see the light of day.

IA: Which IF (ADRIFT or otherwise) games have you played lately and which would

you recommend.

Rotter: First, I would recommend that everyone plays anything by Robert Street.

Second, this question actually gave me a few problems as I would never usually

recommend anything I like (apart from the Robert Street bit). Why. Because I really

seem to like stuff others are not keen on. Games like "When Beer Isn't Enough" by

Matt (Dark Baron) or "Sleaze City" by Mel S appealed to me for one reason or

another.

Anyway, I must answer this question. I have played every Adrift game released this

year (apart from AIF, not really my bag) although considering how few have been

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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I f r /

released this is not much of an achievement. The game I like best this year so far is

“The Potter and the Mould”. And strangely this is another great game by Mr Street.

I didn’t play “Back To Life... Unfortunately” by David Whyld that much when it came

out so I replayed it recently. I think this is actually my favourite Whyld game, good

plot and not one that I’ve seen used before. Rotter says play this game.

For a non-Adrift game then “Vespers” by Jason Devlin is another game I have

played again recently and I would highly recommend this to anyone. I really enjoyed

playing this game and consider it to be very well written and has an excellent plot.

IA: What made you choose ADRIFT over all the other text adventure systems out

there.

Rotter: I was clearing out the attic one day and came across my old Quill games,

hiding in an old cardboard box. I decided to play a few and fired up the old

Spectrum emulator and before long I had got the adventure bug again. I went

looking on the Internet to see if a Windows version of the Quill existed and stumbled

on something called Adrift and its forum. Surprisingly that didn’t put me off! I

actually registered Adrift on the same day I downloaded it, that is how much I liked

it.

Basically, this is a hobby and I do not have either the time or inclination to learn a

programming language. I have looked at Tads and Inform and even got one of my

games up and running in Alan. The problem is I seemed to spend all my time trying

to find a missing comma or bracket, with Adrift I can just get on with the writing.

IA: You fared pretty well in the IFComp last year – the highest place ADRIFT game.

Are you planning to enter again this year.

Rotter: No one was more surprised that me to be placed so highly in last years

IFComp, especially after I played the other Adrift entries. I fully expected to be in the

bottom quarter and would have been more than happy with that. I think the subject

matter of my entry helped and probably masked my usual failings, such as loose

grammar and poor NPC’s.

This year. Well, I have registered and my IFComp06 entry is nearing the beta-

testing stage.

IA: What’s your big hope for ADRIFT 5 – giving the TADS/ n o m Hugo crowd a run

for their money. Easier, and quicker, to write larger and more complicated games.

Or something else.

Rotter: I could go on about all the little things that Campbell really should put right,

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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but I actually love Adrift 4 R46. For me it is stable, easy to use and more importantly

it really annoys the programmers over at RAIF.

So, in v5 I would first like it to be more portable, to run on strange systems such as

Linux and Macs. I would love it to have a parser that will keep the RAIF crowd quiet.

To me being able to create a stand-alone version of my games so that future

releases can’t break them would be a good move forward. Finally, Adrift should

have a much better hints system.

IA: The age old question: where do your ideas come from.

Rotter: This is difficult to say really, as my ideas seem to at me from everywhere

and can pop up at anytime. As an example my first Adrift game, “Ticket to No

Where”, came from being stuck for hours on yet another railway station waiting for

yet another non-existent train.

“Target” was my attempt to make a game which was different each time it was

played (I know, I failed!).

“Darkness” was a variant on the term linear game, in that you can only really do up

and down. Also think I read a story about an abandoned lighthouse sometime in the

past and the idea stuck.

“Where are my keys” was my attempt at a conversation tree which worked fine but it

was a real shame about the game!

“Escape to New York” was my attempt at Titanic game, which happens to be

another hobby of mine. I have wanted to write a game based on this ship since my

Quill days but I’ve really no idea how the plot came about. It just developed with the

game.

IA: Have you ever played a game and fel it was so amazing that you’ve had a

sudden desire to write a game in homage to i .

Rotter: Normally the answer to this would be no but after “The Plague (Redux)” last

year I decided I wouldn’t mind having a go at a zombie game. I have a game called

“Pestilence” which will probably be my Summer Comp entry in production.

If you cast your mind back you may remember that I ported a game called “Escape

to Freedom by Mario Moeller” the other year. I just love old adventure games and I

enjoyed this one at sometime in the past and so when I came across it again I just

had to have a go at bringing in back to life. I have a few others started which will

probably be released when I have time.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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IA: Collaboration is an idea that gets mentioned from time to time on the ADRIFT

forum. Have you ever tried to collaborate with someone. If a major collaboration

project came along, would you be interested in giving it a shot.

Rotter: This would have to be a big no. This is not something I would be interesting

in or consider I would actually be any good at. I would be really be annoying to work

with on a collaboration game, as I’m forever changing my mind about something in

a game. I take stuff out of a game and then later I go and put it all back in again.

