# The "Cloak of Darkness" specification

Implementations should try be made as similar as possible. That is, 
things like object names and room descriptions should be identical, 
and the general flow of the game should be pretty comparable. Having 
said that, games are implemented using the native capabilities of the 
various systems, using features that a beginner might be expected to 
master; there shouldn't be any need to resort to assembler routines, 
library hacks, or other advanced techniques. The target is to write 
naturally and simply, while sticking as closely as possible to the 
goal of making the games directly equivalent.

"Cloak of Darkness" is not going to win prizes for its prose,
imagination or subtlety. Or scope: it can be played to a successful
conclusion in five or six moves, so it's not going to keep you
guessing for long. (On the other hand, it may qualify as the most
widely-available game in the history of the genre.) There are just
three rooms and three objects.

-   The **Foyer** of the Opera House is where the game begins. This
    empty room has doors to the south and west, also an unusable exit
    to the north. There is nobody else around.
-   The **Bar** lies south of the **Foyer**, and is initially unlit.
    Trying to do anything other than return northwards results in a
    warning message about disturbing things in the dark.
-   On the wall of the **Cloakroom**, to the west of the **Foyer**, is
    fixed a small brass **hook**.
-   Taking an inventory of possessions reveals that the player is
    wearing a black velvet **cloak** which, upon examination, is found
    to be light-absorbent. The player can drop the **cloak** on the
    floor of the **Cloakroom** or, better, put it on the **hook**.
-   Returning to the **Bar** without the **cloak** reveals that the
    room is now lit. A **message** is scratched in the sawdust on the
    floor.
-   The **message** reads either "You have won" or "You have
    lost", depending on how much it was disturbed by the player while
    the room was dark.
-   The act of reading the **message** ends the game.

And that's all there is to it...

# Acknowledgements

Thanks to Stuart Allen, Mike Arnautov, Steve Breslin, Neil Cerutti, Al
Golden, Stephen Griffiths, Mark Hughes, John Menichelli, Todd Nathan,
Roger Plowman, Roddie Ramieson, Robin Rawson-Tetley, Dan Shiovitz,
Kent Tessman, Alex Warren and Campbell Wild for contributing versions
of "Cloak of Darkness". Not forgetting the special debt of gratitude
we owe to those who created the authoring systems, without whom we'd
probably still be adventuring in FORTRAN.

# Licensing

Copyright (C) Roger Firth

Copying and distribution, with or without modification, are permitted 
in any medium without royalty provided the copyright notice and this 
notice are preserved.