Blue Lacuna — 124 of 467

Part - Stories and Puzzles

To decide whether we guess the player likes puzzles:

let ctr be 0;

[ The game never mentions inventory and it is not strictly needed. If we try taking inventory, we're probably an IF vet and more used to puzzles.]

if we have taken inventory, increase ctr by 1;

[ The winter boots are not mentioned in the main room description, but in a sub-description. If we examine them, we're probably examining a lot of things, and are more likely to do well with puzzles. ]

if enough shit was examined, increase ctr by 1;

[ If we got to the cellar, that means we noticed the matches, used them to light the lamp, and went down into the cellar, indicating we have more than a short term memory and an interest in solving problems. ]

if Old-Tumble-Cellar is visited, increase ctr by 1;

if ctr is at least 2, decide yes;

decide no.

To decide whether enough shit was examined:

let shitctr be 0;

if we have examined pairs of winter boots, increase shitctr by 1;

if we have examined framed drawing, increase shitctr by 1;

if we have examined trinkets, increase shitctr by 1;

if we have examined tumble-books, increase shitctr by 1;

if we have examined pine cupboards, increase shitctr by 1;

if shitctr is at least 3, decide yes;

decide no.

To determine gameplay mode:

print a section break;

say "[as the parser]Tutorial: During the first chapter, you [if we have taken inventory]took inventory[else]mostly stuck to commands from the tutorial[end if], [if enough shit was examined]examined many minor scenery items[else]mostly ignored minor scenery items[end if], and [if Old-Tumble-Cellar is visited]solved a basic puzzle[else]mostly left the trapdoor alone[end if]. Based on these actions, you might prefer to continue in ";

say "[if we guess the player likes puzzles]puzzle mode, which includes more challenging obstacles to overcome in the tradition of adventure games. The other option, story mode, simplifies the puzzles and provides more opportunities to skip them[else]story mode, which simplifies adventure game puzzles and presents more chances to bypass them entirely. The other option, puzzle mode, includes more challenging obstacles to overcome and problems to solve, without altering the story in any way[end if]. However, the choice is up to you.[paragraph break]Would you prefer to continue in [d]story[x] mode or [d]puzzle[x] mode? [as normal]";

if story mode is selected begin;

now drama manager is storied; [ Scenes in various modules are triggered by this change.]

otherwise;

now drama manager is puzzled;

end if.

To decide whether story mode is selected:

(- Question('story','S//','un.t','puzzle','P//','un.y') -)

Include (-

[ Question pos1 pos2 pos3 neg1 neg2 neg3 i;

for (::) {

if (location ~= nothing && parent(player) ~= nothing)

DrawStatusLine();

KeyboardPrimitive(buffer, parse);

i=parse-->1;

if (i==pos1 or pos2 or pos3) rtrue;

if (i==neg1 or neg2 or neg3) rfalse;

print "Please choose ", (address) pos1, " or ", (address) neg1, ". > ";

}

];

-)