The Fifth Continent by Daniel Gunnell

The Fifth Continent

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"The Fifth Continent" by Daniel Gunnell (type HELP for instructions)

The story headline is "A travel through the Romney Marsh"

Use brief room descriptions. Use no scoring. Crediting is an action applying to nothing. Understand "help" as crediting. Instead of crediting, say "Hello' player[line break]If you find yourself giving up playing this game, I can understand. Interactive fiction can be hard to play, partly because it is only played by a handful of people these days, and partly because no one outside the IF community seems to play it. So, the author of this game would like to help you out. If you don't want help, you're on your own.[line break]Here are some useful words that you could try typing into the game. They are all in capitals[line break]Try EXAMINE, going in a compass direction (i.e. NORTH, SOUTH, EAST or WEST), or, you could check out what you are carrying by typing INVENTORY or I. Wait (or Z) will allow you to wait for something, but you won't be moving. This is very useful if you are waiting for a car to stop on a busy road. Look will describe what is in a room (note rooms in interactive fiction games can be either outside or inside). If you would like to try some magic, type XYZZY and you'll be transported to Church Approach, which is where the game began. If you come across a container, that is, anything that can be opened, type OPEN (container). To quit the game, type QUIT. To save, type SAVE. To restore the game (for example, you might like to go back to a saved position), type RESTORE.[line break]Right, that's it. I can't think of anything else to say. You could try asking questions on some of the forums run by the IF community, or go to ifmud.port4000.com. You can type HELP at any time during your game." The Marsh is a backdrop. It is everywhere. Instead of examining the Marsh, say "The Romney Marsh stretches on and on, making the whole area seem to go on forever. Mud, fields, bogs and lakes cover the surface and the occasional bird flies overhead." Casting xyzzy is an action applying to nothing. Understand "xyzzy" as casting xyzzy. Instead of casting xyzzy: say "You feel the air shift around you as some sort of magical force picks you up and transports you to..."; move the player to Church Approach. Instead of casting xyzzy when the player is in Church Approach, say "Nothing happens. What did you expect?" When play begins, say "Ever since you were young, you've been curious about the Romney Marsh, an area of Kent where the people seem to farm sheep, bell ring and goodness knows what. You've even heard a rumour that smuggling went on there during the 18th century, but that's now in the past. So, you pick up your tourist rucksack and, after checking out the various reviews on TripAdvisor, you are on your way." A rucksack is a wearable closed, openable container that is carried by the player. Instead of examining the rucksack, say "It's the usual generic tourist's best friend. The bag comes with one very large openable pocket with a waterproof zip to ensure that it stays dry. Ahh, the times you spent hiking in the North Downs with that thing when all the other hikers were left to stagger with suitcases that they bought from Tesco." In the rucksack is a guidebook. Instead of examining the guidebook, say "'The world according to the best geographers is divided into Europe, Asia, Africa, America and the Romney Marsh'[line break]If you've just purchased this guidebook from the visitor's centre, welcome to the fifth continent! The quotation on your guidebook comes from The Ingoldsby Legends, a collection of myths and legends from around the Garden of England. Now, with that background out of the way, we're going to hand you over to the author of this game, who will explain how you play it.[line break]The Fifth Continent is a work of interactive fiction. If you've never played this type of game before, you move around by typing in compass directions and reading a screen full of text. In this game, the sequel to The Computer Lady, you need to deliberately upset a bird watcher in order to get into writing interactive fiction. (No bird watchers were actually upset during the coding of this game.)[line break]A note to anyone named David: if you're name happens to be David and you're playing this, please don't get upset about what happens to David in this game. Right, I think that's enough talk. I'd better leave you or this sentence will take up a few lines of code." Church Approach is a room. "You are standing on Church Approach, which is a little side street off New Romney high street. Opposite you is St Nicholas Church, where the good people of New Romney enjoy bell ringing. Nearby is Station Road, where the Marsh Academy (formally called Southland's School) is. To your north is The Computer Lady. Being a tourist by trade, the picnic bench to the northeast seems to be as important to you as a piece of homework that you did ages ago. However, the high