Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: gmd.de!Germany.EU.net!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!gatech!newsxfer.itd.umich.edu!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!newsserver.sfu.ca!sfu.ca!neilg
From: neilg@fraser.sfu.ca (Neil K. Guy)
Subject: Re: Examine is evil!
Message-ID: <neilg.762050088@sfu.ca>
Sender: news@sfu.ca (seymour news)
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
References: <CLJzsD.Fux@acsu.buffalo.edu> <1994Feb21.100712.5964@inca.comlab.ox.ac.uk> <2kakdi$n98@portal.gmu.edu>
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 1994 00:34:48 GMT
Lines: 49

vlaviano@mason1.gmu.edu (Goatboy) writes:

>Regarding the recent discussion of the evils of 'examine' (I don't want to
>quote several pages of text): Why not allow the player to decide what
>level of scrutiny they want to examine their environment with. The game
>could have a command similar to verbose/regular/brief that controls
>whether or not the game spits out a detailed description of all the
>items in a room. 

 For what it's worth, my game in progress has this feature. The game
has the option to display the "examine" description of every object
you pick up, assuming you've never looked at it before. If this annoys
you you can turn it off. Also, "examine all" displays the descriptions
for all takeable objects and any fixed items I consider worthwhile.

 I  agree that having to "examine" everything gets tedious rapidly
(worst of all with games that don't support "x" as a synonym, forcing
the user to type "look at" or "examine" all the time) but likewise
sitting through reams of text is no fun either. I hope my game offers
a marginally better balance. Simulating convincingly through text a
world that most of us see visually isn't an easy thing to do.

> [...]  I think
>that a great many people are probably lurking on this newsgroup,
>attempting to write a good IF game that everyone on this group will love
>and that will raise IF back to its former glory, and that they don't
>want to post until they finish the game for fear that until they do so,
>people won't lend any credibility to their statements about writing IF.

 Or they don't want their ideas ripped off by posting them in a public
forum. :) I think you have a point here. I've posted my fair share of
stupid and occasionally interesting posts to this group, but I haven't
talked much about my own game in progress, though it has been at that
state for over two years. I think there are many people not posting
for reasons like my own: not wanting ideas ripped off, not interested
in tiresome self-promotion and trumpeting vapourware, and so on.

>Ok. This post is long enough. I just wanted to let you know that we ARE
>out here, and that as soon as we finish the games that we're writing,
>I'm sure you'll hear a lot more from us.

 Agreed! :) As soon as my game is ready for release, perhaps I too
will contribute more. Of course, I don't know if that's necessarily a
good thing. I've noticed that my more impulsive posts tend to be
embarrassingly stupid on re-reading. Kind of like a dramatic
monologue, you know?

 - Neil K.

