"further" by Will Hines. The story headline is "a color-coded existential tangle". The story description is "You are a collection of energy loosely held. You are an echo of a person. You want to move on but something holds you here". After printing the banner text, say "For game/author info, type CREDITS.". Include Small Kindnesses by Aaron Reed. Include Extended Grammar by Aaron Reed. Include Basic Screen Effects by Emily Short. [release data] The story genre is "Surreal". The story creation year is 2013. The release number is 5. Release along with cover art, a website, an interpreter, a public solution, the introductory booklet, the library card and the source text. Use no scoring. [game begins] When play begins, say "You focus on yourself, and turn grey. It is hard, suddenly, to really know anything at all. But this much you sense: until very recently you were a person. Then that stopped, and now you are just an echo of that person. You want very deeply to disperse, but you find that you cannot. Something holds you here.". Chapter 1 - The Player The player is in Foggy Room. Color is a kind of value. The colors are grey, red, yellow, blue, green, black and white. The player has a color. The player is grey. Thickness is a kind of value. The thicknesses are wispy, billowing, dense, thick, ropy and substantial. The player has a thickness. The player is wispy. The description of the player is "A loose collection of [shade] [thickness of player] energy, barely held." After taking inventory: say "You are currently existing in a [shade] [thickness of player] state."; continue the action. Every turn when the player is not in The Gates and the current action is not helping, bighelping or abouting: if a random chance of 1 in 7 succeeds: say "(It's so hard to know what is happening. You yearn to disperse.)"; try flashing. Flashing is an action applying to nothing. Carry out flashing: repeat with possession running through things held by the player: if possession is unvisited and target of possession is location of player, say "The [possession] shivers excitedly -- it knows this place.". [dispersing] Dispersing is an action applying to nothing. Understand "disperse" as dispersing. Carry out dispersing: say "You try to, but cannot. You remain." Chapter 2 - Rooms and Regions Section 1 - The House A room can be clear or unclear. A room is usually unclear. A region can be finished or unfinished. A region is usually unfinished. Before going to a clear room, say "This next room feels more real than the others...". Before going from a clear room that is not Ice Floes, say "This next room feels more foggy and shapeless...". A region has a color. Hazy is a grey finished region. Foggy Room is in Hazy. Foggy Room is a room. "You no longer exist in a single place, really. But what's left of you tries to make sense of it that way. So it feels like you're in a foggy room. Thick and slow to move through. Exits to the north, south, east, west and northeast.". After looking when player is untravelled: say "Type HELP to learn how to play.". Brick is a red region. Hearth, Wine Cellar and Alcove are in Brick. Hearth is east of Foggy Room. "This is a room that is made completely of brick. The ceiling, the floors, the walls. Exits are west and also you can go down a brick staircase.". Wine Cellar is down from Hearth. "[if unclear]A cool brick room with a low ceiling. The walls slowly shift back and forth, as if unreal. There's those stairs heading up and what you perceive to be an alcove to the southeast.[else]This is your basement. No, this WAS your basement, when you were a child. You were a child. A thin carpet. Wood panelling on the walls. A beanbag and black and white TV. Dog toys, for Alice. Red stairs go up and a cubbyhole, made of yellow wood, goes southeast.[end if]". The printed name of Wine Cellar is "[if unclear]Low Room[else]Your Basement[end if]". Alcove is southeast of Wine Cellar. "A storage area. The brick floor is interrupted by a smattering of sand, which doesn't seem to belong. Exit to the northwest.". sand is scenery in Alcove. The description of sand is "A rain puddle's worth of sand, interrupting the brick.". Desert is a yellow region. Sandstorm, Dunes and Oasis are in Desert. Sandstorm is west of Foggy Room. "Endless desert. Muted yellow sand whistles by. The dryness is somehow familiar and soothing. Exits east and south.". Dunes are south of Sandstorm. "[if unclear]Dunes sit serenely here, filled with wisdom. You could go north. There's an unnaturally blue oasis to the southwest.[else]This is Alan's den. His desk with papers in happy, neat piles. There's a doorway north and another southwest. The latter is painted blue.[end if]". The printed name is "[if unclear]Countless Dunes[else]Alan's Den[end if]". Oasis is southwest of Dunes. "A deep oasis, nestled here in the otherwise endless sand. Exit to the northeast.". Ocean is a blue region. Underwater, Grotto and Grassy Tuft are in Ocean. Underwater is south of Foggy Room. "You are deep underwater, heavy and blue. Exits north and down.". Grotto is down from Underwater. "[if unclear]A low cave thick with quiet. You can go up. To the southeast, nestled in the sand, is what appears to be a too-small-to-be-normal red chimney.