10.4. During scenes

| Chapter 10: Scenes |

| 10.4. During scenes

Scenes are not only useful for changing the setting, by moving items or people around and providing a little narration. We can also make the rules different in one scene from another. For instance, at a sleepy country halt there is no reason why one should not walk across the tracks: but if there is a train in the way, that would be impossible.

> Before going north during the Train Stop, say "The train blocks your way." instead.

Any rule can have the clause "during ..." attached, provided that clause goes at the end and explicitly names a scene. This is especially useful with "every turn":

> Every turn during the Train Stop, say "Water is sluiced out of the tank and into the engine."

We can test whether a scene is happening with the adjective "happening":

> if Train Stop is happening, ...

if (scene) has happened:

This condition is true if the given scene has both begun and ended.

if (scene) has not happened:

This condition is true if the given scene has not ended (or never started).

if (scene) has ended:

This condition is true if the given scene ended at least once.

if (scene) has not ended:

This condition is true if the given scene has never ended.

We need to be a bit careful: it's possible to set things up so that the Train Stop scene will play out more than once, so "Train Stop is happening" and "Train Stop has happened" might both be true at once.

The kind of value "scene" is one which is allowed to have properties - it has a tick in the "properties" column in the chart on the Kinds index page - and this can be very useful in describing scenes. For instance, we could write:

> A scene can be thrilling or dull. Train Stop is dull.
> A scene has a text called cue speech. The cue speech of Train Stop is "All aboard!".

Inform has the adjectives "recurring", "non-recurring" and "happening" all built in to describe scenes, and the above would add "thrilling" and "dull". Moreover, the "during" clause of a rule can give a description of a scene as easily as a specific scene name. For instance:

> Before going north during a dull non-recurring scene, ...

157
| Example Full Moon Random atmospheric events which last the duration of a scene. |
RB

158
| Example Space Patrol - Stranded on Jupiter! We'll be back in just a moment, with more exciting adventures of the... Space Patrol! |
RB

159
| Example Day One A scene which plays through a series of events in order, then ends when the list of events is exhausted. |
RB

160
| Example Bowler Hats and Baby Geese Creating a category of scenes that restrict the player's behavior. |
RB

Scenes can have properties -- a fact that is very useful when it comes to writing a series of scenes that all need to act alike in some respect. Suppose we have a plot that features a number of scripted scenes, where we need the player to stand still and wait while the events of the scene play out. One way to set this up is to create a property for such scenes -- let's call them "restricted" -- and then write a rule that keeps the player in place while the scene happens: "Bowler Hats and Baby Geese" Section 1 - The Procedure A scene can be restricted or free. Instead of going somewhere during a restricted scene: say "Better to stay here for the moment and find out what is going to happen next." And now let's set up our restricted scene. In it, a clown is going to turn up wherever the player is (it doesn't matter where on the map he's gotten to at this point) and do a performance; the player will not be able to leave the area until the performance completes. We'll start with the setting: Section 2 - The Stage and Props The Broad Lawn is a room. "A sort of fun fair has been set up on this broad lawn, with the House as a backdrop: it's an attempt to give local children something to do during the bank holiday. In typical fashion, everyone is doing a very good job of ignoring the House itself, despite its swarthy roofline and dozens of blacked-out windows." The House is scenery in the Broad Lawn. The description is "A cautious vagueness about the nature of the inhabitants is generally considered a good idea. They might be gods, or minor demons, or they might be aliens from space, or possibly they are embodiments of physical principles, or expressions of universal human experience, or... at any rate they can run time backward and forward so it warbles like an old cassette. And they're always about when somebody dies. Other than that, they're very good neighbors and no one has a word to say against." Instead of entering the House: say "You can't go in, of course. It's not a house for people." The Gazebo is north of the Broad Lawn. "The gazebo is sometimes used for bands, but at the moment has been appropriated for the distribution of lemonade." The clown is a man. "A clown wearing [a list of things worn by the clown] stands nearby." The description is "He winks back at you." The clown wears a purple polka-dot bowler hat. He carries a supply of baby geese. The description of the supply of baby geese is "Three or four. Or five. It's hard to count." Understand "goose" or "gosling" or "goslings" as the supply of baby geese. There are some eggs. The description of the eggs is "A blur, really." There is a Spanish omelet. The description of the Spanish omelet is "Exquisitely prepared." ...And now the scene itself: Section 3 - The Scenes The Clown Performance is a restricted scene. Clown Performance begins when the turn count is 3. When Clown Performance begins: move the clown to the location. Every turn during Clown Performance: repeat through the Table of Clowning: say "[event description entry][paragraph break]"; blank out the whole row; stop. When Clown Performance ends: remove eggs from play; now the clown carries the omelet. Clown Performance ends when the number of filled rows in the Table of Clowning is 0. Table of Clowning event description "A clown with a purple polka-dot bowler hat strides into the vicinity and begins to juggle baby geese." "While the clown juggles, the baby geese visibly grow older and larger. The clown becomes unnerved." "In an attempt to resolve the problem, the clown reverses the direction of his juggling. The geese revert to goslings." "The goslings become smaller and smaller until the clown is juggling goose eggs[replace eggs]." "The clown throws all the eggs into the air at once and catches them in the bowler hat. He takes a bow; the audience applauds. As a final gesture, he upends his hat to release a perfectly cooked omelet." To say replace eggs: remove the supply of baby geese from play; now the clown carries the eggs. Free Time is a scene. Free Time begins when Clown Performance Ends. Test me with "scenes / n / z/ z / look / x geese / s / x geese / x eggs / z / s".

Previous | Contents | Next