Works for me.

IA: You’ve been using ADRIFT for around two years now. Do you intend to carry on

using i for the foreseeable future or are there plans to move to a different system at

some point.

Rotter: At the moment I can’t see any good reason to stop using Adrift. As far as I’m

concerned the other IF creation systems have nothing extra to offer for me. Even

the new Inform7 is unlikely to change my mind on this one.

IA:

Finally, what games are you working on now.

Rotter: I’m working on two games at the moment -

“Unauthorized Termination”

You are a senior investigator with the police force of what is basically a totalitarian

state. On a world where nearly all forms of crime are punishable by execution, you

have been called on to investigate someone who has been unlawfully killed. From

the initial investigation it clearly looks like an accident and your superior is very

keen for you to close the case. You decide to dig a little deeper and it is then that

you uncover something that should probably have been better left hidden.

“Pestilence”

Thinking back, it is now difficult to remember an exact moment when it all started.

Like a lot of the large events it started very small. In the beginning it just seemed

like a particularly nasty form of flu sweeping the country. Many blamed cattle, some

Illegal Immigration and others thought it all down to genetically modified foods.

It always starts the same way; the person infected would have a very bad head cold

that no quantities of drugs would help. Then blinding headaches would strike, the

type that sit right behind the eyes. Just before the headaches dissipated boils and

sensitive areas on the skin would form all over the body. This would be rapidly

followed by flu like symptoms lasting anything up to three weeks. During this time

madness and incoherence would development

How it spread no one could say and everything from the food eaten to animal bites

got the blame. But, still it spread. The last reports on the television and radio, before

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 25 --

they went silent, ordered the population to remain calm and stay indoors. It is now a

week later you have just started sneezing and a terrible headache has arrived.

Scared, you head to the nearest medical centre.

_______________________

Richard Otter is the author of nine ADRIFT Games:

22 08 04 1) Ticket To No Where

10 10 04 2) Where Are My Keys.

23 11 04 3) We Are Coming To Get You!

14 12 04 4) Darkness

17 04 05 5) Fire In The Blood

16 06 05 6) Escape To Freedom

21 08 05 7) Target

25 09 05 8) Pathway To Destruction

01 10 05 9) Escape To New York

“Fire In The Blood” was the joint winner of the ADRIFT Spring Comp 2005; “Target”

won the Summer Comp 2005; “Pathway To Destruction” won the Finish The Game

Comp in 2006; “Fire In The Blood” and “Escape To New York” came joint third in the

ADRIFT End of Year Comp 2005; “Escape To New York” was the highest placed

ADRIFT game in the IFComp 2005 where it came 11

In 2005, he hosted the first ADRIFT Intro Comp. It attracted eight entries.

He runs a website at http://www.delron.org.uk/

pg_0026

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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New ADRIFT games released over the last few months:

The Warlord, The Princess & The Bulldog by David Whyld

(31st March 2006)

They said the fortress of the evil warlord was impregnable: stone walls sixteen feet

thick, infrared security cameras and motion detectors, enemy soldiers with machine

guns, attack dogs, tanks, aircraft, etc, etc. The works. They said no one could ever

get in, rescue the kidnapped princess, assassinate the warlord, and get out in one

piece.

Of course, they never reckoned on The Bulldog...

The Potter & The Mould by Robert Street

(31st March 2006)

This game features the past and present adventures of a shapeshifting superhero

called the Mould.

For Love Of Digby by David Whyld

(released 4th April 2006)

A calamity has arisen: your remote is broken and you’re just six hours away from

the 18

repeat of "Digby, The World’s Biggest Dog"! Somehow, you’ve got to get

your remote working again in time for this televisual treat, but all without leaving the

comfort of your favourite chair.

Resident Lust

by Night_Owl

(24

April 2006)

You play the part of a superhero after the GameMaster. An AIF game.

Paradise Hotel by Blue Meanie

(27

April 2006)

You're the assistant manager at Paradise Hotel in this AIF game in which the aim is,

not surprisingly, to get laid.

pg_0027

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Works in progress from members of the ADRIFT community. How many will ever

get finished. Only time will tell…

Core Bound

by Tech

What do you do with the last resources of a dying planet. You build huge

containers, fill them with trash and slingshot them out into the galaxy. That is, if you

are among the rich who get to choose. You don’t care where the trash goes. You

don’t care whether the living, breathing souls arrive safely at a destination. No, as

long as the trash doesn’t return to continue polluting your planet. The trash could

fall into the sun as long as you couldn’t hear them scream.

Except that you don’t particularly think of yourself as trash. And you never expected

to be herded from your home, sealed up in one of the containers and… and left to

die. At least those were your last thoughts before the sling drives drove your mind

into darkness.

When you awoke, it was so quiet. And dark. At first despair washes over you. But

then you hear the faint sound of another survivor over the thrumming of the sling

drives. That gives you hope.

You’ve chosen to live. To find a way out. Possibly a way back home.