[else]This is Linda's room. Your daughter. It's messy, as she was more like you than Alan. She was happy here, and you were proud that you gave her a happy home. There are stairs up and a hallway to the southeast, painted red.[end if]". The printed name of Grotto is "[if unclear]Shifting Grotto[else]Linda's Room[end if]". A room called Grassy Tuft is southeast of Grotto. "A shock of bright green grass sticks up here. The green stands out against the blue. Exit to the northwest.". Snow is a black region. Tundra and Ice Floes are in Snow. Tundra is northeast of Foggy Room. "Endless plains of hard snow. Exits southwest and northeast.". Ice Floes is northeast of Tundra. "[if unclear]The snow gives way to black water, filled with chunks of ice -- each big enough to support several people. An exit is to the southwest.[else]This is the pond where you skated when you were in sixth grade. You kissed a boy here, right by the birch trees. A trail leads out to the southwest. [paragraph break]Also, a beautiful white staircase has appeared. It heads out of the water and... up.[end if]". The printed name of Ice Floes is "[if unclear]Infinite Ice Floes[else]Frozen Pond[end if]". Instead of going up from Ice Floes when the player is not white, say "Look at yourself: you're not in the proper state to cross that particular staircase.". Fields is a green region. Prairie, Manic Sky and Grassland are in Fields. Prairie is north of Foggy Room. "Flat grassy fields stretch to the horizons. Crisp air. Bright sunlight. Exits south and northwest.". Manic Sky is northwest of Prairie. "[if unclear]More fields, but here the sky is filled with dogs. Yep, dogs. insanely crowded. Their barks terrify you. A grasslands lies west. Or you can go southeast.[else]This is your writing room. Every morning after your daughter first went to school you'd sit here and write a page. You found yourself while doing that. Exit to the southeast. A grasslands lies to the west.[end if]". The printed name of Manic Sky is "[if unclear]Manic Sky[else]Your Writing Room[end if]". Grassland is west of Manic Sky. "A plain grassland, though, oddly, there's patches of snow here and there. Exit to the east.". [regions] After looking: If the location of the player is unclear: if the player is in Hazy: say "[i]Haze floats by, carrying a hint of smoke.[/i]"; else if the player is in Ocean: say "[i]The water is blue and endless.[/i]"; else if the player is in Desert: say "[i]You feel yellow sand blow by.[/i]"; else if the player is in Brick: say "[i]Red brick walls and ceilings, the smallest scrape echoes sharply.[/i]"; else if the player is in Fields: say "[i]There's green grass everywhere.[/i]"; else if the player is in Snow: say "[i]The snow carries a gleam of white.[/i]"; else if the player is in The Gates: say "[i]You sense a quiet hum, like from a distant light.[/i]"; continue the action. Section 2 - The Gates Cement Room is a room. "A bare cement room, or really, just the suggestion of one. A white staircase goes down.". doors have a color. A red door called red door is north of Cement Room and south of Brick-lined Room. A yellow door called yellow door is north of Brick-lined Room and south of Sandy Room. A blue door called blue door is north of Sandy Room and south of Water Room. A green door called green door is north of Water Room and south of Writing Room. A white door called white door is north of Writing Room and south of Spinning Expanse. A grey door called grey door is north of Spinning Expanse and south of Further. The description of the grey door is "A grand stone door. It beckons you.". The initial appearance of a door is usually "A [item described] leads [direction of the item described from the location]." doors have some text called a past. The past of the red door is "You remember Alice, and her racing up the stairs when she heard you coming home from school...". The past of the yellow door is "You remember Alan, writing letters to his friends, refusing to use email. His sarcastic smile, his overly-strong cologne...". The past of the blue door is "You remember Linda, and how smart she was, sitting in her room and doing impersonations of your friends and of Alan...". The past of the green door is "You remember your first novel, and how scared you were to let anyone read it, and how excited you were when you realized you were going to be able to finish it...". The past of the white door is "You remember getting sick, and feeling weaker and practicing coming to terms with the end...". After going north through a door (called the portal): say "[br][past of the portal][br]"; continue the action. Before opening a door: If the color of the player is not the color of the noun: say "[one of]You're not in the proper state to open that particular door.[or]You're can't open it how you are. Look at yourself and the door.[or]You need to be the same color as the door.[or]You need to focus on the memory that's the same color as the door.