17.23. Listing nondescript items of something

| Chapter 17: Activities |

| 17.23. Listing nondescript items of something

1. When it happens. This activity prints up the also-ran paragraph at the end of a room description. These are nondescript items because they don't merit paragraphs of their own: if, as sometimes happens, there are none in the room, then no such paragraph is printed and this activity does not happen. (So to add a further paragraph to a room description, a simpler "after looking" rule should be used, not an "after listing nondescript items" rule.)

2. The default behaviour. The paragraph ordinarily reads as "You can also see a cask and a clock." or similar. Before the activity begins, those objects which are nondescript - in this case the cask and the clock - are given the property of being "marked for listing". If it turns out that nothing is marked for listing, because of before rules like the one in the example below, then nothing is printed.

3. Examples. (a) Promoting something out of the nondescript category, by unmarking it.

> Before listing nondescript items:
> if the watch is marked for listing:
> say "The watch catches your eye.";
> now the watch is not marked for listing.

(b) Changing the normal phrasing of the paragraph. Note that we can also change the listing style; the one below is the default.

> Rule for listing nondescript items of the Distressingly Messy Room:
> say "Strewn carelessly on the floor";
> list the contents of the Distressingly Messy Room, as a sentence,
> tersely, listing marked items only, prefacing with is/are,
> including contents and giving brief inventory information;
> say "."

341
| Example Rip Van Winkle A simple way to allow objects in certain places to be described in the room description body text rather than in paragraphs following the room description. |
RB

There are times when, for greater elegance of prose, we'd like to mention an object in the main body text of a room. For instance: Here is a lovely, secluded fold in the mountains, far from civilization: as though to prove it, Rip Van Winkle is sleeping under a tree. As we've already seen, that's no problem if Rip is scenery. He'll stay there motionless. But what if something in the game allows Rip to wake up? Or what if we want to use the same technique on a portable object that the player should be allowed to take? Clearly in that case it's not appropriate to make the mentioned thing be scenery, and at the same time, we need to keep Inform from adding a superfluous You can see Rip Van Winkle here. to the end of our description. Here is how: "Rip Van Winkle" A person can be asleep. The Catskills is a room. "Here is a lovely, secluded fold in the mountains, far from civilization[if Rip Van Winkle is asleep]: as though to prove it, Rip Van Winkle is sleeping under a tree[end if]." A tree is scenery in the Catskills. Rip Van Winkle is a man in the Catskills. Rip Van Winkle is asleep. Before listing nondescript items of the Catskills: if Rip Van Winkle is marked for listing: now Rip Van Winkle is not marked for listing; if Rip Van Winkle is not asleep, say "Rip Van Winkle stands here, looking mightily confused." Instead of waiting: say "Rip Van Winkle wakes up with a snort."; now Rip Van Winkle is not asleep. Test me with "look / z / look".

342
| Example Happy Hour Listing visible characters as a group, then giving some followup details in the same paragraph about specific ones. |
RB

343
| Example The Eye of the Idol A systematic way to allow objects in certain places to be described in the room description body text rather than in paragraphs following the room description, and to control whether supporters list their contents or not. |
RB

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