The Cogs of Westminster by Daniel Gunnell

The Cogs of Westminster

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"The Cogs of Westminster" by Daniel Gunnell (type HELP for instructions)

The story headline is "A Steampunk Adventure"

Use brief room descriptions.

Use no scoring.

Crediting is an action applying to nothing. Understand "help" as crediting. Instead of crediting, say "The Cogs of Westminster is a steampunk-themed interactive fiction game that was made in Inform 7 using Playfic. In the game, you can move around with NORTH, SOUTH, etc, but if you find yourself aboard an airship you may use nautical directions like FORE and AFT. There are no references to the cyberpunk genre even though I like cyberpunk, but Whitechapel seems to be poorer than Westminster. The year on the newspaper says '1877' but no other cyberpunk references are found in this game.[line break]If you find yourself checking the time, you may notice that it is in words since I wanted to create a Victorian feel to the game. Speaking of which, there is no Victorian dialogue that the people use, but the passenger might sound old-fashioned when you speak to him. Anyway, I hope you like my game and try out these other commands[line break]To examine something, you can type EXAMINE or X. To take or drop objects, type TAKE or DROP."  The starboard is a direction. The starboard has opposite port. Understand "s" as starboard when the location is nautical. The port is a direction. The port has opposite starboard. Understand "p" as port when the location is nautical. The fore is a direction. The fore has opposite aft. Understand "f" as fore when the location is nautical. The aft is a direction. The aft has opposite fore. Understand "a" as aft when the location is nautical. Does the player mean going a nautical direction when the location is nautical: it is very likely. Index map with fore mapped as north. Index map with aft mapped as south. Index map with port mapped as west. Index map with starboard mapped as east. [The verb to be abaft of means the mapping aft relation.] A room can be nautical or earthbound. A room is usually not nautical. A direction can be nautical or earthbound. A direction is usually not nautical. Starboard, port, fore, aft, up, down, the inside and the outside are nautical. Before going a nautical direction when the location is not nautical, say "Nautical directions can only be used on board ship." A thing has some text called printing. The printing of a thing is usually "blank". Understand the command "read" as something new. Understand "read [something]" as reading. Reading is an action applying to one thing, requiring light. Check reading: if the printing of the noun is "blank", say "Nothing is written on [the noun]." instead. Carry out reading: say "You read: [printing of the noun][line break]". Report reading: do nothing.  The player wears a closed openable container called a pocket watch. Understand "fob watch" as the pocket watch. The description of the pocket watch is "A gold pocket watch, often carried by the wealthy. At the moment [if the pocket watch is open] it is [the time of day in words][otherwise]the watch is closed, so you won't be able to tell the time." A chain is part of the watch. It is fixed in place. The description of the chain is "Although you don't believe in hypnosis, you have heard that these chains are swung to control people's minds."  When play begins: now the right hand status line is "[time of day in words]"; say "As the fog lifts, you find yourself standing in the middle of a crowded marketplace. The clatter of carts and the sounds of people conducting business make it hard to concentrate after your night spent playing billiards in the gentleman's club. The early morning air is also cold, although that is the least of your worries right now. As you turn to admire the stalls and shops, you remember a conversation that you overheard on the train that carried you here. You can't recall what it was about, but the phrase 'The Cogs of Westminster' comes to mind."  Crowded Square is a room. "A tide of people jostle you as you stand in this crowded market square. The tempting smells of a bakery beckon you to enter it from the north and [if the newspaper is in Crowded Square]something on the ground catches your eye [otherwise] the ground is bare and uninteresting. A winding street leads south towards a nearby airship dock." A newspaper is here. The description of the newspaper is "An 1877 issue of the London Times, currently turned to an advertisement." The printing of the newspaper is "A breakthrough in technology[line break]Try out the latest invention, the best one since the wheel. Yes, that is right, the world's first clockwork computing device.[line break]We were first introduced to this marvel of a machine during the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace of 1851 and since that time, the device has been sold in every specialist mechanist's shop.[line break]To get your hands on one of these, go to Westminster, Smithfield, or anywhere around Britain. The computer itself is made of thousands of clockwork interlocking cogs, none of which can be seen."  North of Crowded Square is Bakery. Bakery is a room. "You stand within the vast bakery, the local hangout for the citizens of Westminster and the place to have your bread cooked in a proper oven. The room is filled with racks of flour, butter and fresh eggs for making the food, and several brick ovens which expel a jet of compressed air every few minutes.