street to the east seems more alive, so you might find more interesting things there." East of Church Approach is High Street.High Street is a room. "This is the high street of New Romney. On either side are small local businesses with advertisements displayed proudly in their windows. The Computer Lady and Church Approach lie back west and to the east is Station Road." Here is a billboard. Instead of taking the billboard, say "The tourism industry caters for tourists, not vandals." Instead of examining the billboard, say "Interactive Fiction comes to the Marsh Academy[line break]We are pleased to announce that the Marsh Academy is hosting a workshop on interactive fiction next week to celebrate the end of term. This event is free to attend and anyone can come along and learn to create their very first Quest, Twine or Inform 7 game. This is after a recent conference in the US at the MIT building and the Interactive Fiction Technology Foundation will be hosting this event, along with the school's IT department.[line break]Date of event: Monday 22 July through to Wednesday 24 July 2019. (We also welcome tourists as well, providing that they bring their own rucksack to carry any works of interactive fiction that they've made)." East of High Street is Station Road. Station Road is a room. "You smell the smoke of the steam trains as you wander through Station Road. 'Yes,' you think, 'this is what tourism should be about: no hotels, no cruises and definitely no jet lag.' To the west is the high street of New Romney and to the east the town simply melts away, becoming the Romney Marsh." East of Station Road is The Romney Marsh. The Romney Marsh is a room. "Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood... Well, actually, there's so much mud here that even the cleverest of hippopotamuses would like to roll around in it like some kind of large dog. The Marsh merges into New Romney to the west and it leads towards Greatstone to the southeast. One particular review on TripAdvisor mentioned that, due to flooding in the 13th century, the coastline has been diverted." A sheep is a male animal in The Romney Marsh. "A sheep stands here, bleeting away." The description of the sheep is "The Romney Marsh is famous for its sheep, and this one seems to have wandered away from his field. Being summer, the sheep has been sheered, but the wool will grow back in winter." A small mailbox is here. "There is a small mailbox here." It is a closed, openable container. Instead of examining a small mailbox, say "It's just your average small mailbox that could contain leaflets, flyers, or a letter." Instead of taking a small mailbox, say "The mailbox was placed here for a reason, and I don't think you should go meddling with something that isn't yours." In a small mailbox is a leaflet. Instead of examining a leaflet, say "Play The Computer Lady, the prequel to this game before going anywhere[line break]The Fifth Continent is the sequel to the author's earlier game The Computer Lady, a fabulous business that repairs computers at any time of day. This game includes a special command: XYZZY. Type it in if you're lost and you'll be transported to Church Approach. This is in response to a health and safety concern that many tourists became stuck in the Marsh." Southeast of The Romney Marsh is A Path. A Path is a room. "A path, winding its way through the Romney Marsh. It turns from northwest to south here." South of A Path is Coast Road. Coast Road is a room. "This is Coast Road, a road which connects New Romney with Greatstone and Lydd. The sea breeze is quite strong here. The road leads towards Greatstone to the west and north towards a path." West of Coast Road is Greatstone High Street. Greatstone High Street is a room. "To call this a 'high street' is going a bit too far, for the road you travel along is nothing more than a track compared to what you've seen so far. A few shops line the street, serving the people of Greatstone, but none of them seem to be open. To the south is Greatstone Beach, and the east exit leads back to the Coast Road." South of Greatstone High Street is Greatstone Beach. Greatstone Beach is a room. "You are on Greatstone Beach, a marvellous stretch of sand dunes that seem to go on forever. West of you is Littlestone Beach." Some sand is in Greatstone Beach. "You almost trip over some sand here." After taking some sand: say "It slips through your fingers."; remove some sand from play. The description of some sand is "It's just some soft sand." West of Greatstone Beach is Littlestone Beach. littlestone Beach is a room. "Unlike the sandy expanse of Greatstone Beach, Littlestone Beach is composed of shingle. Actually, it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends. To the east, the beach becomes sand and to the north it simply becomes a road." A burn in the ground is in Littlestone Beach. "A patch of ground has been scorched here, as if some Alien spacecraft took off suddenly and was never seen again." It is fixed in place. Understand "burn" or "scorch mark" as a burn in