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A Beginner's Guide to Interactive Fiction, Page 3

by Stephen Granade and Emily Short

Example Transcript

Cheese Vault, Artisanal Restaurant
The light is dim and blue. On three sides of you are glass-fronted refrigeration cases, containing cheeses of all kinds. The locks on the doors protect them from your depredation, however.

To the west is the cheese counter.

A fondue fork lies on the ground.

>LOOK IN CASE
The cases contain cheeses of many sorts -- too many for your brain to comprehend.

>TAKE FORK
Taken.

>WEST
Cheese Counter, Artisanal Restaurant
You are standing before a display counter full of assorted cheeses: Colston Bassett Stilton; both Keen's and Montgomery Cheddar; Petit Basque; Sonoma Dry Jack; Drunken Goat... It is a cheese-lover's dream.

A clerk, dressed in a white uniform, presides behind the counter.

To the east is the cheese vault; the rest of the restaurant is to the south.

>TAKE ALL
Colston Bassett Stilton: That seems to belong to the clerk.
Keen's Cheddar: That seems to belong to the clerk.
Montgomery Cheddar: That seems to belong to the clerk.
Petit Basque: That seems to belong to the clerk.
Sonoma Dry Jack: That seems to belong to the clerk.
Drunken Goat: That seems to belong to the clerk.
clerk: The clerk probably wouldn't like that.
display counter: That's fixed in place!

>X CHEDDAR
Which Cheddar do you mean, the Keen's or the Montgomery?

>KEEN'S
The Keen's Cheddar is well-aged, firm and golden.

>ASK CLERK FOR KEEN'S CHEDDAR
The clerk cuts you a piece of the Keen's Cheddar and wraps it in wax paper. "That'll be $20," he says, looking expectant.

>I
You are carrying:
    a wallet (which is closed)
    a fondue fork

>OPEN WALLET
You open the wallet, revealing two twenty-dollar bills and a driver's license.

>GIVE TWENTY TO CLERK
You need to be holding the twenty-dollar bill first.

>TAKE TWENTY
Taken.

>I
You are carrying:
    a twenty-dollar bill
    a wallet (which is open)
a twenty-dollar bill
a driver's license
a fondue fork

>GIVE TWENTY TO CLERK
The clerk accepts your money and hands you a triangular package wrapped in wax paper.

>X PACKAGE
The package is wrapped and bears a label indicating that it contains over a pound of Keen's Farmhouse Cheddar.

>SMELL PACKAGE
The scent is subtle and delicious: this is not an aggressively scented cheese.

>L
Cheese Counter, Artisanal Restaurant
You are standing before a display counter full of assorted cheeses: Colston Bassett Stilton; both Keen's and Montgomery Cheddar; Petit Basque; Sonoma Dry Jack; Drunken Goat... It is a cheese-lover's dream.

A clerk, dressed in a white uniform, presides behind the counter.

To the east is the cheese vault; the rest of the restaurant is to the south.

>SOUTH
Among the Tables
The restaurant is a large, open room with white walls and high ceilings. Nonetheless, the number of patrons makes it close going among the tables, especially when you must avoid waiters bearing pots of hot fondue.

North is the cheese counter. To the south is the door to the street.

>OPEN PACKAGE
Not here: it'd probably get mixed up with someone's order.

One of the patrons jostles you on his way to the bathroom.

>X PATRONS
At the closest table, an older gentleman is consuming cheese puffs at a truly alarming rate.

>S
You take a step towards the doors, but are blocked by a tall man with broad shoulders.

>G
You take a step towards the doors, but are blocked by a tall man with broad shoulders.

>TALL MAN, SOUTH
The tall man ignores your request.

>ATTACK TALL MAN
You haul off and punch the tall man in the nose, which really gets his attention.

This soon turns out to be a mistake, however: not only is he about twice your size, he's also a lawyer.

*** You have been arrested for assault. ***

>UNDO
Last move undone.

>ATTACK TALL MAN WITH FORK
You stab the tall man with the fondue fork. He yelps and looks around; you feign innocence, gazing in another direction entirely.

His search for the culprit has left your path clear.

>S
Street Outside Artisanal
You stand out on the sidewalk, jostled by passers-by. The street is full of taxis.

>OPEN PACKAGE
You open the package, exposing a wedge of golden Cheddar.

>EAT CHEDDAR
You lift the Cheddar to your lips and nibble off a bit. Mmm -- paradise!

*** You have ascended to dairy-related bliss! ***

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