The Recipe Book


PLACE COMPLEX OBJECTS TIME
PLOT PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING
DESCRIBING EXTRA FEATURES INFORMATION ONLY

 PLACE 

    MAP

        Basic room, container, and supporter descriptions
        Carousel Room from which exits lead to random locations
        Cave Entrance
        Compass directions renamed
        Disappointment Bay 1. The charter boat
        Disappointment Bay 12. Complete playable scenario
        Exits added to a room
        Exits and rooms listed in the status line
        Exits listed when the player tries a wrong direction
        Exits only listed in the status line
        FIND command
        GO BACK command
        GO equivalent to GO OUT
        GO OUT and GO IN determine most appropriate direction if none is defined
        GO UP and GO DOWN determined by room altitude
        Map rearranged as player wanders so he finds rooms in order
        Map region listed in status line
        Maze with randomized room links
        Message on leaving a region
        Port Royal 1. A landscape from Jamaica, 1691
        Port Royal 2. With one-way connections added
        Port Royal 3. Divided into regions
        Region off-limits to a player without VIP pass
        Rooms with sounds of nearby water
        Shipboard directions
        Sloping landscape on which round things roll away
        Travel to a room described
        Travel with a pushed object given a new description
        Traveling by room name rather than compass direction
        Traveling by room name, opening doors on the way

    DOORS

        Basic door
        Deadbolted door unlockable without a key on one side
        Door described differently depending on where it is
        Door kind that describes the destination
        Doors that open automatically
        Plank bridge breaks on being crossed when the player is carrying something
        Readout showing status of all doors
        Staircase kind of door which diverts the CLIMB command
        Staircase kind of door, always open and unopenable

    SCENERY

        Backdrops which can only be examined
        Basic backdrop
        Basic scenery
        Evidence hidden until item is searched
        Moving a backdrop during play
        Scenery taking with a new message
        Tinted wallpaper

    TRANSPORTATION

        Car which can only be driven on roads
        An elevator which takes the player to alternate floors
        Train that makes station stops
        Travel requiring a vehicle

    POSITION WITHIN ROOMS

        A pushable box
        Variety of postures

    VIEWS BETWEEN ROOMS

        Basic window similar to a door
        Continuous outdoor space with nearby landmarks described
        Continuous space, simple
        LOOK [direction] command
        Signposts to distant rooms
        Telescope allowing view of another room
        Window connecting two rooms
        Window that can be opaque or transparent
        Windows in high places

 COMPLEX OBJECTS 

    CLOTHING

        Basic clothing
        Clothing kinds
        Clothing that layers
        Concealing clothing for other characters
        INVENTORY listing with separate carried and worn items
        Jerseys defined by a table
        Pocket added to every jacket

    CONTAINERS AND SUPPORTERS, GENERAL

        Basic holdall
        Basic locked container
        Basic pushable object
        Bottles with removable stoppers
        Chest with a supporting lid
        Containers that calculate internal volume and available room
        Containers which have a breaking strain
        Desk with top, drawers, and lever
        Drawers where thing is always in the last opened
        EXAMINE always lists contents of containers and supporters
        Finding the bottom of a pile
        Hiding things under other things
        LOOK UNDER shows nothing unless the player has a light
        PUT and INSERT automatically TAKE first even with multiples
        PUT and INSERT automatically TAKE first
        Safe that can be opened with a combination
        SEARCH [room] action that opens every visible unlocked container
        SHAKE command
        Shuffling the arrangement of items in a container
        Supporter from which the player cannot take things
        TAKE action reports where the noun came from

    CONTAINERS AND SUPPORTERS, ENTERABLE

        Automatically leaving an object before trying to take it
        Automatically leaving an object before trying to travel
        Basic enterable containers and supporters
        Description from inside a vehicle
        DROPPING into and onto things
        GET DOWN and DOWN understood as EXIT
        Stool, from which dropped objects fall to the floor

    DEVICES

        Basic switchable light for a room
        Batteries that can power devices and eventually run down
        Camera and photograph command
        Electric light kind of device
        Electrified objects
        EMF Meter for ghost detection
        Lighthouse whose light can shine in different directions
        Machine that transmutes objects
        Machine to announce progress
        On/off button for devices
        Radar aboard ship
        Radios and other devices active when switched on
        Recorder that records sounds made by player and non-player actions
        Signpost that can be turned
        Telephones
        Weighbridge

