--- /dev/null
+======================================
+ Appendix A -- How to play an IF game
+======================================
+
+Playing IF requires just a bit of instruction. All you have to do is read
+the descriptions and situations that appear on the screen and then tell the
+game what you'd like to happen next. Imagine that you're saying "I WANT TO
+..."; you don't actually type those three words, but you *do* type what
+follows, instructing the game to do something on your behalf. Commands
+usually take the form of a simple imperative sentence, with a verb and a
+direct object (for example, typing EXAMINE THE KETTLE will display a
+description of the kettle, TAKE KETTLE will make it one of your belongings,
+and so on). If there's more than one kettle around, you can be specific
+(TAKE RED KETTLE); otherwise, the game will ask you something like "Which
+do you mean, the red kettle or the rusty kettle?" Answering RED is enough
+in a case like this. Some commands refer to two objects, like: PUT KETTLE
+ON TABLE.
+
+To make them stand out on the page, we're showing the words that you type
+in capital letters. You can actually use upper-case or lower-case letters
+-- it makes no difference -- and you can usually omit words like THE
+(though TAKE A BATH and TAKE THE BATH may have different effects, as will
+TAKE A COIN and TAKE THE COIN if there are several to choose from).
+
+To move around, use the verb GO and one of the cardinal points: GO NORTH
+will move you in the desired direction. Movement happens quite a lot, so
+you can shorten that to just NORTH, and you can even use the initial(s) of
+the direction in which you want to travel (easier and faster to type): N,
+S, E, W, NE, NW, SE and SW. Also available are UP (U), DOWN (D) and,
+occasionally, IN and OUT. There is quite an impressive stock of standard
+actions which can generally be relied upon to do something, even if only to
+tell you that you're wasting your time:
+
+.. hlist::
+ :columns: 5
+
+ * ASK
+ * BURN
+ * BUY
+ * CLEAN
+ * CLIMB
+ * CLOSE
+ * CUT
+ * DIG
+ * DISROBE
+ * DRINK
+ * DROP
+ * EAT
+ * EMPTY
+ * ENTER
+ * EXAMINE
+ * EXIT
+ * FILL
+ * GIVE
+ * GO
+ * INSERT
+ * INVENTORY
+ * JUMP
+ * KILL
+ * KISS
+ * LISTEN
+ * LOCK
+ * LOOK
+ * OFF
+ * ON
+ * OPEN
+ * PRAY
+ * PULL
+ * PUSH
+ * PUT
+ * READ
+ * SEARCH
+ * SHOW
+ * SING
+ * SIT
+ * SLEEP
+ * SMELL
+ * STAND
+ * SWIM
+ * SWITCH
+ * SWITCH
+ * TAKE
+ * TASTE
+ * TELL
+ * THINK
+ * THROW
+ * TIE
+ * TOUCH
+ * TRANSFER
+ * TURN
+ * UNLOCK
+ * WAIT
+ * WAVE
+ * WEAR
+
+You don't have to play IF with a list like this open in front of you; the
+idea is that a good game should understand whatever seems logical for you
+to try next. Sometimes that will be a standard action, sometimes a verb
+like SALUTE or PHOTOGRAPH which, although less common, makes perfect sense
+in context.
+
+You'll discover that usually many of these actions are fairly irrelevant.
+Try logical things first (if you have a torch, BURN may be promising, while
+EAT probably not). Of special interest are LOOK (or just L), to print a
+description of the current location; EXAMINE (or X) *object*, which gives
+you a detailed description of the object; INVENTORY (INV or I) lists the
+objects you are carrying. You may combine some of these verbs with
+prepositions to expand the possibilities: LOOK THROUGH, LOOK AT, LOOK IN,
+LOOK UNDER all perform different actions. Remember that we're mentioning
+only a selection of the possible verbs; if you feel that something else
+ought to work, try it and see.
+
+You can change the way the game offers descriptions of locations as you
+arrive in them. The default setting is usually BRIEF, which provides you
+with long descriptions only the first time you enter a new location. Some
+people like to change this to VERBOSE, which *always* gives you long
+location descriptions. Here are some other special commands and
+abbreviations you should know:
+
+| AGAIN (G) repeats the action you've just performed.
+| WAIT (Z) skips one turn of action while you loiter and see what happens.
+| QUIT ends the game.
+| SAVE saves your current position in the game.
+| RESTORE reloads a previously saved position.
+| RESTART starts again from the beginning.
+| SCORE tells you the current state of progress.
+| UNDO goes back one turn so that your most recent action never happened.
+
+Often, there will be characters that you'll have to interact with. Let's
+suppose you find your cousin Maria: you may ASK (or TELL) MARIA ABOUT
+something, GIVE (or SHOW) object TO MARIA or ASK MARIA FOR object.
+Characters may be willing to help you, when you can indicate your wishes
+with: MARIA, GO NORTH or MARIA, TAKE THE GUN. If you are really fond of
+Maria, you may want to KISS her and if she offends you beyond measure, you
+might like to ATTACK her.
+
+Once you've referred to an object or a character by name, you may use the
+pronouns IT, HIM or HER to simplify the typing process. These pronouns
+will remain set until you refer to any other object or character. If you
+wish to check the current pronoun assignments, type PRONOUNS. As a rule of
+the thumb, try to keep your actions simple. Most games will actually
+understand long commands like TAKE ALL FROM THE BAG EXCEPT THE GREEN PEARL
+THEN THROW CAMEMBERT CHEESE AT UGLY MATRON, but such things are hard to
+type without mistakes. Also, you'll find that other inputs don't work as
+well: GO BACK TO THE KITCHEN or GET NEAR THE SINGING PIRATE or READ
+NEWSPAPER OVER THE SHERIFF'S SHOULDER will all give you error messages of
+some kind. Understanding the conventions of command typing is fairly
+intuitive and you'll quickly master it after a little experimentation.
+
+.. note::
+
+ We're talking here about the core capabilities that most Inform games
+ provide (though much of this is equally applicable to other IF systems).
+ Often the designer will have extended these capabilities by defining
+ additional commands appropriate to the nature of the game; either you'll
+ be told about these, or they'll come naturally to mind during play.
+ Less frequently, some designers like to tamper with the default
+ behaviour of the parser, the interface, or with the way that commands
+ work -- maybe even disabling some of the standard ones completely. When
+ this happens, it's common and polite practice for the game to let you
+ know.
projects / ibg.git / blobdiff