Kentish Plover by Daniel Gunnell

Kentish Plover

Played 1,300 times
View game source (spoilers!)
Download the .z8 file
Source Code

"Kentish Plover" by Kentish Plover

The story headline is "An example game"

Use brief room descriptions. Use no scoring. The block giving rule is not listed in the check giving it to rules.

Casting plover is an action applying to nothing. understand "plover" as casting plover. Instead of casting plover when the player is in the car park: say "Your surroundings spin, disorientating you, until you find yourself standing on..."; move the player to Atop the Cliffs instead.Instead of casting plover when the player is not in the car park, say "Yes, the name of this game is 'Kentish Plover', but that doesn't mean you can type the name of a bird."

When play begins: say "Your micro enterprise, Kentish Plover, has been a success in starting up. You've managed to convince people to start playing interactive fiction in the local area. Now, if you're going to make the business a success, you should probably spread the word further afield."

A map of Kent is a thing that is carried by the player. Understand "map" as a map of Kent. The description of a map of Kent is "The map, which you hastily printed off the internet last night, shows the Garden of England in all its glory. It shows the coastline of the Romney Marsh, with a line that could be the railway running through it, the infamous Walt Disney church and a flock of sheep. To the east of that, the map displays Folkestone and Dover. The coast of France is shown as well, but the person who wrote the map has made Calais look smaller than on most maps. Moving north from Dover, the map passes through Deal and Sandwich, eventually allowing you to feast your eyes on the Isle of Thanet (you notice that someone has drawn what looks like the imaginary GMT line in Ramsgate) and so on. The map also has a label on the top of it saying 'Kent: in all its detail. Printed by Kentish Cartographers and made available to anyone living in our wonderful county ...' blah, blah, blah."

Office is a room. "This is one of many offices in Kentish Plover, a micro enterprise that creates interactive fiction. While your office is small, the building that houses the business is about the size of a supermarket. The room is comfortable, with a desk and a door to the east."

A desk is here. It is fixed in place. The description of the desk is "The desk is made of the finest trees in Kent, although you wouldn't know it because the wood has been sanded down to a nice shine. It's large enough to hold a computer, but said computer is currently being repaired by another small business." On the desk is a leaflet. The description of the leaflet is "The leaflet reads: 'Welcome to Kentish Plover![line break]Congratulations for starting up your micro enterprise! We need you to be a good chap and take this leaflet to a pile of stone in Dover for your first task. You'll be given further instructions there. Once again, well done for convincing the people of the Marsh to play interactive fiction. To get from here to Dover, just go east and take the medal.' What was that leaflet all about?" East of Office is Car Park. Car Park is a room. "This is a car park that is used by people visiting Kentish Plover. A road passes by the car park to the east, and to the west is the business itself." A medal is here. The description of the medal is "This medal is awarded to anyone who can swim the English Channel to France. On the back is a photo of Dover, taken by the looks of it by an inexperienced photographer, as it is all blurry. Below the photo, the medal has these words on it: 'Take this medal to Dover, where a pile of stone stands atop the White Cliffs.'" Instead of taking the medal when the player is not carrying the leaflet, say "You really should pick up the leaflet that is in this game, you know." After taking the medal when the player is carrying the leaflet: say "Good man. Now, type in the word 'plover' without the quote marks and see what happens.'" Atop the Cliffs is a room. "You're standing atop the White Cliffs of Dover, famous for miles around. it was here, after all, millions of boats and ships returned from Dunkirk during World War II, but they are also the starting point for anyone brave enough to swim the Channel. Looking out to the east, you can see the continent of Europe, with ferries pulling out from a port in France. A pile of stone is marking one of these Channel swimmers." The statue is a man in atop the cliffs. The description of the statue is "The pile of stone represents the bust of some bloke who was the first person to swim the Channel." A sign is here. The description of a sign is "Please give the medal to the pile of stone and it will transport you to Margate. You have, by accident, sent one of your game manuals there." Every turn while the player is in Atop the Cliffs, say "Out at sea, a ferry makes its way to France." After giving the medal to the statue: say "If the pile of stone could speak, I'm sure it would have said 'thanks mate!', but as piles of stone don't usually speak, it says nothing. Meanwhile, as the medal passes from your hands to land on the pile of stone, the world spins once again, and you find yourself in..."; move the player to Somewhere in Margate instead. Somewhere in Margate is a room. "You are standing on a street somewhere in Margate, where that game manual is meant to be. Locals and tourists alike stream by, thoughts of the beach and visits to Dreamland on their minds. A path leads northeast towards a building." Northeast of Somewhere in Margate is Back Alley. Back Alley is a room. "You are in an alleyway which connects the main road through Margate with the side entrance of a church. The alley opens southwest onto the street and east into a back room of some kind." East of Back Alley is Lounge. Lounge is a room. "This is a lounge where, it is said, people come here to engage in scouting activities. At the moment, the room is empty as its occupants have gone. The door out to the alleyway leads west, and all other exits have been boarded up. (Well, this is an example game. What did you expect to find out there?) There's a cuckoo clock quietly ticking away, and on the floor is a game manual." A cuckoo clock is here. It is scenery and fixed in place. The description of the cuckoo clock is "The clock is in the shape of a bird house and it's face will always show the time. A small plaque on the clock reads: 'Pick up the game manual to win.' Below that, a smaller sign tells you that this clock was made by Ylloh, a clock-making company." Every turn while the player is in Lounge: say "A posh-sounding voice issues forth from the clock. 'At the third stroke, the time will be [time of day] approximately.' This is followed by three short beeps and the usual cuckoo sound." A game manual is here. Understand "manual" as a game manual. The description of a game manual is "It's a long manual detailing how to play interactive fiction. You'd better take it back to New Romney." After taking the game manual: say "You pick up the game manual, return to New Romney and soon your business is booming. People come from miles around to play your interactive fiction and soon your games are even more popular than Fortnite."; end the game in victory.