    FRAGILE, DAMAGEABLE, OR MODIFIABLE THINGS

        Broken and unbroken flowerpots
        Broken flowerpots
        Candle that changes as it burns down
        Fire that spreads
        Food the player can eat without taking it first
        Food with ingredients affecting the player
        Foods with flavor
        Fragile objects broken when things are thrown at them
        Fragile things that break when attacked
        Fragile things, basic
        Hot and cold objects approach room temperature
        Multipart objects broken into components by gun blast
        Paint that colours blocks
        Soft objects able to be cut open
        String that can be divided and tied together again
        Strings referred to by their length

    GASES

        Diffusion of gas through the map, where gas sinks
        Diffusion of gas through the map, with concentrations
        Smoke which spreads, not tracking concentration

    LIQUIDS

        Flotation of objects
        Liquid container removed when drunk
        Liquid container that can be full, depleted, or empty
        Liquid containers with measured contents
        Liquid model with large bodies of liquid added
        Liquid which soaks into porous items
        Liquids in mixtures, identified by recipe

    MONEY

        Catalog of juggling equipment with prices
        Money system including denominations of bills and coins
        Money system with simple tracking of player wealth
        OFFER price FOR command allowing player to bargain

    OBJECTS IN SETS

        Deck of cards
        Encyclopedia set
        Letters described as a group

    OBJECTS THAT ATTACH

        Computer with numerous components
        Magnet which picks up nearby metal objects
        Red sticky label
        Rope, able to be tied to things and dragged betwixt rooms
        Shirts constructed from component parts

    READING MATTER

        Book with numbered pages
        Book with various contents
        Bookshelf with numerous books
        READ command separate from EXAMINE

    SUPERNATURAL OBJECTS (BREAKING NORMAL RULES)

        Cloak that makes a room dark
        Person capable of reaching through solid objects
        The Pointy Hat of Liminal Transgression
        Wand which reveals a person's concealed possessions

 TIME 

        Clocks that can be SET TO any time
        Instant EXAMINE and LOOK
        Scheduling an eclipse
        Shops open and close at specific hours
        Time expressed in units other than minutes
        Turns take 15 minutes each
        Turns take a quarter day each
        WAIT [number] MINUTES command
        WAIT UNTIL [time] command
        Waiting repeatedly causes new reactions

 PLOT 

        Atmospheric background events that occur randomly during a scene
        Commercial break
        Flashback scenes, simple
        Flashbacks with multiple outcomes
        Goal-seeking plot manager, simple
        Hurrying the player on a specific task
        Moving props on and off-stage as scenes start and end
        Resuming play after an accidental death
        Scene that begins exactly once
        Sequence of background events that plays out in order
        Triggering a new scene when the player does any of several things

 PEOPLE 

    YOURSELF

        DIAGNOSE command
        Examining the player
        Hunger eventually killing the player
        Player controls multiple player-characters in turn
        Restrictions preventing inappropriate behavior
        Sleep and waking

    CONVERSATION

        ASK made like SHOW when applied to objects
        ASK, TELL, and ANSWER commands rolled into one
        Basic character
        Child who asks if we're there yet
        Conversation based on keyword recognition
        Conversation system with recap of past exchanges
        Conversation where characters seek logical connection to foregoing topics
        Conversation with multiple options for each conversation topic
        GIVE command extended
        People who must be greeted before conversation
        Person who answers questions based on a common pool of knowledge
        Person who answers what, where, and when questions differently
        Princess who makes various remarks
        Substituting insults and boasts
        TALK TO usage corrected
        To say rules for insults and boasts
        YES and NO handled as conversation

    REACTIVE CHARACTERS

        Actions prohibited in the presence of a dangerous character
        Another, distinct from the player
        Cat interacting with toys
        Concealed pet who would yip at you if it could see you
        Disorderly conduct
        INVENTORY revised for other characters
        People attempting to detect the murderer
        People changing their titles during play
        People commanded to obey
        People who reject categories of instruction
        Person who comments on the player's every action
        Person who gets fed up after being asked to do many implausible things
        Person who obeys almost all instructions
        Person with emotions about what is said
        Shifting alliances among people
        Shifting alliances demonstrating all relation types
        Sleeping person who can be woken in various ways
        Smuggler carrying hidden items

