IC Forum Archive

dark steve · Posts: 3002

Mystery topic drops tomorrow!

Wilkes · Posts: 1603

Shit. I found this thread just today. The hell.

Well, I'll poke around today and win this tomorrow, I guess.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

The Mystery Topic is:

Machines In Trouble

Use and subvert as you will!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

that's a good topic!

i'm working on my entry.

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

so hey, i started coding my entry today.

who else is working on theirs?

Monthenor · Posts: 455

I am, but I'm having a devil of a time making the game count down every turn.

EDIT: Got it. Silly Inform7, not having "is equal to" built in. 1105 words so far!

internisus · Posts: 961

I'm not going to be able to do this, I can tell. However, I have been inspired to put together a fabulous binder full of Intro-to-IF documentation, essays and articles, CDs including IF games and developmental software, and full manuals for both Inform 6 and 7.

Putting together fabulous binders is hereby the new thing to do.

Jeff Garneau · Posts: 1622

dark steve you goddamn son of a bitch reply to my pm.

Intentionally Wrong · Posts: 673

I'm working on it, but I'm also in the middle of about a bazillion other things that need my time and attention. How long do we have on this, again?

Screwtape · Posts: 81

Monthenor wrote:

Silly Inform7, not having "is equal to" built in.

I went searching for 'equals' the other day, and eventually I discovered that Inform 7 spells 'equals' as 'is', at least for numeric comparisons.

Intentionally Wrong wrote:

How long do we have on this, again?

According to dark steve's original post, next Tuesday, unless everybody complains about not having neough time.

I came up with a HOT IDEA last night, and I'm sketching it out in Inform tonight. I still don't have a good idea what all the puzzles are going to be, but I suppose I'll work them out as I go along?

GrimSweeper · Posts: 530

Room structure: Complete!

Puzzles: Not great. My first rendition on paper seems to be extremely lacking in stuff to manipulate. Right now, they seem to be split into three areas that succeed each other in magnitude. I need to use that.

Descriptions: As long as I do bits at a time, I won't burn out like I nearly did when trying to make different room names.

Plot: It's worming around in my head with pieces of it flashing and showing off their colours. It will be straight-forward, unfortunately; I don't think I'll have the time to make it crazy.

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

a magazine deadline is hampering development progress. i will try to have it done by next week though!

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

Behold, the first submitted entry to ICIF06:

KILLBOT GOES TO THE STORE

ApM · Posts: 113

professor_scissors, that was glorious.

GrimSweeper · Posts: 530

Creativity is not coming out on my end. Writing interesting descriptions for rooms is totally going to be the point where I decide to trudge on and endure it or fall to the flames of failure. About 45 rooms to get through and only the first four have anything worth saving. :/

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

i havn't gotten much work done on my entry due to preoccupation with meeting a deadline, but the inscrutable zarf has posted some useful demonstration code (inform 7).

extralife · Posts: 3316

dessgeega wrote:

i havn't gotten much work done on my entry due to preoccupation with ~~meeting a deadline~~ not masturbating, but the inscrutable zarf has posted some useful demonstration code (inform 7).

fixed

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

if anything, keeping both hands on the keyboard only helped me get my article done in time.

janus · Posts: 63

What is the deadline on this? I just discovered this thread and want to GET IN ON THE ACTION.

Screwtape · Posts: 81

janus wrote:

What is the deadline on this? I just discovered this thread and want to GET IN ON THE ACTION.

dark steve, in the first post wrote:

When the actual contest begins, I will announce the MYSTERY THEME and you'll have another week to write your entries (longer if people are howling for more time, but we're talking fairly small scale, here).

So, that would make the deadline this coming Tuesday.

Despite having a nifty scenario and even one or two puzzles planned out, the combined efforts of Employment and House-Hunting have deprived me of the opportunity to devote as much time to this as I wanted to give. Tomorrow ought to be pretty free, we'll see if I make much progress then.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

If you're running low on remaining time, remember, BRILLIANT IDEAS count more than polish.

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

i've been working on my entry! coding with inform 7 is indeed like playing interactive fiction - i've been spending a lot of time guessing words! if you know what you're doing, though, you can implement things quite rapidly. i'm close to finished!

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

ROBOT GARDENING

Nana Komatsu · Posts: 697

So yeah, moving has taken up most of my week so I won't be able to complete my entry (haven't even read the inform manual yet -_-) but I might submit it like six months late for no prize if that's all right.

Sawtooth · Posts: 2350

I have an idea but I'm having a hell of a time trying to implement it. I'm not sure if it's a good idea, either!

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

dessgeega I got stuck in your game almost immediately.

