Chapter 5: The Viewpoint Character
5.1. The Human Body

By default, Inform gives the player character (and every other person) a simple unitary body, one without hands or feet or any other defined parts. In many games this is adequate; but in others it is not enough, and we may want to endow all people with some more specific physical features, as in

A face is a kind of thing. A face is part of every person.

Once we've done this, we may invite ambiguities if the player types LOOK AT FACE; it is this challenge that is addressed in The Night Before.

Our other examples have more specialized effects. Pink or Blue demonstrates a way to let the player choose a gender at the start of play: this will mostly be interesting if the rest of the game makes some use of the player's choice. Since that example is written expressly to demonstrate included Inform 6 code, however, we may find it more congenial to generalize from the more flexible Baritone, Bass.

rBGH gives him a random height and then uses this to determine how the room should be described around him.


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*** Example  The Night Before
Instructing Inform to prefer different interpretations of EXAMINE NOSE, depending on whether the player is alone, in company, or with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.

WI
353
*** Example  Pink or Blue
Asking the player to select a gender to begin play.

WI
262
*** Example  Baritone, Bass
Letting the player pick a gender (or perhaps other characteristics) before starting play.

WI
216
* Example  rBGH
The player character's height is selected randomly at the start of play.

WI


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