the ground. The description of a burn in the ground is "Knowing what Victorian scientists were like, you suspect that this is the mark of some sphere that was built by a London playwrite. No trace of such a sphere can be seen, though. It's probably burnt to a crisp up on the moon." North of Littlestone Beach is Coast Drive. Coast Drive is a room. "You're on a Road north of the beach. Greatstone high street can be seen to the east, but tourists are forced to go via the beach. To the west, you can see Denge Marsh." West of Coast Drive is Denge Marsh. Denge Marsh is a room. "This is Denge Marsh, a part of the Romney Marsh that contains Dungeness. A road leads east into Littlestone. To the northwest is a local branch of the RSPB." A cactus is in Denge Marsh.  It is fixed in place. The description of a cactus is "Although Denge Marsh is classified as a desert, it doesn't usually have any tropical plants growing in it." Northwest of Denge Marsh is The Bird Reserve Entrance. The Bird Reserve Entrance is a room. "If you ever want to go bird watching, this is the place. It appears to be closed at the moment, (why is everything closed?) but you can still hear the mating calls of the birds high up in the trees. Another thing that's nearby is a wet fish shop (also closed) and a level crossing. To the southeast is Dungeness and Lydd lies somewhere over to the west. To the north is a gift shop." Two inflatable cows are here. "Two inflatable cows are here." The description of two inflatable cows is "These have been placed here by the RSPB to remind people that a call of a wood pigeon sounds like: 'take two cows, David.' (David, whoever he is, must be smiling with joy at the thought of his name being used like this)." A pigeon is a male animal in The Bird Reserve Entrance. "A pigeon flaps its wings here." The description of the pigeon is "London is already famous for its pigeons, it'll be Kent next." David is a man in The Bird Reserve Entrance." A bird watcher, presumably named David, is busy watching a bird high up in a nest here." Instead of examining David, say "It's not David Attenborough, if that's what you're thinking. No, it's just an unlucky person who happens to have the same name as someone famous, but ended up in this game against his will." Instead of asking David about [something] for the first time, say "David's eyes fill up with tears as your question leaves your lips. '... I had no intention of ending up in a work of interactive fiction,' David cries, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief, 'But I was bird watching and minding my own business, when I find myself in this game and I've got to repeat this phrase whenever someone asks me!' You feel sorry for him; it's almost as if you knew David." Instead of asking David about [something] for the second time, say "David begins to pack away his Â£1000 telescope that he must have bought from Amazon. 'Now look, my friend,' David says, peering at you, 'Please don't insult me. If that happens again, I'm going off to the bird reserve in Rye. Actually, on second thoughts, I'll just head off home.'" Instead of asking David about [something] for the third time: say "Now you've gone and done it! David gets up, and without a backwards glance at you, he strides off. A minute later, you hear the sound of a car start up and drive off, accompanied by the sound of sobbing. David drives off in the direction of Church Approach.Isn't it amazing how some people can react sometimes?"; move David to Church Approach. Instead of asking David about [something] when David is in Church Approach, say "That would just make him even more upset than he already is." North of The Bird Reserve Entrance is A Shop. A Shop is a room. "If it was open, you could easily buy something relating to the RSPB, but alas it's closed. In fact, the only item for sale (well, the shop is closed, so you could probably take it for free) is a bird book." Here is a bird book. Instead of examining the bird book, say "It's the sort of book that a bird watcher could get stuck into and would have to be forced to put it down again. Maybe you should make it up to David, who you made and broke your friendship with just a few seconds ago (depending on how quick the player is at playing interactive fiction)." After taking the bird book: say "You pick up the bird book, place a 50p coin on the counter and leave. In less than five minutes you are back on Church Approach, where David is standing, still upset from your insult.[line break]'Thanks for the bird book!' David exclaims. It turns out that David was the customer of The Computer Lady who needed to get his computer repaired. It's a small world in interactive fiction, isn't it? After a long talk, David gets you into interactive fiction and the two of you begin collaborating on your first game."; end the game in victory. Rule for amusing a victorious player: say "Have you tried...[line break]Typing XYZZY in Church Approach?[line break]Asking David about something while he's in Church Approach?[line break]Taking various objects?"