[line break]Windows looking out onto the surrounding square shine beams of sunlight over the counters and floors. There's an exit south back onto the square." Some racks of food are scenery in Bakery. Understand "racks" as racks of food. The description of the racks is "Metal racks hold flour, butter, eggs and other dry ingredients for making bread." An oven is scenery in the Bakery. The description of the oven is "The giant oven has room to bake at least two cakes at a time."  South of Crowded Square is Dock. Dock is a room. "This is the local dock, where airships land and take off. A constant stream of people come in and out of this area as they board their flights. Posters and adverts list the departures and arrivals of the many ships. The market square can be seen to the north. A hatch also leads up into one of the docked airships." A blue plaque is here. "A blue memorial plaque, slightly rusted with age, is nailed to a wall." The description of the blue plaque is "This docking point marks the spot where the first successful airship took off in 1842. Since that day, Westminster Airship Aerodrome now takes passengers up in the air and back." A poster is here. It is scenery. The description of the poster is "It's a schedule showing the flight times for the airships here. While it would be lovely to fly around the skies, you prefer to stay on the Ground."  The hatch is above the dock and below the cabin. It is scenery. The hatch is a closed openable door. The Cabin and the Deck are nautical. Cabin is fore of the Deck. The description of the cabin is "You are in a somewhat cramped but comfortable cabin. The walls are covered in small portholes and several benches are placed below each. The centre of the cabin is taken up by the vast control panel that pilots this airship.[paragraph break]A door leads aft to the deck, or you could go through a hatchway leading down to the local dock." A thing can be either examined or unexamined. A thing is usually unexamined. A control panel is scenery in the cabin. The description of the control panel is "[if we have not examined the control panel]Cogs, gears and pistons ... you are not the proud captain of this airship, so you don't know what any of it does. However, there is a button in the centre of it, why don't you press that?[otherwise]The button is still on the panel and that's about as far as your knowledge of the control panel goes." A button is a device. It is fixed in place and part of the control panel. The description of the button is "A round button with a picture of a closed hatchway."  The description of the deck is "Plush leather seating surrounds you as you stand on the deck. In the centre of the deck is a strange machine, a combination of cogs, gears, wires, pistons and various strips of fabric. The only other things of interest are two doorways, one leading forward and the other leading to port." A strange machine is scenery in the Deck. Understand "balloon" as the strange machine. The description of the strange machine is "If you recall your basic flying lessons, airships are propelled by hot air balloons. The machine appears to be working, even though the craft is docked."  Port of Deck is Smoking Room. The description of smoking room is "A dimly lit and hazy room, smelling strongly of tobacco and pipesmoke. A notice posted on the wall reads: 'No open fires on deck or in the cabin. That is what this room is for.' The only exits from this room are a doorway to starboard and a ladder up." A table is a fixed in place supporter in the smoking room. The description of the table is "The table is covered in burn marks where some careless person did not use the ashtray." On the table is a container called an ashtray. The description of the ashtray is "The ashtray is there to contain any cigarette ash since the smoking of opium is restricted to the many opium dens found in Limehouse." A brass key is in the ashtray. The description of the brass key is "A small, unremarkable brass key. It has the words 'property of the Cogs of Westminster' on it."  The block giving rule is not listed in the check giving it to rules. A passenger is a man in Smoking Room. The passenger wears a pair of goggles. The description of the goggles is "The goggles are made out of metal, and look like the type that are usually worn by 1860s pilots." The passenger wears a smart suit. The description of the smart suit is "A neatly pressed pair of trousers, with a shirt and waistcoat to match." The description of the passenger is "He moves about the airship with ease, as if air travel is something he enjoys.[The passenger] is wearing [a list of things worn by the passenger][if the passenger carries something] and carrying [a list of things carried by the passenger][end if]." Instead of asking the passenger about "airship": say "'This place? Yes, I've certainly frequented it before now on my holidays to France.' the passenger says. if you can find me a newspaper, I'll give you the goggles.'" After giving the newspaper to the passenger: say "You hand the passenger the paper and he gives you the goggles."; move the newspaper to the passenger; move the goggles to the player. Instead of going up in the Smoking Room when the player carries the newspaper, say "The passenger blocks any progress in that direction." Above the Smoking Room is Dormitory. The Dormitory is nautical. The description of the dormitory is "This room serves as the dormitory when the airship needs to take long flights. The room itself is not unlike dormitories found in boarding schools, except that the room contains a small parlour, which lies to port. The walls are also lined with bunk beds. A ladder leads down into the smoking room." Some bunk beds are an enterable supporter and scenery in the dormitory. Understand "beds" or "bunks" as the bunk beds.  