OK, here my playthrough, lightly annotated with asterisks. Wanted to do it before I read too much of the gamefic code, for a more authentic result. Didn’t start again when I lost, though. It still contains spoilers, so be careful everyone who hasn’t played it yet.
[spoiler]# THE MASTER TAPE
A Gamefic text adventure by Fred Snyder
Press enter to continue…
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug, newspaper
Obvious exits: east, north, south
x newspaper
A copy of the Los Angeles Times.
take newspaper
You take the newspaper.
x rug
A large, thick, and badly frayed Oriental rug.
take rug
You can’t carry the rug.
x stereo
A beautiful Marantz 2200 in a wooden cabinet.
take stereo
You can’t carry the stereo system.
exits
I don’t understand ‘exits’ as a command.
east
You go east.
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: scrap of paper, bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
x scrap
It’s a hand-written note. “Bill, Come on, man. Your birthday? You really ought
to make it something a little less predictable. Anyway, it’s taken care of.
Good luck in Sacramento. - Jimmy”
x of
I don’t know which you mean: a scrap of paper, a pile of dirty laundry
take scrap
You take the scrap of paper.
take laundry
You can’t carry the pile of dirty laundry.
x laundry
A huge pile of dirty laundry. Gross.
search laundry
You find a distinct musty odor and not much else.
x bed
Just a plain old twin bed. It doesn’t even have a headboard. The sheets look
none too fresh.
search bed
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x chest
A large army chest with a lock.
The army chest is closed.
unlock chest
You don’t have the key.
open chest
It’s locked.
look
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
l
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
n
You go north.
The bathroom
Bill’s aversion to housekeeping extends to the bathroom. There’s nothing in
here you want to touch.
Visible items: cabinet
Obvious exits: south
touch
I don’t understand ‘touch’ as a command.
cabinet
I don’t understand ‘cabinet’ as a command.
x
I know the verb ‘x’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
cabinet
I don’t understand ‘cabinet’ as a command.
x caninet
You don’t see any “caninet” here.
x cabinet
A plain wooden cabinet.
The medicine cabinet is closed.
open capinet
You don’t see any “capinet” here.
open cabinet
You open the medicine cabinet.
The medicine cabinet contains a medicine bottle.
take bottle
You take a medicine bottle from the medicine cabinet.
x bottle
An unlabeled bottle without a cap.
open bottle
You can’t open the medicine bottle.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
break bottle
I don’t understand ‘break’ as a command.
smash bottle
I don’t understand ‘smash’ as a command.
throw bottle
I don’t understand ‘throw’ as a command.
attack bottle
I don’t understand ‘attack’ as a command.
cuddle bottle
I don’t understand ‘cuddle’ as a command.
kiss bottle
I don’t understand ‘kiss’ as a command.
talk to bottle
I don’t understand ‘talk’ as a command.
ask bottle
I don’t understand ‘ask’ as a command.
tell bottle about irrelevant stuff
I don’t understand ‘tell’ as a command.
l
The bathroom
Bill’s aversion to housekeeping extends to the bathroom. There’s nothing in
here you want to touch.
Visible items: cabinet
Obvious exits: south
take cabinet
You can’t carry the medicine cabinet.
s
You go south.
The bedroom
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
w
You go west.
The living room
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
verbose
You are now in VERBOSE mode. Detailed descriptions will be displayed every time
you enter a room. Other options are BRIEF and SUPERBRIEF.
south
You can’t leave. You don’t have the tape yet.
n
You go north.
The kitchen
The kitchen might be the cleanest room in the apartment. If the styrofoam
containers in the living room are any indication, Bill rarely cooks.
Visible items: cupboard
Obvious exits: south
s
You go south.
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
n
You go north.
The kitchen
The kitchen might be the cleanest room in the apartment. If the styrofoam
containers in the living room are any indication, Bill rarely cooks.
Visible items: cupboard
Obvious exits: south
x cupboard
A plain wooden cupboard.
The cupboard is closed.
open cupboard
You open the cupboard.
The cupboard contains a coffee can.
take can
You take a coffee can from the cupboard.
x can
Chase and Sanborn.
The can rattles when you shake it.
open can
You open the coffee can.
The coffee can contains a key.
take key
You take a key from the coffee can.
drop it
I know the verb ‘drop’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
l
The kitchen
The kitchen might be the cleanest room in the apartment. If the styrofoam
containers in the living room are any indication, Bill rarely cooks.
Visible items: cupboard
Obvious exits: south
s
You go south.
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
x styrofoam
Based on the detritus in the living room, Bill’s diet primarily consists of
cheeseburgers and french fries.
think
I don’t understand ‘think’ as a command.
remember
I don’t understand ‘remember’ as a command.
help
This game understands the following verbs:
brief, close, commands, crack, d, down, drop, e, east, eat, exam, examine, get,
go, help, i, inventory, itemize, l, lift, lock, look, move, n, ne, north,
northeast, northwest, nw, open, pick, place, play, pop, put, quit, read,
remove, s, se, search, south, southeast, southwest, stomp, superbrief, sw,
take, turn, u, unlock, up, use, verbose, w, west, x
move styrofoam
Nothing happens.
eat styrofoam
You can’t eat that.
eat key
You can’t eat that.
itemize
I know the verb ‘itemize’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
itemize key
I know the verb ‘itemize’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
itemize styrofoam
I know the verb ‘itemize’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
- what is this supposed to do?
