This game began as sample code included in the TADS Author's Manual © 1987-98 by Michael J. Roberts. This version also incorporates TADS, HTML, and HTML-TADS tweaks fleshing it out, especially for hyperfiction play, by Garth Dighton (2001) and especially N. K. Guy (1998), who regretfully failed to authorize our use of the wonderful graphics he came up with for his multimedia version -- do check them out (plus sound effects and some complicated gadgets!) in an HTML-TADS interpreter! Between them, they provided the set-up and the conclusion, but I had to clumsily connect a few of the dots needed to bring us there. I hope the transitions between the various authors aren't as jarring as the river crossing in Firetop Mountain! (Also: just plain stole the below ASCII art from Daniel C. Au. Thanks!) Where possible, choices were groomed to appear in the in-text hyperfiction style, following the HTML-TADS lead, rather than the standard "description, options" layout. But enough stalling, on with the game, such as it is!
. . .
The Golden Skull
A miniature demonstration game for HTML. Version 0.8 March 2013.
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| ; ______ ______ ; |
| `/~" ~" . "~ "~\' |
| ~ ,-~~~^~, | ,~^~~~-, ~ |
| | }:{ | |
| l / | \ ! |
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| ---;' / | \ `;--- |
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| |T~\___!___!___/~T| |
| |`IIII_I_I_I_IIII'| |
| \,III I I I III,/ |
\ `~~~~~~~~~~' /
\ . . /
\. ^ ./
^~~~^~~~^
-dcau (4/15/95) |
|---|
You're standing in bright sunlight just outside of a large, dark, foreboding cave which lies to the north.To the south a winding trail leads back to civilization. You are carrying nothing save your to-do list.
. . .
The cave looks rather dark and forbidding, but you know there is a skull made of solid gold somewhere in that cave. You also know it is probably guarded by a trap!
. . .
Having retrieved the ancient skull, you decide to head back to town.
You trudge back down the trail, gold skull firmly in hand, and soon make it to civilization the next day. Fame! Fortune! Riches!
But the store is out of milk. Rats.
*** You have won! ***
. . .
You're inside a dark, damp cave. Sunlight pours in from a passage to the south. Some distance from the entrance you notice a large stone pedestal, and there's a big sign on the wall.
. . .
Ask the skull how to avoid the trap
"Do you know how I can avoid these oh-so-deadly arrows?" you ask the skull.
"But of course - all you have to do is place another weight on the pedestal first - like, say, that small rock in the corner."
"That's fascinating. Please excuse me, I just remembered something I need to attend to."
. . .
You visually scan the top of the pedestal as you approach it, pondering which brick conceals the scale that could spell your doom. Holding your breath, you attempt to roll the skull away with one hand while rolling the cave rock into its exact position with the other hand.
The exchange completed, you pause for a moment, only to find yourself... still alive, with a heavy golden skull filling your hand! As you cram it into your caryall (oh, the subtle distinction between subject and object) you could almost swear it winks at you, but of course that is strictly impossible. You hear no complaints, so no harm, no foul, right?
No point in temping fate -- the odds are slim you'll locate a platinum femur if you hang around here long enough, so it's probably time to depart.
. . .
A large sign, carved into the very living rock of the wall of the cave itself. It reads:
|
Persecuted and Probably Summarily Shot *
|
. . .
The pedestal is unremarkable, a structure of masonry erected in the gloomy cave. Positioned carefully so as to intercept a shaft of sunlight entering from outside, a golden skull nestles in the slightly concave top of the pedestal.
To Do Today
Plunder ancient civilization.- Avoid gruesome death.
- Buy milk.
. . .
The skull heads you off at the pass, getting in the opening words in your verbal exchange: "Beware, for I am guarded by a most dangerous trap! Should all weight be removed from the pedestal, deadly poisonous arrows will kill the thief."
Though what you really want to know is how much it's worth, it might be worth your while to ask the skull how to avoid the trap. (Not that the knowledge helped it much -- for all you know, it used to be a golden intact man!)
. . .
Ask the skull how much it's worth
"So how much are you worth, Mr. Skull?" you ask.
"I weigh about 3 pounds, and the current price of gold is about 300 dollars per ounce, so you can figure the minimum price from that. However, I am worth much more than the mere metal contained within me - after all, how many golden skulls actually speak?"
This is compelling testimony, and already filled with ideas of how to spend the proceeds, you're tempted to just nab that chatty trinket and get out of Dodge, but wasn't there something else you wanted to ask about first?
. . .
Ask the skull how to avoid the trap
"Do you know how I can avoid these oh-so-deadly arrows?" you ask the skull.
"But of course - all you have to do is place another weight on the pedestal first - like, say, that small rock in the corner."
If not for one last question you have, that would be your cue to wrap up your kleptomaniacal business here.
. . .
Ask the skull how much it's worth
"So how much are you worth, Mr. Skull?" you ask.
"I weigh about 3 pounds, and the current price of gold is about 300 dollars per ounce, so you can figure the minimum price from that. However, I am worth much more than the mere metal contained within me - after all, how many golden skulls actually speak?"
Your curiosity satisfied, you excuse yourself to attend to a related matter.
. . .
You feel a bit silly, wondering if the eyeless skull can watch you as effectively as it can speak without lips and hear without ears, but nevertheless its advice seems sound. Admittedly you wouldn't have noticed this rock if it hadn't been brought to your attention -- after all, what is one more rock in a room hewn from living stone? Hefting it up, you determine that it is larger than the skull, but, of course, it is not composed of a material as dense as gold -- so hopefully, it will be effective as a substitute weight for the skull when you swap the two.
. . .
As you lift the skull, a volley of poisonous arrows bursts out the walls! You try to dodge the arrows, but they take you by surprise!
Shucks.
*** You Have Died ***
Would you like to restart the game?
. . .
You're standing in bright sunlight just outside of a large, dark, foreboding cave which lies to the north.To the south a winding trail leads back to civilization.
. . .
You briefly consider heading for the comforts of home, but a strange and burning compulsion to learn more about the wonders of HTML dissuades you. Onwards, into the cave!
. . .
You're still inside that dark, damp cave. Sunlight pours in from a welcoming passage to the south. Some distance from the entrance that large stone pedestal remains, empty save a chunk of worthless tock, and that sign is on the wall. Hoping to prove it wrong, your to-do list probably indicates it's about time to make yourself scarce while your skin remains intact.
. . .
It's a small skull, the size of your clenched fist and cast from solid gold. (Is that a single human tooth embedded in its lower jaw, spectacularly failing to reflect the beam of sun?) It grins back at you, undoubtedly well aware of its priceless value.
It might be best to grab the skull and run before cave security gets wind of you, but are you focused enough to follow through without making a flippant remark to the object of your attention and getting caught up in a conversation with an inanimate object?
. . .
To Do Today
- Plunder ancient civilization.
- Avoid gruesome death.
- Buy milk.
. . .
You stand in the bright sunlight, shielding your eyes with your hand, with the yawning entrance to that dark, foreboding cave behind you. Ahead, to the south, a winding trail leads back to civilization.
