The Temple of Shorgil
A game by Arthur DiBianca, with illustrations by Corinna Browning
Release 1 / Serial number 180924 / Inform 7 build 6L38 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Special thanks to Andy Fleming, Lorne Harris, Luke Pebler, Andrew Schultz, and Mike Spivey for testing.
Portico
Daylight fills this chamber. Through the large western archway, a flight of steps leads down to the dry, rocky land that surrounds the temple. A large stone door to the east is closed.
A round pedestal stands in the center of the room. A figurine is sitting on it.
(This game is unlosable, so don’t be afraid to try things. If you would like to learn more about what’s going on, type BACKGROUND.)
Three people are standing in the lecture hall as you burst in, ten minutes late. The man’s half-frown just manages the transition to a half-smile as he turns toward you.
“Ah, our first candidate in Arithmancy!” he says brightly. “I’m Morkan. The other members of your examining committee today are Teraboz” (the older woman nods in your direction) “and Berzia” (the younger woman gives you a tidy grin).
Fumbling in his robes, Morkan produces some pieces of paper. “Here are your number sheet, task page, and spell list,” he says, handing them to you.
“Good luck!” he adds. Then he speaks an incantation while waving his arms in a complicated pattern. You feel yourself being translated.
As you fade out of the lecture hall, you hear Teraboz mutter, “That’s our first candidate in Arithmancy? Great. Just great.”
(Please press any key to continue.)
Well, it’s time to prove to the whole wide world
Who’s the best and brightest Gamer of ‘em all!
Teams are a-runnin’, and a-pushin’ and a-shovin’
Ain’t we all just a-havin’ such a ball?
We’re a-wearin’ every color of the rainbow while a-goin’
To some places that we’ve never ever gone!
It’s the world’s greatest Game. Never played it? What a shame!
'Cause you know it’s gonna last us all night long!
It’s enormous and stupendous
And disastrous and tremendous
And it’s glorious, uproarious and fun!
Find the treasures!
Find the clues!
Run around!
That’s what you do
At The Annual
All-Night Diddlebucker Run!
-“The Diddlebucker Run” by Wild Bill Adams
(PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE)
Scotland, 1495:
The wind howls and in the distance you can hear wolves baying as the riders approach the castle. At the first sight of its grim outline against the moonlit sky a chill runs right through you. Only once before had you seen this place, a keep so full of terror and fear. Why did the Warden choose this of all places to hold the inquisition?
Of course you had no choice. As his clerk you are obliged to accompany him on his duties, indeed have been since leaving university just over three years ago now. As the youngest, and illegitimate, son of the most powerful man in the Middle Marches you are luckier than most, if less so than your lawful brethren.
The reason for this visit is a grim one. Archie Elliot of Garrelhope, a small local laird yet with many kin nearby, has been murdered in less than seemly circumstances: his throat slit from side to side, his body unceremoniously left outside his keep. In the morning his youngest son found it, the poor lad never the same since.
The Elliots are calling for blood. They suspect the Scotts, their sworn enemies for centuries. God, when will these feuds end? So many die, day after day. Although you belong here, these Border lands are a wild and unholy place. Terrible acts are perpetrated by the Border reivers day after day, year after year.
So your father summoned all involved to meet this eve in Hermitage. A grim place to choose but deep in the heart of Liddesdale, it is the only keep large enough to accommodate the lairds and their hangers-on who will surely come. The Warden’s decision is law here, although many resent this, and it will be his task to weigh up the evidence, identify the murderer and carry out the sentence all in one night.
And yet you are worried. There are things about this case that don’t seem right. You can’t put your finger on what bothers you, but whatever it is won’t go away. Since rising this morning the uneasy feeling has grown rather than diminished as the day drew on. You mentioned it to your father but he brushed it aside as “whelp’s fancies”. You hope he is right.
Please press SPACE to continue.