[cycling]"; stop the action. The Gates are a black region. Cement Room, Brick-lined Room, Sandy Room, Water Room, Writing Room, Spinning Expanse and Further are in The Gates. Section 3 - Final Room The description of Spinning Expanse is "[if unclear]Hazy foggy again, just like the start. You can just barely perceive that this was once your bedroom. But you can't really see it like you could the other rooms. You need one more memory.[else]This is your bedroom, with your body lying on your bed. Many memories are here: the scent of Alan's cologne, the sound of Alice's panting, the photo of Linda in her dorm room.[paragraph break]There is a stately grey door to the north.[end if]". grey door is scenery in Spinning Expanse. body is scenery in Spinning Expanse. Understand "gertrude" and "trudy" as body. The description of body is "Five foot five, thin, eyes closed. Used to house a spirit which was good at being amused and remembering. You are that spirit.". cologne is scenery in Spinning Expanse. Understand "Alan" and "scent" as cologne. The description of cologne is "English Leather. He refused to switch under any circumstance.". photo is scenery in Spinning Expanse. Understand "Linda" and "picture" as photo. The description of photo is "A candid photo of her at 24, smiling wryly while holding a plane ticket you bought for her to come home.". breathing is scenery in Spinning Expanse. Understand "Alice" and "barking" and "panting" as breathing. The description of breathing is "Steady and happy.". walls are scenery in Spinning Expanse. hum is scenery in Spinning Expanse. fog is scenery in Spinning Expanse. bedroom is scenery in Spinning Expanse. stillness is scenery in Spinning Expanse. After the player going to Spinning Expanse: inspiration strikes in three turns from now; epiphany strikes in five turns from now; revelation strikes in seven turns from now; continue the action. At the time when inspiration strikes: say "You're so close to being able to leave. Find the thing to focus on.". At the time when epiphany strikes: say "You need to focus on something. Something that was too weak before, but is strong enough now.". At the time when revelation strikes: say "Focus on yourself." Instead of going south from Spinning Expanse, say "Don't leave. You have what you need to finish.". Section 4 - Ending Instead of focusing the player: if the player is not in Spinning Expanse: say "There's not enough of you to focus on." instead; else: If Spinning Expanse is clear and player is grey: say "You've already focused on yourself, and you're ready to leave. Look for the new door."; else: say "Yes.... yes.... You remember. This is your bedroom. Your body is lying on the bed, having lived for 89 years. You're wearing your robe, and on a nightstand is a photo of Linda. A bottle of Alan's cologne remains at the base of a mirror on a dresser. Though Alice never lived in this home, you can remember her steady breathing still. You can remember everything, you realize, better than you ever had: sunny walks in St. Louis, kisses under bedcovers in New England, delicious vegetables in California and serene patient nights everywhere.[paragraph break]You turn into a deep full grey."; now the player is grey; now Spinning Expanse is clear; say "Your bedroom comes into focus around you, and a new door appears in the north wall."; try looking. Instead of going north from Spinning Expanse: if Spinning Expanse is unclear: say "You can't leave until this room is clear to you."; else: say "You pass through the grey doorway and find that you are no longer held. You are able to collect yourself fully for one final burst. You gather yourself together into a dense knot. From all bounds of space come shooting the scattered pieces of yourself, together for one last moment. Your body returns, and you sigh. Your mind reforms. You smile, and crouch down, and then --- after just one last moment of feeling --- you leap.[paragraph break]Your name was Gertrude."; end the story finally saying "You have won.". The description of Further is "You are happy.". Chapter 3 - Remembering Section 1 - Memories A memory is a kind of thing. A memory can be visited or unvisited. A memory is usually unvisited. A memory has a room called a target. A memory has a region called a home. A memory has a color. A memory has some text called realization. The realization of a memory is usually "This was something from your life.". a ruddy bell is a wearable red memory. Understand "collar" and "dog collar" as bell. bell is in Foggy Room. The description of bell is "[if unvisited]a bell[else]Alice's bell[end if]". The target of bell is Wine Cellar. The home of bell is Brick. The realization of the bell is "The surreal brick room around you shimmers into a suburban basement. You remember that the bell was once part of the collar for your dog, Alice. She died when you were... seven? Yes. You remember the weight of her pressed against your legs.". Ringing is an action applying to one thing. Understand "ring [something]" as ringing. Carry out ringing: if noun is bell: say "Dong...."; else: say "The [noun] can't ring.". a jaundiced penny is a yellow memory. penny is in Alcove. The description of penny is "[if unvisited]a penny[else]Alan's