9.8. Simple Machines

| Chapter 9: Props: Food, Clothing, Money, Toys, Books, Electronics |

| 9.8. Simple Machines

The "device" kind provides for the simplest form of machine: one which is, at any given moment, switched on or switched off. Inform looks after this state, but leaves it to us to make the machine actually do something:

> The air-conditioning unit is a device in the Florist's Shop. The air-conditioning is fixed in place and switched on.

> Every turn when in the Florist's Shop:
> if the air-conditioning is switched off, say "You worry about the cut flowers in this jungle-hot air.";
> otherwise say "There is an low susurration from the air-conditioning unit."

One primary dictionary definition for a machine is "an apparatus using or applying mechanical power and having several parts", and we often use the "part of" relationship to build machinery. Control Center provides a neat way to display the component parts of a machine to the player who examines it.

One component almost always part of an electrical machine is the (literal) switch, lever or button to control whether they are switched on or off. In Model Shop just such an on/off button is automatically made part of every device.

While an electrical device has only two states, a mechanical machine might have many, and for these the best approach is to define a kind of value naming the possibilities: see Signs and Portents, where the states are the possible destinations pointed towards.

Perhaps stretching the definition of "machine", What Makes You Tick demonstrates a fishing pole which the player can put together from several pieces.

See Bags, Bottles, Boxes and Safes for a safe that can be dialed to different combinations

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| Example Control Center Objects which automatically include a description of their component parts whenever they are examined. |
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55
| Example Model Shop An "on/off button" which controls whatever device it is part of. |
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50
| Example Signs and Portents Signpost that points to various destinations, depending on how the player has turned it. |
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"Signs and Portents" Seven Dials is a room. The description of Seven Dials is "There is a signpost, on which seven hands swivel and swing, freely as weathercocks. They make your present road now London, now Abingdon; now Weston-super-Mare, or now Hell." Seven Dials contains a signpost. The signpost is scenery. Understand "sign" and "post" as the signpost. Destination is a kind of value. The destinations are London, Abingdon, Luton, Weston-super-Mare, Runnymede, Hell, and Low Noon. The signpost has a destination. In order to interact with the signpost, we will need to borrow some action rules from chapter 6: Instead of examining the signpost: say "[The signpost] currently puts you on the road to [italic type][the destination of the signpost][roman type], but it swiftly alters again."; now the destination of the signpost is the destination after the destination of the signpost. Instead of turning the signpost: now the destination of the signpost is the destination after the destination of the signpost; say "With a hand's touch you turn the signpost to mark your way for [italic type][the destination of the signpost][roman type]." Instead of going north in Seven Dials when the destination of the signpost is Hell: say "It is a path that goes gently ever down and down with no stumbling block or any distraction at either side; there are no bandits and no tolls."; end the story. Instead of going north in Seven Dials when the destination of the signpost is Low Noon: say "A long road whose scenery does not change, nor anything on the horizon move but the sun. When at last you come to Noon, she hangs above your head like a hat."; end the story finally. Test me with "x signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / n". Test more with "x signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / n / turn signpost / turn signpost / n".

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| Example What Makes You Tick Building a fishing pole from several component parts that the player might put together in any order. |
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