Hackworks 1.0

by Tech

High Speed Connection being established, please wait... connected. Transferring to

pg_0028

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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the Imaginette Online portal... completed.

Portal

A navy blue floor is engulfed by an infinite black void stretching beyond three

meters in every direction. A glowing transparent sign with yellow lettering floats 2

meters over the floor.

>read sign

The glowing transparent sign with yellow lettering floats 2 meters over the floor. The

sign reads as follows...

Welcome to Imaginette Online 1.0

NEWS

1. As of 01/01/2104, beta testing of I.O. is finally over! A huge thank you to all of our

beta-testers who have helped to fine tune the unlimited worlds of Imaginette Online.

Remember, beta-testers receive half off the normal monthly subscription rate during

their first sixty days online!

2. The I.O. User Agreement has been modified to ban the use of Hackworks

Adaptive Code ™ products. Tighter sniffer controls have been implemented to

uncover users of these tools that lead to unfair play. Users in violation of the

agreement will be banned for life from Imaginette Online.

Please touch the sign to signify your agreement with these terms. You will then be

taken to your personal apartment.

>touch sign

The world melts and rematerializes around you…

Personal Apartment

Furnished in the spartan style, a box bed without sheets is here along with the

doorway north to the "common grounds". Two blue balls float next to the doorway,

one above the other giving off a blue glow saturating the room.

>touch bottom ball

You are rattled to hear the voice of your girlfriend, Jade.

"Nate, Please help me," she asks with a worried tone in her voice. The two of you

haven't spoken for two days after a stupid fight you had offline. You'd been playing it

cool, staying away, hoping that she'd feign some interest and send you a message.

Something in her tone though says this isn't an apology.

"I couldn't jack out of the system or get out of my apartment. These automations

showed up. I don't know where they've taken me. They want me to tell you that they

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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want the golden sword of Anra back. Geez, Nate, I was messing around... I'm

sorry," she says breaking off into crying.

Momentarily she brings it back together. "After our fight, I took your stupid sword

and created a quest for you. I was going to get back at you. They don't believe me.

They think I'm protecting you and that you still have it. They know you have a

Hackworks mod also. They say after finding the sword, you'll disable it or they'll kill

me. Can they do that. This is just a game, right. I'm scared, Nate. I can't jack out!

Nate, please."

End of audio message.

Jim Pond: A Meeting With S.K.U.M.

by David Whyld

The call came through, as it usually did, while I was ‘entertaining’ a lady friend. She

was a classy dame: elegant, discreet and, what’s more, cheap. Very cheap. Always

an admirable quality in a woman as far as I'm concerned.

But the call had come through and I had to leave. I left her tied to my bed (I would

be back in a week or two so figured she was fine as there was a half bottle of coke

with a straw in the top by the side of the bed), hopped into my car, sped at 95 mph

through the 30 mph streets of London, and arrived at the office a short time later.

Miss Funnyfanny greeted me at the door. She might have been coming onto me.

The fact that she was naked and had a rose between her teeth hinted at this. But

my mind was firmly on business right now so I strode past her and entered P’s

office. Pausing to throw my coat at the coatstand in typical secret agent style, I sat

myself in the chair before P’s desk and said, “what’s up, doc.

P was not amused. Then again, P is a miserable old bastard and precious little

amused him.

“What’s up, Pond,” he said, “is that terrorists have stolen a bomb and are

threatening to blow up an unspecified target if we don’t pay the unspecified ransom

amount.”

”Which target.” I ask, my attention momentarily diverted by the rather fetching

blonde I had just noticed in the corner of the room.

”Unspecified, Pond,” says P. “Meaning they haven’t said yet.”

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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”Oh.” I give the blonde the once over. Then the twice over. Then a third one. There

is something familiar about her… “And how much is the unspecified ransom

amount.”

P sighs.

”This is Miss Layla Dinkwad,” says P, indicating the blonde who is, currently, the

sole focus of my attention. “Miss Dinkwad, this is-“

”Jim Pond,” says Layla. “We have… met.”

I remember. South America. 1999. I was there for… oh, something or other… an

assassination.... foiling terrorists.... something like that… and as I went to get a

paper one morning, I happened to glance over to a woman sitting in a café and, as

she was female and I was Jim Pond, I filed her face (and other characteristics)

away for future reference.

”The pleasure is all mine… Layla,” I say.

”Miss Dinkwad-“ says P.

Layla holds up one perfectly manicured hand. “Layla, please.”

P nods. “Layla has infiltrated the terrorist cell and brought us considerable

information on them.”

Layla sits next to me, crossing her legs in an alluring manner.

P goes on, “so this is where you come in, Pond. We need you to go deep under

cover…”

”My thoughts precisely, P,” I say. “Myself and Layla. Deep. Under the covers.”

P reaches over the desk and slaps me across the face. “Stay focused, Pond. This is

important.”

”Focused,” I say, massaging my face, “is my middle name.”