Parlour is port of the dormitory. Parlour is nautical. The description of the parlour is "This is the parlour, where passengers spend most evenings playing various card games to pass the time aboard the airship. At the moment, the craft is docked, so there's nobody here.[paragraph break]The door leading back into the dormitory is starboard."  The description of the bunk beds is "They look comfortable enough to make you sleep through the most turbulent of flights." After entering the beds: say "You sleep deeply, with the knowledge that no one will hurt you here. When you awake, something has definitely changed."; move the player to A Public House in Whitechapel. A Public House in Whitechapel is a room. "A rundown place, with a close proximity to the docks. Many people fill this room, some drinking, some reading today's newspapers but many sit in small groups discussing the latest in new inventions. Although the bar is stocked with various wines and spirits, you haven't got the stomach for a drink right now. The door, should you wish to leave this place, lies west." A peep box is here. It is fixed in place. The description of the peep box is "Although peep shows are not fashionable these days, what with the growth of steam-powered machinery, they are still popular in the East End. You peer in and see [one of]two schoolchildren playing conkers[or]a train travelling through a tunnel[or]a family staring out the porthole of a vaguely familiar airship[cycling]. The peep show brings back memories of your childhood, when actual theatres were popular. These days, people go to the carnival when it's in town rather than watching a play." A wooden door is a closed locked door. It is scenery. The brass key unlocks the wooden door. The wooden door is west of A Public House in Whitechapel and east of Dock Row. Dock Row is a room. "The cobbled street of Dock Row passes by a public house to your east and continues into the back alleyways of Whitechapel further north. Fog, created by the many factories in this area, hangs over the place." Fog is a backdrop. It is in Dock Row. The description is "Thick smog blankets the sky from the many factories." A child is a person in Dock Row. The description of the child is "During your days wandering the streets of Westminster, you occasionally hear rumours about these people, who are referred to as urchins. This child is one of those, however you don't pity it." Every turn while the player is in Dock Row, say "Drifting through the air from a back alley, you hear a long, loud scream. You swore to yourself that you'd never venture this far east."  North of Dock Row is Pier. Pier is a room. "You stand on a filthy pier which leads to a boat docked in the even filthier River Thames. To your south is Dock Row. A sign is posted on a railing for all to read." A sign is scenery in Pier. The description of the sign is "Welcome to the Cogs of Westminster, a society that promotes the use of machinery. Our finely appointed headquarters can be reached by invoking the word 'luddite.'" Casting luddite is an action applying to nothing. Understand "luddite" as casting luddite. Instead of casting luddite when the player is in Pier: say "As the word leaves your lips, some strange sort of wind seems to pick you up and deposit you in..."; move the player to Cogs HQ. Instead of casting luddite when the player is not in Pier, say "The Luddites were a group of protesters who were against the use of machinery in factories. As you like the idea of machines, you shouldn't follow in their footsteps. I'm also assuming that you wanted me to tell you about them."  Cogs HQ is a room. "A large room, the kind of which you've seen in rich houses. The humming of machinery in here is deafening and you also notice that the room has another door leading north." A board is here. "An information board is bolted high up on a wall." The description of the board is "You've found the headquarters of the Cogs of Westminster. Not many people know that this place exists, but I am glad that you have stumbled upon our little hideout. Unlike the Luddites, who were against machinery, we are all for the use of steam power and we've placed an airship in Westminster to promote it there. Once again, I thank you for visiting our headquarters." North of Cogs HQ is Office. Office is a room. "You are in the office of the boss of the Cogs of Westminster. A massive oak desk takes up a great deal of space in the centre of the room, and all the walls are covered in drawings. The door leading to the main room of the headquarters is south." An oak desk is scenery in Office. Understand "massive oak desk" as an oak desk. The description of an oak desk is "The desk is made of oak so smooth that you wonder how it got here in the first place." Some drawings are scenery in Office. The description of some drawings is "They are blueprints and sketches of machines that you remember seeing in 1851: a clockwork computer, an airship and a steam cannon." The boss is a man in Office. The description of the boss is "The boss is the man behind the Cogs of Westminster movement. As you watch him, the boss mutters, 'If only my goggles could be found again. If anyone knew where they were ...'" Instead of asking the boss about "goggles": say "The boss smiles. 'Yes, if you would be so kind as to return them to me. I must have left them onboard the airship.'" After giving the goggles to the boss: say "You hand over the goggles and the boss smiles again. 'Thank you.' says the boss. You turn to go, knowing that your journey was worthwhile."; end the game in victory.