Wizard's Magic by Daniel Gunnell

Wizard's Magic

Played 1,546 times
View game source (spoilers!)
Download the .z8 file
Source Code

"Wizard's Magic" by Daniel Gunnell (type HELP for instructions)

The story headline is "A game inspired by Harry Potter"

Use brief room descriptions. Use no scoring.

Rule for printing the description of a dark room: say "It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by another wizard." instead. Casting xyzzy is an action applying to nothing. Understand "xyzzy" as casting xyzzy. Instead of casting xyzzy: say "This is not Colossal Cave, but you give the old favourite word a try... Suddenly, just as you are about to utter the end of the word, a wicked wind picks you up, soars out of the laboratory and deposits you somewhere else."; move the player to Wand Chamber.Instead of casting xyzzy when the player is not in the laboratory, say "Nothing magical happens!" Instead of casting xyzzy when the player is not carrying the spell book, say "As you have lost your wand, I don't think that'll help much, do you? (Type WALKTHROUGH for a walkthrough of this game)." Crediting is an action applying to nothing. Understand "help" as crediting. Instead of crediting, say "So, you have lost your wand and you can't find it, is that right? It sounds very simple: just find your wand and you've won the game, but hang on...[line break]Still here? For a moment I thought you quit this game in anger at the author for such a rubbish puzzle. Well, I've got some great news that might get you back in front of your computer and playing once more. I've got some handy tips for the player who is stuck.[line break]As you are a wizard in this game, you may use a magic word or two. I've only implemented the one: XYZZY. It produces the text 'Nothing magical happens!' I'm only joking. You might be able to cast it, and you never know, your wand may appear. Other commands you can try are EXAMINE, asking someone something and going in a direction. So, I'll let you explore this game. If you have any problems, type HELP again at any time and I promise it will come. If you are really stuck, you can type WALKTHROUGH for a walkthrough of this game. (Only do this if you are absolutely stuck.)"