penny[end if]". The target of penny is Dunes. The home of penny is Desert. The realization of the penny is "Alan gave you this. Alan was your... husband? Yes. Bemused in groups, serious when alone.". a cobalt ribbon is a wearable blue memory. ribbon is in Oasis. The description of ribbon is "[if unvisited]a ribbon[else]Linda's ribbon[end if]". The target of ribbon is Grotto. The home of ribbon is Ocean. The realization of the ribbon is "The water around you vanishes and is replaced with your daughter's bedroom... Linda's room. This ribbon was hers. Light blue and wide, a plain strip. Linda was happy, even reckless. Always reading two books at once, changed majors every year. ". an olive envelope is a green memory. Understand "letter" as olive envelope. envelope is in Grassy Tuft. The description of envelope is "[if unvisited]an envelope[else]your acceptance letter[end if]". The target of envelope is Manic Sky. The home of envelope is Fields. The realization of envelope is "The grasslands fade away and are replaced by a writing room. The envelope held your acceptance letter for your first novel. A horror story about wolves. After Linda first started going to elementary school, you wrote a page a morning, for months.". an ashen robe is a white memory. robe is in Grassland. The description of robe is "[if unvisited]a robe[else]your robe[end if]". The target of robe is Ice Floes. The home of robe is Snow. The realization of the robe is "The tundra vanishes and is replaced by a small frozen pond where you once skated. This robe was yours as a girl, you dug it out of the cedar chest and started wearing it again when you got sick. You were just wearing it, a few hours ago, before you became this, whatever you are.". Before taking a memory: if location of the player is in an unfinished region, say "You try to get the [noun] but it slips away from you. This area needs you to get its memory and focus on it." instead. Before examining a memory: say "A memory of [run paragraph on]". After examining a memory that is not held: say "(You could pick it up)."; continue the action. After taking a memory for the first time: say "Taken.[paragraph break]You've picked up a memory. To connect with it, type 'FOCUS ON [noun]'.". After printing the name of a visited memory while taking inventory: say " [i](remembered)[/i]". Section 2 - Focusing Focusing is an action applying to one thing. Understand "focus on [something]" and "focusing on [something]" and "focus [something]" as focusing. Check focusing: if the noun is a memory: if the noun is unvisited and the player is not in the target of the noun: let thump be the best route from the location of the player to the target of the noun; say "This memory belongs to a room, and you're not in it. But you feel the [noun] long to go [thump]." instead; else: continue the action; else: say "You can only focus on memories, usually." instead. Carry out focusing: if the noun is unvisited: say "[the realization of the noun][para]"; if the thickness of the player is not substantial: now the thickness of the player is the thickness after the thickness of the player; now the noun is visited; now the home of the noun is finished; if the noun is robe: change the up exit of Ice Floes to Cement Room; change the down exit of Cement Room to Ice Floes; now the color of the player is the color of the noun; if the target of the noun is unclear: now the target of the noun is clear; try looking; say "You feel yourself... whatever you are.. thicken. The memory of [description of noun] fills you up...you [one of]pulsate[or]billow out and collapse[or]waver[or]swirl frantically[or]revolve[at random] and then [one of]turn[or]fade into[or]shimmer into[at random] [shade][default letters].". Chapter 4 - Colors Before printing the name of a room: if player is in Brick: say "[red letters]"; else if player is in Desert: turn the background black; say "[yellow letters]"; else if player is in Ocean: say "[blue letters]"; else if player is in Snow: turn the background black; say "[white letters]"; else if player is in Fields: say "[green letters]"; else if player is in Hazy: say "[default letters]". After printing the name of a room: turn the background white; say "[default letters]". Before printing the name of a memory (called thought): if thought is red: say "[red letters]"; else if thought is green: say "[green letters]"; else if thought is yellow: turn the background black; say "[yellow letters]"; else if thought is blue: say "[blue letters]"; else if thought is white: turn the background black; say "[white letters]". After printing the name of a memory: turn the background white; say "[default letters]". Before printing the name of a door (called portal): if portal is red: say "[red letters]"; else if portal is green: say "[green letters]"; else if portal is yellow: turn the background black; say "[yellow letters]"; else if portal is blue: say "[blue letters]"; else if portal is white: turn the background black; say "[white letters]". After printing the name of a door: turn the background white; say "[default letters]". To say shade: if player is red: say "[red