It all happens so fast, once you get to the abandoned theme park. There you are, surrounded by the greatest battle the world has ever seen between hero and villain, diligently taking notes for your latest research paper. That’s when you spot the nuclear airship, sinking in the air and billowing smoke.
Immediately recognizing the danger of nuclear explosion, you dive into the basement of a ruined aquarium attraction. But the blast never comes, and now you hear perfect silence from outside. Something strange has happened.
The Origin of Madame Time
An Interactive Fiction by Brian Rushton
Release 1 / Serial number 180928 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Basement
This lead-lined basement is insulated from all outside sights and sounds. It looks like an old fallout shelter.
You’ve found the most isolated room in the theme park, which, given its history, is saying a lot. A discarded desk and an old stool are the only pieces of furniture left.
You can go up to the aquarium.
A dried-out old fountain pen lies on the ground.
Your extensively annotated notebook on superheroes and their powers is here.
You find yourself in an unfamiliar place, surrounded only by whiteness, and you feel as if you are dreaming. Around you are five colored standing stones…
White Wilderness
You are standing amidst a monument of five standing stones, each of a different color; each having some writing etched into it. In front of you is a much smaller obsidian stone, also engraved with some writing. There is just plain whiteness all around behind the standing stones…
Except in the distance…perhaps to the north…??..you see a tiny black dot.
It all happens so fast, once you get to the abandoned theme park. There you are, surrounded by the greatest battle the world has ever seen between hero and villain, diligently taking notes for your latest research paper. That’s when you spot the nuclear airship, sinking in the air and billowing smoke.
Immediately recognizing the danger of nuclear explosion, you dive into the basement of a ruined aquarium attraction. But the blast never comes, and now you hear perfect silence from outside. Something strange has happened.
The Origin of Madame Time
An Interactive Fiction by Brian Rushton
Release 1 / Serial number 180928 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Basement
This lead-lined basement is insulated from all outside sights and sounds. It looks like an old fallout shelter.
You’ve found the most isolated room in the theme park, which, given its history, is saying a lot. A discarded desk and an old stool are the only pieces of furniture left.
You can go up to the aquarium.
A dried-out old fountain pen lies on the ground.
Your extensively annotated notebook on superheroes and their powers is here.
Trigger warning: drug use, mild bad language.
"They’ll tell you I’m gone. They’ll tell you I can’t come back. That’s all true.
But they’ll also tell you it’s best to forget me. Do me a favour, OK? Don’t believe them."
Sarah’s eyes meet yours, and she holds out her hand for your Redline.
Pegasus
An Interactive Relationship by Michael Kielstra
Release 1 / Serial number 180719 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Barricade
A few parked cars were all you and Sarah had on hand to block the street. They make a simple barrier, not enough to buy safety, but enough to buy some time. There are thirty of them out there, and just the two of you. Technically, the deployment objective was fulfilled. Now it’s just about who’s getting out alive.
You can see Sarah here.
Connect to Your Mech
Unit Manual
About
Changelog
Quit
Fording seas of boredom, weathering storms of grief, and floods of anger, you have arrived. This game is an introduction to research-based Positive Psychology tools. For more information about playing this game, type ABOUT.
You look north, south, east, and west. There is something missing here, as if all of nature is just … sort of … going through the motions. Her heart isn’t really in it.
Welcome to Eunice.
Eunice
An Interactive Fiction Adventure in Positive Psychology by Gita Ryaboy
Release 1 / Serial number 180928 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Front Yard
Around you is a neglected garden. Where once a caring hand tended bushes and plants, now trash covers the garden. No one is left to tend it now.
Just north of you is an old, wooden house. At one time it was a dearly loved home, a place of comfort and laughter. Now it stands silent.
The porch of the old house ends abruptly as the stairs have rotted away beyond all use. There is a cracked flowerpot leaning against the old house.
A tattered note flutters, caught in one of the nearby bushes.
Three people are standing in the lecture hall as you burst in, ten minutes late. The man’s half-frown just manages the transition to a half-smile as he turns toward you.