Typing walkthrough is an action applying to nothing. Understand "walkthrough" as typing walkthrough. Instead of typing walkthrough, say "Note that you should never read this walkthrough (written by me and me alone) unless you are so stuck that you quit this game. Nevertheless, I'll try and help you.[line break]The game begins in your laboratory. You're a wizard and you have lost your wand of all things. Examine the spell book and you will get the magic word XYZZY. It's an old word, going back to the days of early interactive fiction games like Adventure. Get the spell book then type it in and you will be transported to the Wand Chamber. (It's actually a broom cupboard, but I wanted it to have a grand-sounding name, so I'm sticking to the name 'Wand Chamber'.) Go east into the corridor. Go south to the Model Room and examine the model of Edifice Towers, the apartment complex on ifMUD. Go east and get the FrotzGadget and turn it off then on to see if it really works. (The FrotzGadget is based on the device in Jigsaw that unlocked containers when you placed it on them). Finally, go east to Merlin's Cave and get the stick of wood that's on the floor. You've found your wand![line break]Thank you for reading the walkthrough. You should now be able to play the game on your own in the future." When play begins: say "You're a wizard who has just left his training school. As a wizard, you're meant to do certain things that a wizard would do, such as cast spells and the like, so you're upset when one day you wake up and your wand is nowhere to be found... It can't have gone far, can it?" Laboratory is a room. "This is your laboratory, the room in which you do all of your magical activities. In the centre of the lab, on the floor,  is a spell book." A spell book is here. "Your spellbook sits here, just waiting to be read." The description of a spell book is "The spell book is in good condition, considering the fact that you bought it from a secondhand magic shop somewhere with a funny name. There are no spells in the book, since this is one of those spell books that you might find in the Enchanter games by Infocom and I don't have time to add any at the minute. Well, there is one word: XYZZY. Try casting it once you've picked up the spell book." Wand Chamber is a room. "The wand chamber is nothing more than a broom cupboard, but when you moved into your house you wanted somewhere to store your wand at night, so you've given this place the grand name of 'Wand Chamber'. A door leads out into a corridor to the east. Your wand is nowhere to be seen." East of Wand Chamber is Corridor. Corridor is a room. "You are in a corridor which has an exit west to the Wand Chamber and south to the Model Room." South of Corridor is Model Room. Model Room is a room. "This room seems to have been made of a white, chalky substance. An exit north leads back to the corridor and in the middle of the room, next to a sign with an arrow pointing east, is a model of Edifice Towers." A model of Edifice Towers is here. "A model of Edifice Towers, the apartment on ifMUD, stands here." It is fixed in place. The description of a model of Edifice Towers is "It's an eleven-storey apartment building that is south of the main building on ifMUD. It even has tiny balconies with glass windows looking into various apartments. You notice a man waving at you from a second-floor balcony, and realise that it is the author of this game." East of Model Room is Blinding Light. Blinding Light is a room. "You are in a room where everything is a blinding white. To the west is the model room and to the east is the room where you suddenly remember you put your wand in just last night." A FrotzGadget is a device in Blinding Light. "Your FrotzGadget, which you purchased for a good price is lying on the floor here." It is switched on. Carry out switching off the FrotzGadget: now everywhere is dark. Carry out switching on the FrotzGadget: now everywhere is lighted. Understand "gadget" or "frotz" as FrotzGadget. The description of a FrotzGadget is "Frotz can be two things:[line break]1. An interactive fiction interpreter for playing Z-code or TADS games.[line break]2. A spell to make light in the Enchanter and later Zork games by Infocom. The FrotzGadget is the latter. It will make the rooms in your house dark when you switch it off, and if you turn it back on the rooms will become lit once more. If you had to choose between the Amazon' Echo's SmartHome and this, you'd choose the FrotzGadget.[line break]New features of your Gadget: you can now make your entire home dark. Previously, it would only make a room, or a couple rooms at a time dark. It can now be carried around the house rather than being fixed in place, thanks to Inform 7 and interactive fiction. To stay up-to-date with the changes to your FrotzGadget, you can sign up to their carrier pigeon service (no email mailing lists if you're a wizard) and you'll get a replacement if your Gadget becomes unresponsive to these commands." East of Blinding Light is Merlin's Cave. Merlin's Cave is a room. "This is Merlin's Cave, where all wizards like to hang out and brew potions. The room is full of complicated machines that are too hard to put into this game because they involve turning your home into a beach. On the east wall is a sign reading 'King Arthur was here' and there is a man standing in the middle of the room. To the west is an exit, from which blinding light pours. You also spot an object made of wood. Could that be your wand?" Merlin is a man in Merlin's Cave. "Merlin, King Arthur's fictional wizard, is muttering to himself." Understand "wizard" as Merlin. The description of Merlin is "Merlin, the famous wizard of King Arthur and Camelot, is standing here. He is wearing the traditional pointy hat and robe and he seems to be muttering something under his breath." Every turn when the  player can see Merlin: say "[one of]Merlin talks at great length about the time he visited the Castle of Camelot[or]Merlin asks if you've ever been to the Glastonbury Tour[or]Merlin complains loudly about the price of the FrotzGadget, and tells you that an Amazon Echo, although expensive, is worth buying.[at random]." A stick of wood is here. "Lying on the floor is a stick of wood which you should get. It might be important." Understand "wand" as a stick of wood. The description of a stick of wood is "At last! You seem to have found your wand. The wand itself is long and thin, with your name engraved on the handle. Like all wands, there is no magical core, but the wand has a life of its own." After taking a stick of wood: say "As you pick up the stick of wood, you realise that it is your long-lost wand. You're once more a happy wizard! You joyfully return to the laboratory (but how? I never coded in a word that could transport you back) and begin making a new potion. In time, you are known as the first ever wizard to lose and find his wand in just five minutes."; end the game in victory. Rule for amusing a victorious player: say "There is nothing fun that you can do in this game, but have you tried...[line break]Casting XYZZY when you are not in the laboratory?[line break]Casting XYZZY when you are not holding the spell book?"