P sighs some more. He seems to do this a lot whenever I am around. Maybe it’s an

allergic reaction or something. “You are to pose as a buyer of ancient artefacts in

order to allow you access to a certain Parisian art gallery where the terrorist cell is

located. There, you will liaise with Layla-“

“Liaise.” I nod. “Oh yes.”

”-and proceed to locate the bomb. After that-“

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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”Boom.”

P frowns. “I sincerely hope the bomb doesn’t explode, Pond.”

”I wasn’t referring to the bomb.”

”Layla is already working undercover at the gallery,” says P. “As-“

I stop him. “Let me guess. As a model. A passing porn star. A-“

”I'm the cleaner,” says Layla with a sigh. “I help wipe up all the vomit and the

occasional dead body.”

“Oh.” That kind of dampens the erotic image I have of her in my mind but no matter.

I'm adaptable.

”You will be posing as Cecille Berkhold,” says P, “who is a major figure in the art

world… and he has a collection of many, many… and furthermore he is virtually

unknown in that area of Paris so there will be little chance of… it will be hard of

course… Indeed, P. Now, assuming you were paying full attention during my

briefing, you have everything you need to get going.”

I blink and come out of the customary daze I generally fall into whenever P is

speaking.

“Good luck to you both,” says P. “And thank heavens you're so organised and

prepared. The least trouble here could lead to both of you winding up dead in an

unmarked grave by the end of the week.”

I escort Layla out. We discuss the plan as we walk through the reception area

where Mrs Funnyfanny dances around naked with the rose in her mouth. Layla will

come to my apartment this evening to ‘discuss the mission’ and then we will

proceed separately to Paris where she will slip into her role as the cleaner at the art

gallery and I will become Cecille Berkhold.

Katlin’s Story

by Tech

A long time ago, you consulted a man many spoke of as a reliable seer. He came

highly regarded for his uncanny insight. However, as you sat in his worn shack

watching the old, withered man attempt to pour you a cup of spiced tea, it made you

wonder. A man with accurate abilities should possess wealth. Still, you listened to

him as he huddled close to you so that he may gaze on your face as he spoke.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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"Born to a world of failing magic, Katlin Further, I herald you as do other mages.

You are our hope."

He pauses momentarily seemingly searching for something within your expression.

"You are without a peer. Long ago, in the beginning, there were mages called

elementalists. Their power was beyond anything seen for millennium. In fact, until I

gazed on your aura; they were as myth to me, my father and all of his grandfathers."

You wonder, were the pauses for dramatic affect.

"Sir, continue please."

"You are an elementalist; though a baby. You've learned to channel and destroy.

Later you will learn to create."

Imploringly he searches your eyes, "You must learn to create... or... or you will die.

And all of our dreams along with you. Possibly the world."

"Why me." you ask.

"I do not know. I only know what you are. Not why or how."

The conversation meandered off into ancient history. Much of which is stuffed away

subconsciously until needed.

Funny that this memory came back to you as you stand outside the gates of the

winery. By the light of the stars and moon peeking out partially between gathering

rain clouds, you can see the sign reads, "Vernon Winery est. 122170."

Even at this late hour, the sounds of work spill out from the inside. That doesn't

surprise you. A week ago, a young apprentice mage, Darrin, went missing. A

master compass attuned to his aura produced nothing until late this afternoon when

it began twirling for hours until finally settling down on a single direction.

You came here following Darrin's aura. Information gathered from others indicated

that the winery employed slave labor. Even possibly had business ties with a guild.

That's allright, you didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms tonight.

All that matters is finding Darrin.

pg_0033

Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

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Mecasite

by Tech

It started during the long hard rain of a northern lightning storm when I had just

pulled over a stolen Sierra Air Craft.

The rain was coming down hard and the wipers of my police craft barely wiped

away the water from the windshield before it was replaced. The red signal lights of

the stolen silver Sierra were broken into a million shards through each of the rain

drops along the windshield. The blue glow of the dash lit the interior of my craft.

Grabbing a poncho and my unclasping my personal sidearm, I repeated my last

request through the load horn, "Step out of the car."

The Sierra lay unmoving on the grassy knoll its driver had brought it to a halt.

Lightning outlined its form momentarily. It's windows were nearly opaque keeping

the driver unseen.

"Ok, we'll do this the hard way," I said stepping out the car, "Central, I'll need

backup. I'm attempting to make contact with the driver."

"Understood," came the response, "standing by."

Wind whipped the rain up under the hood against the fur of my face. But it also

brought the smell of something. It smelt like blood. Instantly alert, I pulled my

sidearm.

Pulling alongside the Sierra and pointing the sidearm at the driver side window, I

yelled over the wind and the rain, "I said get out of the car."

Surprisingly, the driver side window rolled down and I could make out the driver

hidden in robes.

"On a night like this, officer." came the sound of a woman's voice.

