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From: buzzard@world.std.com (Sean T Barrett)
Subject: Re: Which verb?
Message-ID: <GF479q.uL@world.std.com>
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 07:25:01 GMT
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Jamezz <jlloyd0283@home.com> wrote:
>The puzzle requires the player to combine some sticky
>tape, with an ordinary coat hanger to form a sticky coathanger.
[snip]
>What is the common way to combine one object with another in other
>popular IF games? Should I just implement a use verb?

The tradition is to implement as many verbs as possible.

Assuming you mean this is double-stick tape that's staying
on the hanger (as opposed to putting regular tape on the
hanger and removing it, leaving it sticky), some verbs
that come to mind:

 PUT TAPE ON HANGER
 TAPE HANGER
 STICK TAPE ON HANGER
 ATTACH TAPE TO HANGER
 FASTEN TAPE ON/TO HANGER
 PUT HANGER ON TAPE

although there are probably more that could be accepted.

Basically, if a player has thought to mention the tape and the
hanger together in the same sentence, it is probably because
she has the right idea, so there is no reason to deny her.
(I *wouldn't* go to the extent of accepting any sentence with
those two objects, but I dunno, maybe that would work in
this case.)

Whether you want to implement "use" as well is up to you; it can
be convenient to have a verb that means "do the right thing
without making me guess the verb", but it also introduces the
danger that players simply try using things on other things
without trying to figure out why.

SeanB