    TRAVELING CHARACTERS

        FOLLOW command
        Multiple people's movements are collated into paragraphs
        Person who finds a path to a destination specified by player
        Person who follows the player
        Person who moves on a pre-determined path
        Person who moves randomly
        Random characters seen through a window
        Randomized pedestrian passer-by

    GOAL-SEEKING AND SCRIPTED CHARACTERS

        Escape action for non-player characters only
        Every turn an opponent plays
        Furniture, resentment of
        GIVE action for other characters
        Murderer chosen randomly at start of play
        People who follow a schedule of activities
        People who interact with each other each turn
        People who move around a party on their own
        Person who opens a container before trying to get something from it
        Person who picks up treasures
        Person who pursues his own goals each turn
        Reporting rules for other characters' behavior

 UNDERSTANDING 

        Adverbs used in commands
        Asking the player a Yes/No question
        Asking the player to choose a gender
        Colour names for exotic pigments
        Command applying to an object added to the story
        Disambiguating based on properties
        Disambiguating body parts
        Disambiguation question giving items more explicit names
        Disambiguation question worded in a new way entirely
        Guessing the height of characters
        Joke command added
        Keywords in place of ordinary commands
        Printed names for complex-named objects
        REMEMBER command keyed to topics
        Responding to questions starting with WHO, WHAT, etc.
        Scope approaches compared
        Understanding names of things, basic
        USE action which divines rational behavior for a wide range of possible nouns

 DESCRIBING 

    VISIBLE OBJECTS

        Basic descriptions
        Clouds with random descriptions
        EXAMINE multiple things at once
        Examining everything at once
        Height of player affects descriptions
        People listed as a group, with their possessions afterward
        TAKE prints a description
        You see nothing special... message replaced

    LIGHTING

        Dark rooms given non-standard description
        Light levels variable depending on the number of candles the player has lit
        Shiny items are described as reflecting torchlight

    OTHER SENSES

        Dark room which relies on other senses when light is off
        Noisemaking gadgets which can be heard with LISTEN
        Scope for listening different from scope for seeing

    DESCRIPTIONS MODIFIED BASED ON WHAT THE PLAYER KNOWS

        Box reports whether it has been open
        Description related to player preconceptions
        Description varying depending on which avatar the player uses
        Horribly heavy box described differently after being taken
        Infrared goggles affect what player can see and refer to
        Object named differently if alone in its container
        Object named differently if next to specific things
        People introduced by relative
        Room description changes after first visit
        Room description changes after note is read
        Room description changes at each of several visits
        Room description given in full each time the player enters

    DESCRIPTIONS VARIED FOR STYLISTIC EFFECT

        Adding to descriptions without using "after examining"
        Characters and objects with titles and special articles
        Cyclical randomization of named objects
        Output repeated
        Replacing standard action report rules
        Say rules for is-are and it/them
        Saying a number in round numbers
        Wide and divided variations on inventory

 EXTRA FEATURES 

    HELPING AND HINTING

        Footnote system
        HELP command is recommended if the player seems lost
        HELP menu from extension, with added content
        HELP with a simple menu
        Hint access able to be turned off for the duration of the game
        Hints leading the player through conversation
        Hints leading the player through physical puzzles
        Novice mode offers suggestions before each prompt

    SCORING AND ENDING THE GAME

        AMUSING menu shown at the endgame
        Death message replaced
        FULL SCORE with achievements table and rankings
        Plot summary in place of a score
        A point for never saving the game
        A room where the game cannot be saved
        Scored items listed in a table

    SCREEN DISPLAY

        Accented and exotic letters and symbols
        Banner printing at appropriate times
        Blanking the status line before play
        Coloured letters on screen
        Command prompt changing to reflect state of combat
        Status line with centered text, the easy way
        Status line with centered text, the hard way

    PUBLISHING

        Producing an EPS floorplan
        Producing an EPS map of Greece
        Producing an EPS map of Port Royal

 INFORMATION ONLY 

        About the examples
        Backus-Naur form for rules
        Formal syntax of sentences
        Graph-theory view of relations
        Mathematical view of relations
        Otherwise if demonstrated

 UNINDEXED 

        Phrases applying to specific things
        Vehicles that make noise