The rain was coming down hard and the wipers of my police craft barely wiped

away the water from the windshield before it was replaced. The red signal lights of

the stolen silver Sierra were broken into a million shards through each of the rain

drops along the windshield. The blue glow of the dash lit the interior of my craft.

Grabbing a poncho and my unclasping my personal sidearm, I repeated my last

request through the load horn, "Step out of the car." The Sierra lay unmoving on the

grassy knoll its driver had brought it to a halt. Lightning outlined its form

momentarily. It's windows were nearly opaque keeping the driver unseen. "Ok, we'll

do this the hard way," I said stepping out the car, "Central, I'll need backup. I'm

attempting to make contact with the driver." "Understood," came the response,

"standing by." Wind whipped the ran up under the hood against the fur of my face.

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Inside ADRIFT Issue 29 May/June 2006

-- 34 --

But it also brought the smell of something. It smelt like blood. Instantly alert, I pulled

my sidearm. Pulling alongside the Sierra and pointing the sidearm at the driver side

window, I yelled over the wind and the rain, "I said get out of the car." Surprisingly,

the driver side window rolled down and I could make out the driver hidden in robes.

"On a night like this, officer." came the sound of a woman's voice.

The Road Home

by Tech

For the last five years, the depths of the Black Forest have been your home. A

proven safe haven for many wanted men such as yourself, you've built a home and

farmed the surrounding land. Crops sold to a nearby tavern and travelling

merchants bring in your meager living. A meager living as a freeman. A much

different life than it would be back in the kingdoms. This time of year, each cold

winter's night emphasizes how isolated the region is. No merchants have been

through in nearly a week. From your home, you decide to head over to the

Journey's End Tavern to eat a warm meal, share a warm fire and enjoy what little

contact with others you can.

Sun Empire: Quest For Founders II

by Tech

The last few minutes of your life have been a blur. A few hours ago you, Tangee

Simone, were the foremost research scientist at the Rosemon Genetics Institute on

Rhiannon. But then, the Orgaans attacked. Following instinctual hatred centuries

old, the Institute was destroyed. You barely made it out alive with your peer, Mark

Eridian, and Malthew, the Kantan head of security. Now, the three of you are riding

in the back of the evac bus with six Sun Empire marines you can make out in the

darkened compartment.

As the bumps and jolts of the ride toss you about, you wonder why the Orgaans

would attack the Institute. Why has the war with them gone on for so long. You

can't ask anyone else because the noise from the speeding bus is too great. The

marines are able to talk through com systems in their helmets. A few eye the three

of you; at least one smiles and waves.

Finally, the bus comes to a sliding halt and the marines lean forward in anticipation.

Sunlight streams into the darkened compartment as the rear of the bus is opened.

Temporarily blinded by the sudden light, the marines behind push you out onto solid

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ground. Rough hands wrench your arms behind your back and shackle you.

"Hey, what are you doing." you hear Mark question. A low growl off to your left.

Then you are suddenly thrown back into the compartment alone. Struggling to

regain your feet; a marine draws himself up onto the back of the bus. As the

compartment door draws close; you see beyond Mark and Malthew lying on the

ground of a desert under guard by the remaining marines.

The marine draws near. Holding something in his hand, he speaks to you softly,

"Hold still." Feeling a prick, a coolness washes through your body. Expecting your

vision to adjust to the light, instead you feel dizzy and the darkness completely

takes hold...

Awakening, you find yourself in a different place... the evac bus and marines are

gone...

Sun Empire: Quest For Founders III

by Tech

The journey has been four long months. Four long months since the research

station on Janis 4 experienced an unprecedented planet wide quake. Four months

since the station's commander, Brom Thandia, began broadcasting a broad

spectrum emergency signal. Three months since the signal was ceased without

explanation. After four months of streaming along at 75c, the Long March finally

begins to slow as it approaches the solar system of Jan II.

There was no response to any communication from orbit. After four long months,

you begin to doubt anyone survived. Visual images show a battered, leaning tower

surrounded by four smaller towers connected by archways. The station sits

embedded in the bottom of a valley. Confirmation with original gealogical charts

indicate that the station used to sit above a plain. The quake created a large

sinkhole into which the station fell. Amazingly, only one of the archways was

damaged in the quake. Its smaller towered nearly collapsed with the archway taking

a steep decent to the valley floor.

A large rectangular concrete hangar sitting a quarter mile away from the station

faired better. Its topside shuttle pad appears stable enough for use. A large set of

greenhouses better than a mile away and sitting atop the actual level of the

surrounding plains appear to also have been left intact. Water from underground

rivers in the region have formed a miniature swamp around the base of the station.

First on the scene, you take a team in a shuttle down to the station shuttle landing

pad and begin your given task: Assist and rescue any survivors.

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Sun Empire: Ghostship

by Tech

Slipping silently between the stars, the SE Ranger expected to arrive back on the

White Nova within a few days.

