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From: pie@world.std.com (Carl Muckenhoupt)
Subject: Re: One-Room games?
Message-ID: <Cv4M8E.E6x@world.std.com>
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
References: <oiL9UKq00iUv81I1oz@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: Fri, 26 Aug 1994 05:07:25 GMT
Lines: 22

Andrew Lewis Tepper <at15+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>  This trend in my own design got me thinking: It would be possible to
>write a game that took place entirely in one room! Perhaps you are a kid
>locked in your room for misbehaving, or a criminal in jail trying to get
>out. There would have to be as many objects (or more) than in a standard
>game, and you'd really want _everything_ mentioned to have a description
>(including things mentioned when examining obvious objects.) Has
>anything like this been attempted?

Hmm, intriguing idea...
What do rooms give you, in terms of game structure?  Well, they divide
things up.  They parcel out the information you have to deal with.
In a one-room game - at least if we're going for the level of detail
found in most games - you'd probably make extensive use of the "examine"
command to do the same thing.  The result, methinks, would be a very
treelike game, where exploration takes the form of going into more and
more detail about the few things available to you.  This could be a very
satisfying work.

Carl Muckenhoupt