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
stomp
Seeing as how you’re technically breaking and entering, you probably shouldn’t
call too much attention to yourself.
lift styrofoam
Nothing happens.
e
You go east.
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
e
You don’t see any exit “east” from here.
d
You don’t see any exit “down” from here.
u
You don’t see any exit “up” from here.
s
You don’t see any exit “south” from here.
nw
You don’t see any exit “northwest” from here.
ne
You don’t see any exit “northeast” from here.
sw
You don’t see any exit “southwest” from here.
se
You don’t see any exit “southeast” from here.
ssw
I don’t understand ‘ssw’ as a command.
open chest
It’s locked.
unlock chest with newspaper
You unlock the chest.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x chest
A large army chest with a lock.
The army chest is open.
look inside chest
The army chest contains: photograph and disc.
look chest
A large army chest with a lock.
The army chest is open.
search chest
The army chest contains: photograph and disc.
x photograph
You look at the photograph in the army chest.
A Polaroid photo of Bill Spectrum in a sombrero. A caption written in the
border says, “Bill’s b-day, Cancun, Jun 7 1961.”
x disc
You look at the lacquer disc in the army chest.
The master cut of an unreleased single by The Pete Best Combo. Interesting…
but not the reason you’re here.
take photo
You take a photograph from the army chest.
take disc
You take a lacquer disc from the army chest.
search chest
You don’t find anything.
lock chest with photo
You lock the chest.
eat photo
You can’t eat that.
eat disc
You can’t eat that.
stomp on chest
Seeing as how you’re technically breaking and entering, you probably shouldn’t
call too much attention to yourself.
l
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
x bed
Just a plain old twin bed. It doesn’t even have a headboard. The sheets look
none too fresh.
open bed
You can’t open the twin bed.
look under sheets
Gross.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x sheets
Gross.
s
You don’t see any exit “south” from here.
w
You go west.
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
put disc in stereo
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
put disc
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
i
newspaper, scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, key, photograph, disc
put newspaper in can
It doesn’t fit.
put scrap in can
It doesn’t fit.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
put key in can
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x can
Chase and Sanborn.
i
newspaper, scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, key, photograph, disc
drop key
You drop the key.
take all
You don’t see any “all” here.
take key
You take the key.
drop all
I know the verb ‘drop’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
open stereo
You can’t open the stereo system.
x stereo
A beautiful Marantz 2200 in a wooden cabinet.
turn on stereo
It’s probably not a good idea to make too much noise during a break-in.
turn down volume of stereo
You can’t open the scrap of paper.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
put disc
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
disc
I don’t understand ‘disc’ as a command.
x disc
The master cut of an unreleased single by The Pete Best Combo. Interesting…
but not the reason you’re here.
lay disc in stereo
I don’t understand ‘lay’ as a command.
help
This game understands the following verbs:
brief, close, commands, crack, d, down, drop, e, east, eat, exam, examine, get,
go, help, i, inventory, itemize, l, lift, lock, look, move, n, ne, north,
northeast, northwest, nw, open, pick, place, play, pop, put, quit, read,
remove, s, se, search, south, southeast, southwest, stomp, superbrief, sw,
take, turn, u, unlock, up, use, verbose, w, west, x
use disc with stereo
It’s probably not a good idea to make too much noise during a break-in.
pop
I know the verb ‘pop’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
pop stereo
You can’t eat that.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
place disc in stereo
I know the verb ‘place’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
place
I know the verb ‘place’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
place key
I know the verb ‘place’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
place newspaper
I know the verb ‘place’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
- what can I do with that verb?
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
i
newspaper, scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, photograph, disc, key
use key with bottle
You can’t eat that.
use bottle
You can’t eat that.
use key
You can’t eat that.
- use equaly eat? seems strange
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
s
You can’t leave. You don’t have the tape yet.
n
You go north.
The kitchen
The kitchen might be the cleanest room in the apartment. If the styrofoam
containers in the living room are any indication, Bill rarely cooks.
Visible items: cupboard
Obvious exits: south
n
You don’t see any exit “north” from here.
e
You don’t see any exit “east” from here.
w
You don’t see any exit “west” from here.
s
You go south.
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
s
You can’t leave. You don’t have the tape yet.
w
You don’t see any exit “west” from here.
e
You go east.
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
e
You don’t see any exit “east” from here.
n
You go north.
The bathroom
Bill’s aversion to housekeeping extends to the bathroom. There’s nothing in
here you want to touch.
Visible items: cabinet
Obvious exits: south
n
You don’t see any exit “north” from here.
e
You don’t see any exit “east” from here.
w
You don’t see any exit “west” from here.
x toilet
You don’t see any “toilet” here.
x shower
You don’t see any “shower” here.
x tub
You don’t see any “tub” here.
x bath
The bathroom
Bill’s aversion to housekeeping extends to the bathroom. There’s nothing in
here you want to touch.
