The Beast of Torrack Moor
An interactive fiction by Linda Wright (2007) - the Inform 7 source text
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[ River - predeclare this so its name doesn't clash with location names ]
The river is a backdrop. Understand "water" and "waters" as the river.
The River's Edge is a windy room in Moorland. "Standing at the base of a very steep path, you find yourself in a deep, rugged valley, where a precipitous rockface to the south, over which tumbles a fast flowing river in a spectacular waterfall, prevents progress in that direction. The river is a churning, frothy, angry mass, no doubt turned into its present state by the heavy rain, and the only exits accessible to you are north and up."
Second River's Edge is a room in Moorland, north of river's edge. The printed name is "River's Edge". "To your east the river flows at an ever increasing speed, whilst a rocky slope rises to the west and a path wends its way between some oak trees in a north-south direction. Across the river you can just make out what appears to be a stone hut, which would obviously provide an ideal shelter, if you could reach it."
Up A Tree is a room in Moorland, above second river's edge. "Surrounded by gnarled branches, you are about two-thirds of the way up this particular oak tree, it being impossible to climb higher and leading you to the conclusion that the only exit is down."
Third River's Edge is a room in Moorland, north of second river's edge. The printed name is "River's Edge". "Thick undergrowth bars the way to the north, whilst the path turns to the east, leading straight into the tumultuous waters of the now flooded river! The remains of a wooden bridge stick up a little way from the bank, explaining why the path should go in that seemingly strange direction, whilst your path west is blocked by a vertical rocky slope [if the oak tree is blown]. You also observe a tree and several rocks from a recent rockslide that form a rough bridge across the river![otherwise].[end if]".
Crossing the River is a room in Moorland. "Precariously, you balance on the tree and rocks as the waters rage about you, spray drenching your jeans and threatening to knock you off as you realise that, although it's possible to walk to the western bank, there is still a fair distance between you and the eastern one."
Fourth River's Edge is a room in Moorland. The printed name is "River's Edge". "A tree partially crossing the flooded river to the west is still within jumping distance and the path upon which you stand leads south, whilst dense undergrowth and shrubs prevent progress in any other direction."
Fifth River's Edge is a windy room in Moorland, south of Fourth River's Edge. The printed name is "River's Edge". "The rocky path follows the route of the river as it cascades over the rocks, and to the south you can just see what looks like the entrance to to a narrow combe. Next to you is the welcoming sight of a shepherd's stone hut, the thick door, walls, and corrugated roof having withstood many years of the stormy elements."
The Shepherd's Hut is a room. "Although small, the hut is dry, with a ramshackle bed standing along one wall whilst a fireplace with accompanying chimney partially occupies another. You can see no other furniture or fitments, but the hut is a haven from both the elements and any prowling animals, and is thus quite adequate for the purpose it was built."
Near the Combe is a room in Moorland, south of Fifth River's Edge. "As the waterfall cascades down the southern rockface into the still frothy river, you notice that a little-used path forks southeast into the entrance to a narrow combe, the surrounding cliffs being black and bare of vegetation, whilst a more inviting path leads north along the edge of the river."
[ Backdrops ]
The river is in river's edge, second river's edge, third river's edge, crossing the river, fourth river's edge, fifth river's edge, near the combe.
Oak-tree-2 is a backdrop. The printed name is "the tree". Understand "oak" and "tree" as oak-tree-2. Oak-tree-2 is in Third River's Edge and crossing the river and fourth river's edge.
The misc-rocks are a backdrop. The printed name is "rocks". Understand "rocks" as the misc-rocks. They are in third river's edge and crossing the river.
[ RIVER's EDGE ]
Instead of going up when in river's edge:
send the player to a very steep path.
The valley is scenery in river's edge.
The waterfall is scenery in river's edge.
[ SECOND RIVER's EDGE ]
The rocky slope is scenery in second river's edge.
The hut-distance is scenery in second river's edge. The printed name is "stone hut". Understand "stone" and "hut" as the hut-distance.
The wending-path is a backdrop. It is in second river's edge and third river's edge. Understand "path" as the wending-path. The printed name is "path".
The oak trees are scenery in second river's edge.
[ I've no idea why the player can climb the oak tree - seems to be pointless ]
Instead of climbing the oak trees in second river's edge:
try going up.
[ THIRD RIVER'S EDGE ]
The undergrowth is scenery in third river's edge.
The remains of a wooden bridge is scenery in third river's edge.
The vertical rocky slope is scenery in third river's edge. The description is "Covered in rocks[if the oak tree is not blown], with a large tree or slab just visible at the top[end if].".
The slab is scenery in third river's edge.
[ The player can cross when the oak tree bridges the river ]
Instead of going east when in third river's edge and the oak tree is blown:
send the player to crossing the river.
[ CROSSING THE RIVER ]
The western bank is scenery in crossing the river.
Instead of jumping in crossing the river:
send the player to fourth river's edge.