“Ah, our first candidate in Arithmancy!” he says brightly. “I’m Morkan. The other members of your examining committee today are Teraboz” (the older woman nods in your direction) “and Berzia” (the younger woman gives you a tidy grin).
Fumbling in his robes, Morkan produces some pieces of paper. “Here are your number sheet, task page, and spell list,” he says, handing them to you.
“Good luck!” he adds. Then he speaks an incantation while waving his arms in a complicated pattern. You feel yourself being translated.
As you fade out of the lecture hall, you hear Teraboz mutter, “That’s our first candidate in Arithmancy? Great. Just great.”
(Please press any key to continue.)
Connect to Your Mech
Unit Manual
About
Changelog
Quit
Trigger warning: drug use, mild bad language.
"They’ll tell you I’m gone. They’ll tell you I can’t come back. That’s all true.
But they’ll also tell you it’s best to forget me. Do me a favour, OK? Don’t believe them."
Sarah’s eyes meet yours, and she holds out her hand for your Redline.
Pegasus
An Interactive Relationship by Michael Kielstra
Release 1 / Serial number 180719 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N)
Barricade
A few parked cars were all you and Sarah had on hand to block the street. They make a simple barrier, not enough to buy safety, but enough to buy some time. There are thirty of them out there, and just the two of you. Technically, the deployment objective was fulfilled. Now it’s just about who’s getting out alive.
You can see Sarah here.
Scotland, 1495:
The wind howls and in the distance you can hear wolves baying as the riders approach the castle. At the first sight of its grim outline against the moonlit sky a chill runs right through you. Only once before had you seen this place, a keep so full of terror and fear. Why did the Warden choose this of all places to hold the inquisition?
Of course you had no choice. As his clerk you are obliged to accompany him on his duties, indeed have been since leaving university just over three years ago now. As the youngest, and illegitimate, son of the most powerful man in the Middle Marches you are luckier than most, if less so than your lawful brethren.
The reason for this visit is a grim one. Archie Elliot of Garrelhope, a small local laird yet with many kin nearby, has been murdered in less than seemly circumstances: his throat slit from side to side, his body unceremoniously left outside his keep. In the morning his youngest son found it, the poor lad never the same since.
The Elliots are calling for blood. They suspect the Scotts, their sworn enemies for centuries. God, when will these feuds end? So many die, day after day. Although you belong here, these Border lands are a wild and unholy place. Terrible acts are perpetrated by the Border reivers day after day, year after year.
So your father summoned all involved to meet this eve in Hermitage. A grim place to choose but deep in the heart of Liddesdale, it is the only keep large enough to accommodate the lairds and their hangers-on who will surely come. The Warden’s decision is law here, although many resent this, and it will be his task to weigh up the evidence, identify the murderer and carry out the sentence all in one night.
And yet you are worried. There are things about this case that don’t seem right. You can’t put your finger on what bothers you, but whatever it is won’t go away. Since rising this morning the uneasy feeling has grown rather than diminished as the day drew on. You mentioned it to your father but he brushed it aside as “whelp’s fancies”. You hope he is right.
Please press SPACE to continue.
Three people are standing in the lecture hall as you burst in, ten minutes late. The man’s half-frown just manages the transition to a half-smile as he turns toward you.
“Ah, our first candidate in Arithmancy!” he says brightly. “I’m Morkan. The other members of your examining committee today are Teraboz” (the older woman nods in your direction) “and Berzia” (the younger woman gives you a tidy grin).
Fumbling in his robes, Morkan produces some pieces of paper. “Here are your number sheet, task page, and spell list,” he says, handing them to you.
“Good luck!” he adds. Then he speaks an incantation while waving his arms in a complicated pattern. You feel yourself being translated.
As you fade out of the lecture hall, you hear Teraboz mutter, “That’s our first candidate in Arithmancy? Great. Just great.”
(Please press any key to continue.)