Intentionally Wrong · Posts: 673

Yeah, so, this should be finished by 10 AM, hopefully.

EDIT: Maybe by 10 AM on Tuesday.. I think I might have to get a little bit of Steambotting in to battle coding fury. Plus I need to work on a website in order for this entry to reach completion. That's a bizarre condition, I'm aware.

Monthenor · Posts: 455

Oh man, I only got eight rooms done in seven days...I'll post when I get home from work and can confirm that the thing (called goal) appears from the thing (called problematic container) properly.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

I've been fooling with the two entries so far between bouts of screaming at my cable modem. Yow! These are good!

But I don't play a lot of IF! So they're also hard!

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

woohoo! i didn't play killbot until after my entry was done, but i like it a lot!

the only hint i will offer for my own entry is: examine stuff!

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

Your hint revealed an ability I didn't know I had, but I can't figure out what to do with it! It doesn't work on the can or the linoleum, and only slightly bothers the flowers and the sticks, with no discernible results.

dessgeega · Posts: 3317

continue examining things!

dark steve · Posts: 3002

I got it! Without cribbing off prof. scissors!

A lovely piece of work.

Scratchmonkey · Posts: 2229

Mine isn't going to happen. Work is taking up far too much of my time at work.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

So how's it looking, folks? A mere 30 or so hours to go!

Monthenor · Posts: 455

ALERT!

My game is currently 99.9% done, but I want to include this one last rule to smooth things out:

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

Understand "pull lever" as switching on the level.

Something like that, at least. I don't feel like digging up Inform and figuring out the details.

Screwtape · Posts: 81

Monthenor wrote:

But Inform 7 chokes on "switch it on", "switch the lever on", "switch it; switch it good", etc. How do I make this program respond to my power?

Try this:

GrimSweeper · Posts: 530

So uh, I've been banging my head against the natural language barrier of Inform. For the simple stuff, I like it's speed of putting it together. Once I started hitting the complex stuff that takes a mixture of english and programming jargon, things grind to a halt.

First it was trying to get an if something is true, else/otherwise block to get past the compiler. I managed after a few passes of the help file, fortunately. Another problem sprung up, but I think I'll back off from my original plan and try this new idea that popped up while I was writing this.

I doubt I'll be done by the deadline. I hate my lack of motivation in the summer. :/

Monthenor · Posts: 455

Screwtape wrote:

A thing to know about Inform is that the verbs that the compiler understands and the verbs that the resulting game understands are not quite the same thing. For example, if you check the Actions tab of the Index, the resulting game understands "turn [something] on" and "switch [something] on" as the action "switching it on", but the compiler only understands "switch on [something]".

That may very well be the issue. I ended up going with

Screwtape · Posts: 81

So, it looks like I'm not going to make this after all. I still haven't finished implementing my first puzzle, although I now have a pretty cool electrical-connection system implemented and I also managed to find, document and file my first I7 bug. I think I'll keep working on it, because I think I've got an interesting idea and apparently I need the practice.

If I ever get anywhere, I'll keep you all posted.

Intentionally Wrong · Posts: 673

I'll be done, albeit some hours past the deadline. I don't really leave a lot of room in my schedule for "seduction", so when that crops up, it really blows my planning all to hell.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

Please tell me we've got at least a fistful late entries on the verge of flooding in.

GrimSweeper · Posts: 530

Unfortunately, not from me. I thought too big which, coupled with the myriad of troubles of trying to understand the error system in Inform, is barring me from completing my work. I had a couple of other ideas, but they aren't INTERACTIVE FICTION, which was kinda the basis of this contest.

I might make it my goal this summer to finish it. Along with, uh, several other projects that I'm partway through. :/

Takashi · Posts: 820

I have the idea, but exams have proved to be more troublesome. So, not deliviering this very soon.

LegatoB · Posts: 1546

I was not struck by INSPIRATION and so nothing has developed, unfortunetly. I do have one idea, but I'm not sure I could stretch it out into a whole game, and it's a dumb joke idea anyway...

professor_scissors · Posts: 1033

Man, I suck at these games. I just don't have the intuition for them. I found the sky object, but all it does is pulse green.

chosun · Posts: 288

I halfway finished my short game and then I got too stressed out from reading the manual that I broke down and quit programming and became a starving artist.

Maybe I could finish it today. (the prize isn't my motivation, I just want to prove to myself I can do this)

Intentionally Wrong · Posts: 673

dark steve wrote:

Please tell me we've got at least a fistful late entries on the verge of flooding in.

I plan to be finished by tonight! But me and plans aren't too good at agreeing.

dark steve · Posts: 3002

This contest is still open.