Exhausted from your successful rescue mission in the O'Dahlmoor system, you've

spent most of the last week recuperating in bed. The last day and half, you've

begun to feel slightly alone.

The Ranger's science facilities are limited and all of the other scientists are aboard

the White Nova. At first, you attempted to talk to the marnette Snow because you've

had so little contact with his kind. However, his shock and anger over being

appropriated for "research" functions seems to have limited his vocabulary. Giving

up, you're pretty sure that Snow would only be happy planning another job.

Fortunately, the working relationship that you've begun over the last few months

with Sfira gives you something to begin a few decent conversations while you wait.

After a while, you start to even consider her a friend.

Between those conversations, you find yourself walking the near empty halls when

Commander Johnathan calls you to the bridge.

"Tamara, I've received some more intelligence reports from the Kantan Invisible

Order. I believe they are offering you something for what you've helped 'em out

with. For the life of me though, I'm pretty sure only you'd want to take a look at this,"

He motions you over to a monitor.

"What is it, Johnathan." you ask.

On the monitor is a large, black starship floating near what appears to be a small

moon. The system's sun in the background is the only illumination bouncing off of

the ship's hull. Roughly shaped like a bullet, the ship is a construction of various

compartments. Its fairly certain by the number of portals that the front of the ship

was a command and living quarters. However, the function and purpose of the

myriad of box and oval shaped compartments that make up the body of the ship

escapes you. Hundreds of towers, enclosed walkways and girders tie it all together.

Giving you perspective, a flashing red beacon gives you momentary illumination of

an automated military turret emplacement floating in the shadow the immense ship.

"It's almost as big as the White Nova," you state.

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"Yes, but much older according to the reports that I've read. This vessel has been

derelict since it was chartered fifteen years ago. The research institutes haven't

been informed of its existence because the Order believes that the ship is of

Orgaan design."

"I've never seen an Orgaan ship like that before," you reply.

"I've got to agree with that. Well, It falls under military jurisdiction and no one else

even the Orgaan appear to care or notice it. So, it sits."

Standing, you look at Johnathan and ask, "But why show me this. It's a derelict

vessel. Bring everyone in and we'll tear the place apart."

"Ah, but they've done some low level scanning already and they believe there is still

life aboard. Furthermore, from the up close inspection and the age of the outer hull,

they believe this some kind of ancient science ship."

Slowly it dawns on you, there has never been a record of an Orgaan science

vessel. The age of the ship could place it back to another time. Another time where

the Orgaans may have brushed up against the founders. With what you've learned

so far, the ship may contain the missing pieces to the genetic puzzle. A big grin

crawls across your face.

"I was afraid of that smile," says Johnathan, "I've already put us on course. Report

down to the personnel docking hatch when we arrive. Sfira and Snow are going to

accompany you on this. I'd expect this to be dangerous so Sfira needs to watch out

for you. As for Snow, well, you need to use his abilities as well as you can."

"Thank you, commander," you reply walking away from the bridge in a daze at the

possibilities. Here you have a pristine opportunity to recover new scientific

information unseen of. Your head swimming with the possibilities, you never realize

how dangerous this mission might be.

That is, until you step into the cramped quarters of the auxillary airlock and the SE

Ranger is shut off behind you...

Twiddles’ Terrible Twin

by David Whyld

The Bulldog was in love. And it was every bit as horrifying as his father had warned

him. That he was in love with a princess just complicated the matter still further.

Princess Leonora, she of the flawless complexion but less-than-flawless

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personality, who widely regarded poor people as some kind of inhuman sub-

species, who thought abolishing slavery had been a remarkably bad idea and who

felt the law should be amended to give her the right to shoot people if she took a

dislike to them, was his true love and intended, one day, to make him her husband.

Whether he wanted it or not. To The Bulldog, who had looked death in the face so

many times they were practically on first name terms, it was the most frightening

experience of his life.

* * * * *

”We shall do some shopping first… then the theatre… then perhaps a light meal…

then I need to get my hair done… then we shall…”

The Bulldog listened to the litany recorded on his answer phone and suppressed a

grunt that would have turned into a full blown scream if he let it. The message was

seven minutes long, even though the tape in his machine was only four minutes

long. By all logic it should have expired just over halfway into Leonora's message

but it hadn't. It probably daren't.

Right then, a terrorist trying to kill him by blowing his house up would have been a

welcome diversion. Terrorists he could handle. You just hit them and hit them and

hit them and, sooner or later, they stopped being a problem. It was never as easy

with Leonora…

It was, strangely enough, Twiddles who came to his rescue.

* * * * *

"Appreciate this is your day off and all, old chap," said Twiddles over the phone.

The Bulldog could almost hear him stroking his cat, Marmaduke. "But we're having

a spot of bother at the office and wonder if you'd mind stopping by-"

"I'll do it."

"-to take care of it. Only there's a problem in the Middle East with a shipment of

arms and we need someone out there somewhat sharpish to-"

"I'll do it!"