Instead of going west in crossing the river:
send the player to third river's edge.
The bridge is scenery in crossing the river.
[ FOURTH RIVER'S EDGE ]
Instead of jumping in fourth river's edge:
send the player to crossing the river.
[ FIFTH RIVER'S EDGE ]
The rocky path is scenery in fifth river's edge.
The entrance to a narrow combe is a backdrop. It is in fifth river's edge and near the combe.
The shepherd's stone hut is scenery in fifth river's edge. Understand "walls" and "roof" and "corrugated" as the shepherd's stone hut.
The door to the shepherd's hut is a door. It is scenery. The door to the shepherd's hut is inside of fifth river's edge and east of fifth river's edge and outside of shepherd's hut and west of shepherd's hut. It is closed and locked. The large key unlocks the door to the shepherd's hut.
[ Shepherd's hut ]
The ramshackle bed is scenery in shepherd's hut.
The shepherds-fireplace is scenery in shepherd's hut. Understand "fireplace" as shepherds-fireplace. The printed name is "fireplace". It is a container. The description is "Small and ideal for fires. It contains [a list of things in the shepherds-fireplace]."
[ Things can't be "hot and charred" in this game... ]
Check inserting anything into the shepherds-fireplace:
if the noun is not flammable,
say "Really, I shouldn't, not if I were you!" instead.
The chimney is scenery in shepherd's hut.
Some ash is a thing. Understand "ashes" as the ash.
The shepherds-fire is a not portable thing. It is lit. The printed name is "fire". The description is "Hot!". Understand "fire" as the shepherds-fire.
[ Both the bark and newspaper must be in the fireplace to light a proper fire ]
Instead of burning the newspaper when the newspaper is in the shepherds-fireplace:
if the bark is not in the shepherds-fireplace begin;
say "You light the newspaper, which flares up nicely... unfortunately, the flames soon die away, leaving a small pile of ash.";
remove the newspaper from play;
now the ash is in the shepherds-fireplace;
otherwise;
say "The paper catches light and gradually the bark begins to glow nicely, so that you soon have a welcoming fire burning, which provides you, not only with some heat, but also a cheery bright glow to see by...";
remove the bark from play;
remove the newspaper from play;
move the shepherds-fire to the shepherds-fireplace;
record "lighting a fire" as achieved;
end if.
Instead of burning the bark when the bark is in the shepherds-fireplace:
if the newspaper is in the shepherds-fireplace begin;
try burning the newspaper;
otherwise;
say "You try, but only succeed in scorching it... perhaps if you had some paper to help?";
end if.
[ Allow "light fire" ]
Instead of firelighting when in the shepherd's hut:
if the newspaper is in the shepherds-fireplace begin;
try burning the newspaper;
otherwise if the bark is in the shepherds-fireplace;
try burning the bark;
otherwise;
say "There's nothing to burn!";
end if.
[ You can't sleep you've not eaten, or not lit the fire. If you don't have the rug, you - somewhat unfairly - lose ]
Instead of sleeping in the shepherd's hut:
if food index is 0 begin;
say "You try, but your stomach rumbles and keeps you awake.";
otherwise if the shepherds-fire is not in the shepherds-fireplace;
say "You try, but are too cold...";
otherwise if the rug is not enclosed by the shepherd's hut;
say "You settle down on the bed, but soon wish that you had a blanket of some kind, as you're shivering violently. In a desperate attempt to keep warm, you spend the night kneeling by the fire until it goes out - when dawn comes, you're so achy and tired that you collapse from exhaustion outside the hut, where you're eventually found by a hiker who helps you home...[paragraph break]The next day, you hear that the trigger-happy Ranger has shot the 'Beast', purportedly as it was about to pounce on him, and you are saddened that, what might have been a beautiful shy creature, is now dead...";
end the game saying "You didn't get the story";
otherwise;
say "OK. Warm and dry, you sleep well, waking just before dawn.";
record "having a good night's rest" as achieved;
remove the shepherds-fire from play;
move the ash to the shepherds-fireplace;
change the time of day to 6 AM;
now the current day is day two;
now the current day is morning;
change the darkness index to 0;
now everywhere is not dark;
end if.
[ Rise 'n' shine message on exiting the hut in the morning ]
Morning announce is a number that varies. Morning announce is 0.
After looking in fifth river's edge when the day is day two and morning announce is 0:
say "The morning sun is casting faint rays across the landscape and, although the river is still in flood, the weather conditions have improved enormously, making you eager to locate the beast. Glancing around, you realise that now is probably the best time to see it, before it hides itself away for the day, and are about to proceed when a shadowy figure scrambles down the cliff to the south before disappearing into the combe...";
change morning announce to 1.
[ NEAR THE COMBE ]
The waterfall is scenery in near the combe.
The little-used path is scenery in near the combe.
The cliffs are scenery in near the combe. The description is "Claw marks indicate that an animal has managed to clamber up here recently, but it's too steep for you!"