One Room and a Fish by Lauren Tuccy

One Room and a Fish

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Source Code

"One Room and a Fish" by Jsimmons

Part 1 - Contents

When play begins, say "That goldfish looks strangely hungry..."

[My games usually have quite sprawling geography, so this was an attempt to get something playable with no travel at all.]

The Parlor is a room. "A wood-paneled room with huge fireplace. An overstuffed sofa is directed at a large, old fashioned tube television which sits on top of a wooden entertainment center. A rug covers the hardwood floor, and china cabinet stands in one corner. The only door out of here is to the south."
 
The Carved Arch Door is a door. It is south from the Parlor. It is scenery. The Carved Arch door is locked. The description of the carved arch door is "A beautifully carved wooden door with a rounded top. It is locked with an equally fancy silver keyhole." Understand "keyhole" as the carved arch door.

Instead of opening the carved arch door:
	if the carved arch door is unlocked:
		end the story finally;
		say "You have escaped the room!";
	else:
		say "The door is locked."

The sofa is in the Parlor. The description of the sofa is "An overstuffed sofa." The initial appearance of the sofa is "An overstuffed sofa faces the old tube television set.[if the cushions are on the sofa] The cushions look like they can lift free.[otherwise]".
Some cushions are on the sofa. They are scenery. The initial appearance of the cushions are "[if the cushions are on the sofa][otherwise] The sofa cushions have been carelessly dumped on the floor." The description of the cushions are "Large, cumbersome[if on the sofa], the end of one cushion sticks up, like it isn't sitting flush with the sofa[end if].”

Instead of taking the cushions:
	say "You lift the cushions off the sofa, dropping them on the floor.";
	now the cushions are in the parlor;
	now the scrap of paper is on the sofa.
	
The scrap of paper is a thing. The initial appearance of the scrap of paper is "A small scrap of paper sits on the bare sofa bed. It must have been left by someone." The description of the scrap of paper is "10, 9, 4". 

[A fuse is a kind of thing. A fuse can be new or old (this is the freshness property).]

The entertainment center is scenery in the Parlor. The entertainment center is a closed, lockable, locked container. [The fuse unlocks the entertainment center.] The description of the entertainment center is "A tall wooden cabinet designed for holding hard-copy media. Mostly superfluous these days. This one's been locked with a very strange lock." The electronic lock is part of the entertainment center. The description of the electronic lock is "There aren't any buttons or numbers on it, but it looks like it opens." The electronic lock is a closed, openable container. The electronic lock contains a burnt-out fuse. The carrying capacity of the lock is 1.

Every turn when the electronic lock contains the shiny fuse:
		now the entertainment center is unlocked;
		say "[first time]You put the fuse in the lock and the entertainment center makes an audible 'click' as it unlocks.[only]". 
		
[The shiny fuse unlocks the entertainment center. [I'd rather something akin to the code above, but rn, I want to move on (5-18-22 12:15p)]]

A television is scenery in the Parlor. The description of the television is "An old, tube-style television set. It looks like the back opens." The Television is a closed, openable container. Understand "TV" as the television. The shiny fuse is in the television.

A rug is scenery in the Parlor. The description of the rug is "Actually, it looks like it's been built [bold type]into[roman type] the floor. The edges come right up to the wood."

The fireplace is scenery in the Parlor. The description of the fireplace is "A large brick fireplace. The opening is blocked by glass, and through the glass you can see[if switched off] some fake logs and the tiny glimmer of a pilot light.[otherwise] a fire crackling merrily over some fake logs." The fireplace is a device.

After switching on the fireplace, say "The flames shoot up out of the logs with a whoosh."
After switching off the fireplace, say "The flames die down quietly." 

The china cabinet is scenery in the Parlor. The china cabinet is a closed, transparent container. The description of the china cabinet is "An old china cabinet with a glass front revealing everything that's inside it. It's been locked with a heavy-duty padlock." The padlock is part of the china cabinet.
The gold key is inside the china cabinet. The description of the padlock is "A very strong and heavy padlock, the dial spins freely." The china cabinet is locked. 

instead of unlocking the padlock with the scrap of paper:
	try silently unlocking the china cabinet with the scrap of paper;
	say "You enter the code on the scrap of paper into the padlock.";
	now the china cabinet is unlocked.

[the simplest thing would be to say:] 
The scrap of paper unlocks the china cabinet. Understand "code" as the scrap of paper.

[ turning to is an action applying to one thing and a number. Understand "turn [something] to [a number]" as turning to. 

Check turning to: 
	if the noun is not the padlock:
		say "[The noun] won't turn." instead.
	
Report turning to: 
	say "you turn the dial." ]

A Side Table is in the Parlor. The initial appearance of the side table is "On a side table, a large goldfish swims merrily around a small fishtank decorated with some plastic seaweed and a small treasure chest." The description of the side table is "An old fashioned side table with a single stout leg and a wide foot." 
A Fishtank is on the Side Table. It is scenery. The description of the fishtank is "A clear glass fishbowl. It contains [a list of things contained by the fishtank]." Understand "bowl" as the fishtank. 
A treasure chest is in the fishtank. The treasure chest is unlocked by the gold key.
The treasure chest is a closed, locked container. The description of the treasure chest is "A tiny plaster treasure chest with an equally tiny gold padlock holding it shut."
A goldfish is a neuter animal in the fishtank. Understand "fish" as the goldfish. The description of the goldfish is "A perfectly ordinary goldfish."
A silver key is in the treasure chest. The silver key unlocks the Carved Arch Door.

A bottle of fish food is in the entertainment center. The entertainment center is locked.
The description of the bottle of fish food is "A standard bottle of G. Nelson's finest fish food."

The goldfish can be hungry or sated. 
The goldfish is hungry.

Before taking the treasure chest:
	if the goldfish is hungry:
		say "The goldfish flashes surprisingly sharp teeth in an evil-looking grin. You didn't even think goldfish could grin. You pull your hand away.";
		stop the action;
	else:
		continue the action; 
		say "the goldfish ignores your searching fingers and you pull out the treasure chest without a hitch."
		
Instead of giving the fish food to the goldfish:
	say "You sprinkle some fish food into the tank, which the fish swallows piece by piece. You see no sign of teeth.";
	now the goldfish is sated.

Part 2 - To add some atmosphere

Every turn when the goldfish is hungry:
	say "[if the fish food is carried]The goldfish seems to eye the bottle in your hand.[else if the fish food is in the entertainment center]The goldfish seems to make a motion toward the entertainment center. [otherwise] The goldfish flashes shiny teeth.[end if]".
	
Every turn when the fireplace is switched on: 
say "The flames in the hearth crackly merrily.[one of][or]How homey.[or]Cozy.[or]It's getting a little annoying, actually.[as decreasingly likely outcomes]".
	
Every turn when the goldfish is sated: 
	say "[one of]The fish swims merrily around in its bowl, as goldfish do.[or][at random]".


[Part 3 - Release

Release along with cover art ("A glaring goldfish"), the introductory postcard, a website, the source text, and an interpreter. ]

Part 4 - not for release

When play begins (this is the run property checks at the start of play rule): 
	repeat with item running through things: 
		if description of the item is "":
			say "[item] has no description."