A Night At The Museum Forever
Version 1.0
A Text Adventure Developed With The TADS Authoring System
Written By: Chris Angelini
(This game is copyright, 1995. All rights reserved and all that.)
(1.0) WELCOME!
And a great big thanks for playing this game! This archive
should contain
the following: a TADS run-time file; these documents; a cheat
file. If any
of these are missing, please contact me at cangelin uoguelph.ca
(if you are
responding before 1997, that is. I can't guarantee that I'll
still be there
afterwards).
(2.0) THE OBJECT OF THE GAME
Most of this is explained in the game's introduction. However...
a trouble consultant, who's mission is to enter an ancient
artifact and
return...alive. This artifact is a museum which was left behind
by an Ancient
race, that once ruled the stars. The artifacts which the museum
contains were
pulled from various time zones; and that is the entire problem.
Those who have
entered the museum do not fall victim to traps...but to time
paradox.
is a single, diamond ring in the museum. Can you get it, and
leave without
succumbing to paradox? Good luck, and godspeed.
(3.0) COMMANDS
You control this game through normal, English sentences. The
game responds
with text as a result of your commands. That's why this is
called Interactive
Fiction.
game which direction you want to move. In an amazing yet
brilliant move, early
text adventures used the cardinal compass directions for their
directional
commands...and the trend stuck. Typing North, South, East, or
West will move
your character in that direction (these can be shortened to N,
S, E, or W).
You will have to manipulate objects in this game as well. These
are implemented
through a verb-noun combination. As an example, you might type:
GET THE WRENCH
(assuming there was a wrench in the area, and assuming that you
wanted to get
it!). GET is the verb, and WRENCH is the noun.
instance, let's assume that now there is a nut that has to be
turned, and you
have deduced that it should be turned with the wrench. You could
type: TURN
THE NUT WITH THE WRENCH.
(or fortunately, if you're thinking of HAL-9000). Its vocabulary
is limited.
Therefore, if one command doesn't work, try another. Attempted
to EXCAVATE DIRT
might make more sense to the computer as DIG DIRT. I've tried to
use common
words (so you won't find EXCAVATE as a command, unless DIG also
worked in its
place).
Usually, it will tell you something (for instance, when you got
the wrench, it
might say TAKEN). On the other hand, you may have done something
that it didn't
recognise. It may say I DON'T UNDERSTAND, or something similar.
These are all
in plain English, so you will know for sure, what your command
has done.
You can also do things to things, for instance - LOOK UNDER THE
COUCH, or LOOK
IN THE CUPBOARD.
(3.1) TYPES OF COMMANDS
Here are some possible verbs that you can use. Remember, this
list is by no
means exhaustive. Other commands may exist to be used. Also,
some of these may
not be recognised by the program.
GET
TAKE
DROP
LISTEN
SMELL
PUT
LOOK
SAY
TURN
PULL
OPEN
CLOSE
READ
GO
LIGHT
WEAR
REMOVE
LIGHT
RING
EAT
JUMP
(3.2) SPECIAL COMMANDS
INVENTORY (or 'I') - This command will list everything in your
possession.
SCORE - This command tells you your current score and rank.
SAVE - Saves the game.
RESTORE - Restores as saved game.
RESTART - Starts the game over from scratch.
QUIT - Ends the game.
UNDO - Undoes the last move. Helpful if you just insulted a
rather large,
rather nasty dragon, who behaved rather predictably.
(4.0) HINTS
There should be a solution file included in this game. I suggest
that you do
not use it, as half of the fun is in discovering how to solve
the puzzles.
Here are some general hints, to help you do just that.
-Examine everything. EXAMINE <object> should be the first thing
you do when you
encounter something new.
-Examine the text. Not everything that's important will be
obvious. Read the text carefully for clues as to what to do next.
-Think about the situation. One of the biggest problems that
people have with
text adventures is that they must be thought about carefully.
Modern graphic
games are almost instinctively intuitive - by looking at
pictures, you can get
a grasp on the situation. Not so in text adventures. Try to
figure out what
the main goal of the game is, and work from there. Once you've
got the main
goal, try to see what the sub-goals are. Is there a door that
needs to be
opened? Maybe you have to find a key. Finding the key may be a
sub-goal in
and of itself.
-Map. Mapping the area will keep you from getting lost, or
backtracking.
-Take notes. Write down what everyone says, everything does, or
what you find.
Often, when first encountering something, its use may not be
clear. But through
further adventuring, something may give you a clue as to its
use. Notes might
help you make connections more easily.
-Get some rest. ;-> If you've been working on a game all night,
your brain may
be stuck. Get some sleep, read a book. Your subconscious may
solve the problem
for you!
(5.0) Legal Stuff
This game is protected under international copyright. Therefore,
it is mine.
You are, however, allowed to copy it, make copies for friends,
and distribute
it to other people, with some exceptions.
-Exception #1: You may NOT charge money for this game when you
give it to
someone else. It has to be free. You are allowed to charge for
the price of
the disk that you put it on, or other _reasonable_ copying fees
(but see #2).
-Exception #2: This game may not be included in a collection, or
sold by
Share-ware vending companies without my express permission.
Sorry guys, if you
want it, you have to ask.
-Exception #3: This game must be distributed intact. That means
that it must
contain the document you are reading, the cheat file, and the
main game program.
-Exception #4: All of these materials must remain unmodified.
Don't change the
game or the doc file. If you've got a great idea, or a bug
report, send it to
(cangelinuoguelph.ca).
(6.0) OTHER STUFF
Enjoy the game! Its free, so your financial obligations to me
have ended before
they even started. I do ask that if you like the game, and you
have a few
moments, please drop me a line. Either email me at
(cangelinuoguelph.ca), or
write:
Chris Angelini
PO Box 21
Maidstone,
Ontario
NOR 1K0
CANADA
I'd love to hear from you. If you think this game is absolutely
marvellous,
and cannot go without financial transactions (ha! fat chance!),
then make a
donation to your favourite charity. For fun, try having your cat
or dog make
the donation. In person.
(7.0) THAT'S IT
That's it! Go play the game already!
Chris Angelini August 22, 1995 (Read Superguy!)
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