"-deal with it before it escalates into a full blown incident. You've had an easy time

since the Baron Grishtak incident so I figured you might-"

"I'LL DO IT!"

"-care to give it a…" Twiddles' trails off. "Say, Bulldog, for a second there I could

swear you were speaking and not just doing your usual gru-"

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"Do you want me there or not." The Bulldog asks, eyeing the clock worriedly.

Leonora said 11.00 am and it's now five to. "Yes or no."

"Y-" is as much as The Bulldog heard before he was tearing out of the house and

flagging down the first taxi to take him to the 'office'.

* * * * *

Of course, it's not really an office. It just looks like one. Well, an office block actually,

as the Department of Defence & Securities is a very big place. It overlooks the

Thames and, on a good day, you can stand on the roof and see for miles in all

directions. Twiddles' office, which is an actual office, is at the top. The Bulldog even

has his own office here, but he threw the desk and the filing cabinet out a while ago

and just uses the computer for something to rest his rocket launcher on.

He arrives in the parking lot beneath the building, nods to Henry the doorman who

nods back and buzzes him through into the entrance to the building… and that's

when The Bulldog realises something that he should have realised right from the

word go. Namely, that the voice on the phone wasn't that of Sergeant Twiddles, but

just sounded like his voice. Maybe that landmine explosion he suffered to the head

a fortnight back has affected his hearing.

Because when he stepped through the door into the entrance of the building, he

found himself facing not the smiling receptionist, but instead a barricaded area, two

dozen men armed with machine guns and an unpleasant looking fellow holding a

gun to the receptionist's head.

* * * * *

"The Bulldog," says a man who looks remarkably like Twiddles, even down to the

fact that he has a cat in his lap. "Nice of you to drop by. I am Mobius Twiddles. I

believe you work for my brother." He smiles the same smile that is often plastered

across Twiddles' face. The kind of smile that makes a guy almost want to pull his

face off. "I have a little job for you…"

Voyage Of The Starfarer

by AndrewF

The world was not the same after the massive pandemic swept its way around the

globe in the first half of the new century. In only two short months, the deadly virus

that swept the globe had infected 90% of the Earth's population and had killed over

a third of those infected. Whole towns were left standing empty, cities ground to a

halt as the population fell ill and died in their hundreds of thousands and entire

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countries faced the threat of extinction.

In the aftermath of the global disaster the surviving peoples of Earth were dismayed

by the fragility of life on their small planet, and as a whole they loudly demanded

"NEVER AGAIN!"

Never again, must the human race be allowed to be vulnerable in the same way,

they demanded that something be done!

A large asteroid over one thousand metres long and six hundred metres wide was

moved from the asteroid belt into orbit around Earth and construction began on a

massive scale. The interior of the asteroid was hollowed out, spun up (to simulate

gravity) and refitted to hold the ten thousand who had volunteered to be colonists,

the human "eggs" being transplanted into a new basket. Mammoth fusion plants

were installed into the southern end-cap and linked directly into the gigantic engines

built into the very rock or the asteroid.

After many years of extremely hard work, finally the Arkship "Starfarer" was

complete.

A grand adventure!

That was what you had signed up for; at least that is what you can remember as the

fog of sleep slowly clears.

You had seen the global advertising. Who could miss it.

You had thought it could be fun and exciting to start a new life on a new world so far

from home.

You were one of those brave individuals who had volunteered to people the Arkship

"Starfarer" and travel to another star to colonise the Earth-like planet astronomers

had found there.

You were so proud when you were selected to be amongst the ten thousand

colonists.

You thought you knew all the risks.

You felt a little trepidation when you realised that the trip would take many lifetimes,

and that everyone would be put in cryo-stasis for the duration of the voyage.

You were elated when you were selected to be on one of the emergency revival

teams, those who would be unfrozen early in the unlikely event of anything

happening that "mother", the sentient computer controlling the Starfarer, couldn't

handle.

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You were disappointed when you found out you were on the tertiary backup

team......

The Tertiary backup team!!!...

That must mean that something so drastic has happened that all four teams are

needed to sort it out...

or...

The first three teams have already failed and it's now your team's turn to try!!!

Willow

by Mizgriz

You are Ellen Holmes, a well-known American romance novelist. After the death of

your husband, your ten-year old daughter, Leah, has become melancholy. She

speaks very little and eats very little.

When you see an ad in the paper for an isolated mountain resort, you jump at the

chance to take Leah. A vacation may be all she needs....

You spend a few days packing, and then, you're off. As you start driving, it begins to

rain. You hope it won't rain through the whole trip.

On the way, you find yourself driving through a massive, old, forest on an old,

winding, road that doesn't even have guardrails.

Deciding that now would be a good time to try to strike up a conversation, you

speak to Leah.

"Are you excited."

She shrugs.

"You still like being outside, right. You like renting cabins, right."

She shrugs again.

"Do you...want to talk about Daddy."

"No."