Visible items: cabinet
Obvious exits: south
- not a really useful bathroom is it?
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x nothing
You don’t see any “nothing” here.
l
The bathroom
Bill’s aversion to housekeeping extends to the bathroom. There’s nothing in
here you want to touch.
Visible items: cabinet
Obvious exits: south
s
You go south.
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry
Obvious exits: west, north
put newspaper on bed
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
place newspaper on bed
I know the verb ‘place’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
drop newspaper on bed
You drop the newspaper.
l
The bedroom
What a mess. Bill is overdue for a trip to the laundromat. The only furnishings
in the bedroom are the bed and an old army chest.
Visible items: bed, chest, laundry, newspaper
Obvious exits: west, north
take newspaper
You take the newspaper.
read newspaper
It’s today’s paper, dated January 22, 1970. There’s an article about Bill
Spectrum:
RUMORS OF SPECTRUM/BUCCOLA CONNECTION PERSIST
As the investigation into reputed mobster Tito Buccola proceeds, police
continue to refer to Bill Spectrum, a notorious A&R representative, as a
“person of interest.” The 50-year-old mobster may have collaborated with
Spectrum in a “pay-to-play” scheme that defrauded several musicians signed to
Spectrum’s record label.
Spectrum, 30, has also been accused of using extortion tactics on several of
his clients. As of press time he was unavailable for comment.
x photo
A Polaroid photo of Bill Spectrum in a sombrero. A caption written in the
border says, “Bill’s b-day, Cancun, Jun 7 1961.”
lie in bed
I don’t understand ‘lie’ as a command.
lie down
I don’t understand ‘lie’ as a command.
enter bed
I don’t understand ‘enter’ as a command.
x disc
The master cut of an unreleased single by The Pete Best Combo. Interesting…
but not the reason you’re here.
i
scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, photograph, disc, key, newspaper
x scrap
It’s a hand-written note. “Bill, Come on, man. Your birthday? You really ought
to make it something a little less predictable. Anyway, it’s taken care of.
Good luck in Sacramento. - Jimmy”
x can
Chase and Sanborn.
smash can
I don’t understand ‘smash’ as a command.
i
scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, photograph, disc, key, newspaper
x key
A small metal key.
read bottle
I know the verb ‘read’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
x bottle
An unlabeled bottle without a cap.
open bottle
You can’t open the medicine bottle.
search bottle
The medicine bottle contains a pill.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
take pill
You take a pill from the medicine bottle.
x pill
You’re no doctor, but you’re pretty sure this is a quaalude. Groovy.
save
I don’t understand ‘save’ as a command.
eat pill
Hmm… maybe later.
search bottle
You don’t find anything.
search newspaper
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
search can
You don’t find anything.
search key
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
search photo
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
search scrap
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
i
scrap of paper, medicine bottle, coffee can, photograph, disc, key, newspaper,
pill
w
You go west.
The living room
Spectrum’s real apartment is considerably less impressive than his brother-in-
law’s beach house, which he claimed to own when he invited you and Lisa there.
The furniture looks second-hand. Fast-food wrappers clutter the floor. The only
thing of value in the living room is the stereo system; apparently Spectrum is
a sincere music lover, if not an ethical one.
Visible items: stereo, rug
Obvious exits: east, north, south
search rug
I know the verb ‘search’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
look under rug
A large, thick, and badly frayed Oriental rug.
lift rug
You find a hidden floor safe.
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
x safe
The floor safe looks heavy and secure. There’s a combination knob on top of it.
The floor safe is closed.
x knob
The floor safe looks heavy and secure. There’s a combination knob on top of it.
The floor safe is closed.
open safe
Enter the combination (example: 1-2-3): 6-7-61
You tug on the handle. It’s still locked.
open safe
Enter the combination (example: 1-2-3): 6-7-1
You tug on the handle. It’s still locked.
turn knob
Enter the combination (example: 1-2-3): 1-9-6-1
You tug on the handle. It’s still locked.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
Apparently all your fiddling with the floor safe is disturbing the downstairs
neighbor.
- it didn’t really seem like it was a loud activity from the description
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
smash safe
I don’t understand ‘smash’ as a command.
use photo with safe
You can’t eat that.
put photo on safe
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
put safe
I know the verb ‘put’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
unlock safe
I know the verb ‘unlock’ but couldn’t understand the rest of your sentence.
- that should probably work
I don’t understand ‘*’ as a command.
open safe
Enter the combination (example: 1-2-3): 7-6-1
You tug on the handle. It’s still locked.
open safe 9-6-1
You tug on the handle. It’s still locked.
Before you can do anything else, the front door bursts open. Cops rush into the
apartment and push you face-first into the ground.
It turns out the noise from the safe eventually made the neighbor suspicious
enough to call the police. You wonder if your girlfriend will manage to scrape
together bail money.[/spoiler]
I’m not sure, is me posting the playthrough here OK? I can take it down if not.