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 In 1978, both computer games and computers in general were a relatively new thing. Both home computers and video game consoles existed, but they weren't exactly powerful, and the games available for them weren't the most sophisticated. Things were different in the land of the big hulking mainframe computers, however, which were powerful enough to even let its users play massive and highly complex adventure games like Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork, games way too huge to be possible to play on the 16k home systems that were the standard at the time. A man named Scott Adams wanted to change this, at least to the best of his ability, and came up with a rather interesting solution - a "loader" program that contained instructions for how to load and interpret the content of other files. This essentially meant he could write an adventure game that contained absolutely no gameplay content, just the game engine itself, then have this program load an entire 16kb of game data from a separate file. Not only that, but he'd also be able to create new games by just writing a different content file and have the loader load this one instead. Or in simpler terms, he was able to create games that were up to twice as big as the computer technically allowed him to by spreading the game across two files and having the first file load the second one. Up to 32kb of data still isn't all that much, of course, so Adams' games all ended up being rather short and compact, as well as relatively simplistic as far as the prose went; there simply wasn't room for the kind of elaborate room descriptions found in their mainframe cousins. That doesn't mean they're lacking in content, though, it's actually fairly impressive how much atmosphere and how many clever puzzles Adams was able to fit into these things. Adams went on to create a whole series of games using this system, but we'll be focusing on the first one, "Adventureland", in this thread. As the name implies, it's loosely inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure, and while it doesn't really lift any items, locations or puzzles from that game, the overall atmosphere is relatively similar. This is going to be an interactive LP in the same vein as idonotlikepeas' LP of the original Colossal Cave Adventure from back in the day, and I'd suggest taking a quick look at how that played out for a general idea of what we'll be doing here. In short, however: I'll be filling you in on what the game is saying, and you'll be telling me what we should be doing. Adventureland uses a very simple two-word parser, so a standard command will consist of a verb followed by a noun, like "go north", "eat food", "light lamp" etc. Since you'll be communicating with me rather than with the game directly, though, feel free to toss out suggestions like "go back to that room from 5 updates ago and do x". There's no real limit on how many actions you can suggest per post, but please try to stick to one general subject - if we entered a new room and there's a bunch of different items there, go ahead and suggest what we should try doing with each of them, but don't add "also, try going back to room 2 and doing this thing, then go to room 5 and do this other thing" to the mix as well. Adventureland has a lot of dead man walking situations where we'll be completely unable to finish the game, and it doesn't always telegraph them all that well. I'm not going to prevent us from entering these, so if you suspect we might have screwed ourselves irreparably over, go ahead and suggest a reload to a specific earlier state. If we've been making a lot of progress since that state, just mention what you want us to redo, and I'll take care of that in one quick update. There's a couple other features in the game I'll bring up when I get to them, but one thing I'll mention in advance is the HELP command. Pretty much every room in Adventureland that contains a puzzle will give a hint towards solving said puzzle if you give the game this command. It's not exactly cheating, and I'm not going to deny you the ability to use this command, though I'll heavily suggest trying to solve the puzzles without it instead of just asking for the hint right away. Most of the hints the command gives you are extremely blatant and practically spell out the solution for you, ruining a lot of the fun. And one last thing: What is the plot of this game, you ask? What are we even supposed to do? Well, Adams isn't telling. One rather unique aspect to his games is that, for the most part, they just plop you down into a new world and leave it to you to figure out what you're supposed to do there. It usually becomes apparent pretty quick, but in this first one you actually have to play for a bit before you'll figure it out. With that said, let's get the game started. And please bear with me, this is my first LP. Adamant fucked around with this message at 02:01 on Apr 22, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 14:55
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| # ? May 4, 2024 21:12 |
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Current score:Our hero posted:I stored 11 TREASURES. On a scale of 0 to 100 that rates: 84 Current inventory: Our hero posted:I am carrying the following: Most recently updated version of the map:  Verbs the game does not appear to recognize: TRAVEL PUNCH USE WEAR POKE UP DISS SLEEP WAIT SINK DOWN COVER BE ELECT DRAIN BUNYAN AGAIN SOUTH RIDE BOARD SIT REMOVE EMPTY AERATE PUNCTURE AWAY PUT MELT SMASH BREAK COOL BLOCK PLACE BRIDGE OVERCOME BECOME Nouns the game does not appear to recognize: BACON LIGHT -BUNYON- XYZZY PLUGH PLOVER SAND BOG ALL RAM ALADIN OPEN SESAME POT AIR STREAM Adamant fucked around with this message at 21:39 on May 9, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 14:56
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Scott Adams posted:This program will allow you to have an "Adventure" without ever leaving your armchair! you will find yourself in a strange new world. You will be able to LOOK AT, PICK-UP and otherwise MANIPULATE the objects you find there. You will also be able to TRAVEL from location to location. I will be your puppet in this Adventure. You command me with 2 word ENGLISH sentences. I've over 120 word vocabulary so if a word doesn't work, try another! Enter it is. Our hero posted:I am in a forest. Visible items: This is the standard interface the game will be using. See that line up there? Everything above that line is the room description, which will always be present on the screen no matter how many other text messages will appear. It consists of a short description of the room, a list of items that can be interacted with, and a list of obvious exists. This doesn't mean these are the only possible items to interact with, or the only possible exits, however, so don't feel like you're limited to these specific lists. So, what should our first course of action be?