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You shrug and keep driving. The rain is coming down harder now. It's getting hard

to see. As you ease on the brake and slow down, Leah screams...

"Leah. What is it, sweetie."

"Don't you see her, Mom."

"See who, honey."

"That little girl! Mom, you're going to hit her!"

"Leah, there's no--" You never finish the sentence. In a split second, Leah leans

over and grabs the steering wheel, yanking it to the side and sending your car

careening off of the road and into a deep forest. The car is headed right for a tree--

and try as you might, you are unable to stop it. You take hold of Leah's hand as the

tree comes closer--

Everything goes black.

When you come to, your maternal instinct takes over. You undo your seatbelt and

look at the passenger seat...but, to your horror, it is empty...and the passenger side

door is wide open!

"Leah. Leah!"

You run out of the car and look at the muddy ground beneath you. There are some

little shoeprints leading north, toward an old, abandoned mansion...and, figuring

they must be your daughter's, you follow them...

As you pass through the mansion's rusted iron gates, you can't help but be a little

unnerved by its appearance. The paint on the exterior is faded and peeling off and

the old porch has a gaping hole in it. You wonder if it will even hold your weight,

and, breathing deeply, you walk up the steps and onto the porch. Amazingly, it

supports your weight. You take hold of the handles on the rotting French doors, and

pull. For being so old and out of shape, they open easily! They don't even creak!

Taking a deep breath, you step into the mansion...and the doors slam shut behind

you...

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Wizardry

by Tech

Lead blindfolded down countless steps and twisting passages, the air grows musky

and damp. Smelling the pungent odor of the sewers, you curse under your breath

as you are lead into calf-deep water. "Is this necessary." you ask your guides. One

of them chuckles and replies, "You tell us. We can lead you back out if you're

having second thoughts." "Never mind," says the other voice, "We're here. Time for

us to leave." Removing the blindfold, you barely take note of your "guides" before

they leave, locking a large iron gate behind them.

"Welcome, Apprentice, I hope that you have prepared well for your final challenge.

You are completely free of restrictions. Much importance is riding on your individual

actions. It is how we will judge you and how you will join us. You will have no other

chance."

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by David Whyld

Ever worked on a game that has never gone anywhere for one reason or another.

Of course you have.

Here's one of mine:

The High Powered World Of Life On The Conveyor Belt

(…introduction…)

A klaxon sounds over the factory floor, sending shivers of dread into the hearts of the

workers mulling aimlessly about like extras in a zombie movie remake. The klaxon

can mean one of three things: World War 3 has broken out; aliens have landed and

are beginning to systematically wipe out the population of the Earth; or the factory

supervisor has decided to pay a surprise visit.

Bad luck.

It’s the third of these.

”Yea, though we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,” says Frobisher,

the factory foreman, who used to be the Pope but gave it up for the high powered

world of factory maintenance instead, “we will endeavour to get our jobs done for

fearsome is the wrath of The One Who Shall Not Be Named-“

”Is that Stenson.” a voice calls out.

The foreman, used to such interruptions, doesn’t even pause: “-and verily shall His

wrath strike down the evil-doers who have not done His will.” He mutters a short

prayer (something along the lines of ‘oh God, why did I get out of bed this

morning.’) and regards his ‘congregation’ with disappointment evident in his eyes.

“He Who Shall Not Be Named is indeed paying a visit to our pari- er, our factory

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later today. He has promised floggings [does that say floggings. Ah, sackings] for

any who fail to live up to the ideals He has set. We must stand together, my brethren,

or we will surely fail. Any questions.”

cTwenty two hands shoot up. As there are only six of you here, there is definitely

something fishy about all this.

”No questions. Excellent.” Frobisher crosses himself. “To your stations, my faithful

comrades. In our hour of darkness, we shall stand fast and we shall triumph.” He

points to each of you in turn: “Hogbert: you shall manage the pumps; Alicia: the

press; Oswald van Blunderbilde IV: the computers; Tarquin: the sharpening of the

pencils; Morgrim: get sweeping. Go forth, my comrades, and vanquish the-“

”Er, what about me.” you ask hesitantly.

Frobisher peers at you. “You.” He frowns. “Do I know-“

”It’s Bob,” you say.

He frowns some more.

I sigh. ”Your son.”

He brightens. ”Ah, dear boy! Yes, indeed! Go and do your… your… your job. Yes,

do that. You work on the…”

”The conveyor belt, dad.”

”Indeed. Indeed. Go to it, my boy. You shall make us all proud.”

Sighing deeply, you head over to the conveyor belt as your fellow workmates move

to their respective stations.

Whatever happens, it’s going to be one hell of a day.

________________________

This was a game I had high hopes for at one time. It was going to be similar in style

to an earlier one room game I wrote called

Paint!!!

but far larger in scope.

Paint!!!

had a number of random elements scattered through it, but it was essentially the

same game each time. After you'd been through it once, you could see what you'd

done wrong and, when playing again, fix your mistakes to move you closer and

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