Newsgroups: rec.arts.int-fiction
Path: news.duke.edu!newsgate.duke.edu!nntp-out.monmouth.com!newspeer.monmouth.com!diablo.theplanet.net!news-hub.cableinet.net!uunet!ash.uu.net!world!buzzard
From: buzzard@world.std.com (Sean T Barrett)
Subject: Re: Prounouns (was Re: [TADS] ANNOUNCE Dijkstra.t)
Message-ID: <G7rq6x.CA9@world.std.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 11:49:44 GMT
References: <xmHa6.9822$Ah2.175644@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com> <s7vb6.23748$Ah2.350973@news1.frmt1.sfba.home.com> <Xns903483463BC45pt101594@209.155.56.98> <anson-4A1821.15385225012001@news.efortress.com>
Organization: The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Lines: 46
Xref: news.duke.edu rec.arts.int-fiction:82646

Anson Turner  <anson@DELETE_THISpobox.com> wrote:
>Now suppose there are 4 spellbooks in the game. How does the parser know
>which one will be in the study *when Bob gets there*?
>
>I've been thinking for some time about doing this in Inform, and my
>conclusion has generally been that it's necessary to save the actual
>text that was input, and parse-as-you-go.

That's how I've designing *my* TADS3 parser, but I haven't yet
gotten to the case by case analysis for pronouns. But roughly
the issue with pronouns, under this scenario, is that I have
to be able to say
   > BOB, SOUTH THEN GET BOX THEN NORTH THEN GIVE IT TO ME
and not only have 'box' not resolved until the appropriate turn,
but have 'it' not be interfered with by other commands I might
issue in the intervening turns, which themselves might make
reference to other objects which become 'it' for me; and yet
when Bob later parses 'give it to me' he must still know that
'me' means *me*, not Bob.

Further subtlety arises from the fact that it really IS *me*
saying it, not him--it's really an it on my part in reference
to whatever thing 'box' should turn out to refer to; this shows
up primarily if I say something to Bob involving "it" as the
first thing I say:

  > SHOW AXE TO EUGENE
  Eugenge snatches it out of your hands, fingering its dull
  blade fondly.

  > EUGENE, GIVE IT TO ME

In reality, "it" is bound, I think, to conversations, to
pairs of people (or larger groups, in a group discussion);
in real life, if I am talking to person A on the phone and
person B in person, I can use "it" to refer to different
things in each case.

Associating pronouns with single characters will work fine
so long as the player is the only one who can ever give
orders.  Fortunately, characters giving other characters
orders would generally not be done through English text,
unless it came from the player in the first place, so this
is probably ok.

SeanB