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Apr 21, 2018 15:13
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If gaming has taught me anything then the answer is >CLIMB TREE
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Apr 21, 2018 15:33
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>CLIMB TREEOur hero posted:I am in a top of an oak. I'll draw us a map once the world expands a bit more, but at the moment I don't think we really need one to keep our bearings straight. Adamant fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Apr 21, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 15:36
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Eh, SCORE, just so we have a baseline.
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Apr 21, 2018 16:42
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That sounds like a plan to me: >SCORE Our hero posted:I stored 0 TREASURES. On a scale of 0 to 100 that rates: 0 There's our baseline, I guess. Now what?
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Apr 21, 2018 19:05
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CLIMB DOWN and TRAVEL EAST.
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Apr 21, 2018 19:20
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>CLIMB DOWNOur hero posted:OK. >TRAVEL EAST Our hero posted:I don't know how to "TRAVEL" something Wait, what? But Adams said I could do just that. Well that's not good. Looks like we'll have to search for a different word. Adamant fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Apr 21, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 20:41
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GO WEST
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Apr 21, 2018 21:19
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>GO WESTOur hero posted:OK. That seems to have been the right word. This place looks curiously familiar, however. Now that we've figured out that "GO" is an accepted word for traveling, I'll just be substituting that in in the future whenever someone wants to go somewhere but ends up referencing a verb the game doesn't like. I was actually surprised TRAVEL didn't work, considering that's the word Adams used in his intro. Adamant fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Apr 21, 2018 |
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Apr 21, 2018 21:29
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GO NORTH
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Apr 21, 2018 21:52
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>GO NORTHOur hero posted:OK. Hands up those who were half expecting this.
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Apr 21, 2018 22:04
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> GO EAST
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Apr 21, 2018 22:34
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Go in the direction of the areas we saw from the tree? You know, that just might work. >GO EAST Our hero posted:OK. Well that's certainly a change from all those seemingly identical trees.
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Apr 21, 2018 22:44
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> PUNCH DRAGON 
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Apr 21, 2018 23:01
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I like the way you think. >PUNCH DRAGON Our hero posted:I don't know how to "PUNCH" something Unfortunately our hero seems to be... lacking arms?
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Apr 21, 2018 23:06
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ATTACK DRAGON
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Apr 22, 2018 00:22
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>ATTACK DRAGONOur hero posted:It doesn't seem to bother him at all! There we go. Aha, so the dragon is male. That sounds like a hint!
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Apr 22, 2018 00:42
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THROW MUD
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Apr 22, 2018 00:49
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Sounds like a good idea. >THROW MUD Our hero posted:Sorry, I can only throw the ax. However, our protagonist's rather faulty arms prove to be a problem once again.
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Apr 22, 2018 00:52
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THROW SIGN. (Yeah, I know it said we can only throw the axe. Try it anyway).
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Apr 22, 2018 06:06
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>THROW SIGNOur hero posted:Sorry, I can only throw the ax. No surprises there. Remember there's nothing wrong with giving several suggestions at once, especially if you're mostly convinced your suggestion won't have any effect.
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Apr 22, 2018 08:25
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> GO SOUTH
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Apr 22, 2018 08:31
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INV, or GET INV - I seem to recall Adams’ parser was rather crap. Yes, I’m old.
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Apr 22, 2018 09:02
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snograt posted:INV, or GET INV - I seem to recall Adams’ parser was rather crap. We'll check. >INV Our hero posted:I am carrying the following: >GET INV Our hero posted:I am carrying the following: Looks like they both work. >GO SOUTH Our hero posted:OK.
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Apr 22, 2018 10:42
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> CLIMB TREE 
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Apr 22, 2018 11:13
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Climbing trees is always the solution. >CLIMB TREE Our hero posted:OK. I believe this is a decent place to draw our first map. I'll toss an updated one in every now and then to give you a full overview over where we've been, where items are located, and where we've yet to go. 
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Apr 22, 2018 11:34
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Book it Damo, I've cracked the case 
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Apr 22, 2018 11:40
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READ WEB
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Apr 22, 2018 14:29
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>READ WEBOur hero posted:Chop 'er down! I have to wonder how there can be writing on a spider web, though. How does that even work?
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Apr 22, 2018 15:03
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Apr 22, 2018 15:25
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This is one of the most amazing things I have seen in my life.
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Apr 22, 2018 15:33
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> TAKE BACON > TAKE WEB > TAKE KEYS
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Apr 22, 2018 15:39
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>TAKE BACONOur hero posted:I don't know what "BACON" is. Clearly our hero is in dire need of reeducation. >TAKE WEB Our hero posted:I'm bit by a spider ...uh, something tells me this isn't good. >TAKE KEYS Our hero posted:I don't see it here. Definitely not good.
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Apr 22, 2018 15:48
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GO DOWN
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Apr 22, 2018 17:55
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GO LIGHT
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Apr 22, 2018 19:53
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>GO LIGHTOur hero posted:I don't know what "LIGHT" is. Nice try, but nope. >GO DOWN Our hero posted:OK. I guess you chose... poorly. Yeah, I couldn't resist. That's a game over, so we'll need to reload. Should we reload back to Limbo or just back to the tree before we got bit by that spider?
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Apr 22, 2018 20:05
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Let's go back to the Tree. I have a feeling we'll be seeing Limbo a lot in this game.
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Apr 22, 2018 21:01
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Back to the tree we go.Our hero posted:I am in a top of a tall cypress tree. Visible items: Rarity wanted us to try "TAKE KEYS" there earlier, so I'll just run that command for now. >TAKE KEYS Our hero posted:OK. That seemed like the healthier choice.
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Apr 22, 2018 22:48
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