letters]red"; else if player is blue: say "[blue letters]blue"; else if player is green: say "[green letters]green"; else if player is yellow: turn the background black; say "[yellow letters]yellow"; else if player is white: turn the background black; say "[white letters]white"; else: say "[color of player]"; turn the background white; say "[default letters]". Chapter 5 - Help A person can be travelled or untravelled. The player is untravelled. After the player going from Foggy Room: now the player is travelled; continue the action. Helping is an action applying to nothing. Understand "help" and "hint" as helping. Carry out helping: if the player is untravelled: say "Try wandering and reading the room descriptions. There aren't that many rooms and there's nowhere you can get stuck."; else if the number of memories carried by the player is zero: say "You need to pick things up (GET them) and examine them (X them)."; else if the number of visited memories is zero: say "Each thing you can pick up is a memory. Each memory corresponds to a particular room. Bring a memory to its room and FOCUS ON it."; else if the number of visited memories is less than five: say "There are five memories you must focus on."; else if the number of visited memories is five and Cement Room is unvisited: say "When you focused on the robe, a staircase appeared in the Ice Floes. Cross it."; else if the player is in Spinning Expanse and Spinning Expanse is not clear: say "You're in the final room. You must FOCUS ON something unexpected. It's not something you've picked up."; else if the player is in Spinning Expanse and Spinning Expanse is clear: say "You've remembered all you need to, and now you just have to leave. A door appeared when you focused on yourself."; else: say "Pick up memories, get them to the rooms where they belong and FOCUS ON them."; Report helping: say "If you want the longish description of how to play text adventures, type BIG HELP.". Bighelping is an action applying to nothing. Understand "more" and "big help" as bighelping. Carry out bighelping: say "You are the spirit of someone who just died. You are wandering in a dreamscape figuring how to proceed to the afterlife.[para]If you've never played interactive fiction, here's how:[para]To walk around, type the abbreviation for compass directions and hit enter. Like N, S, E, W, NE, SW, etc. You will move to a new place and the game will describe it.[para]Lots of the game is observing things. You type LOOK and hit enter to get a description of the place you are currently in. And you type EXAMINE or X followed by a thing to get more info on that thing. Like X BELL. Examine everything.[para]You also need to pick things up. Like GET BELL. You can also DROP things though you don't need to.[para]Type I or INVENTORY to see what you're holding.[para]This game has memories which you pick up. Each memory has a room where it belongs. When you're holding a memory in its room you can FOCUS ON it to learn something.[para]At any time, typing HELP will give you a hint.[para]When you don't know what else to do, type LOOK and press enter to make the game re-describe the room you're currently in. Try that now.". Instead of helping the first time, try bighelping. Abouting is an action applying to nothing. Understand "about" and "credits" as abouting. Carry out abouting: say "'Further' is about a spirit of someone who recently died trying to gain strength to depart. I wrote it in two sessions 1) riding a train at night and listening to The Postal Service, and 2) a follow-up all-nighter during which I listened to nothing but consumed at least five SIGG bottles of water.[paragraph break]Inform 7 is great fun. My name is Will Hines. I'm an actor/writer person born in 1970 who lives in NYC. My email address is a gmail address: whines.[para]Thanks to beta testers: Benjamin Apple, Andrew Chang, Charone Frankel, Avery Monsen, Brad Temple and Andrew Schultz! And thanks to Andrew Plotkin and Zarfhome Software for the XCode files to turn a z-machine text adventure into an iPhone app (the jargon density of this sentence is insane). "; Walkthru is an action applying to nothing. Understand "walkthrough" and "walkthru" and "walk through" and "walk thru" as walkthru. Carry out walkthru: say "Below is a walkthrough. It's also available at http://www.willhines.net/if/further[para] GET BELL[br] E[br] D[br] FOCUS ON BELL[br] SE[br] GET PENNY[br] NW[br] U[br] W[br] W[br] S[br] FOCUS ON PENNY[br] SW[br] GET RIBBON[br] NE[br] N[br] E[br] S[br] D[br] FOCUS ON RIBBON[br] SE[br] GET OLIVE[br] NW[br] U[br] N[br] N[br] NW[br] FOCUS ON OLIVE[br] W[br] GET ROBE[br] E[br] SE[br] S[br] NE[br] NE[br] FOCUS ON ROBE[br] U[br] FOCUS ON BELL[br] N[br] FOCUS ON PENNY[br] N[br] FOCUS ON RIBBON[br] N[br] FOCUS ON OLIVE[br] N[br] FOCUS ON ROBE[br] N[br] FOCUS ON SELF[br] N.". Chapter 6 - Tests and Misc test me with "GET BELL / E / D / FOCUS ON BELL / SE / GET PENNY / NW / U / W / W / S / FOCUS ON PENNY / SW / GET RIBBON / NE / N / E / S / D / FOCUS ON RIBBON / SE / GET OLIVE / NW / U / N / N / NW / FOCUS ON OLIVE / W / GET ROBE / E / SE / S / NE / NE / FOCUS ON ROBE / U ". test gates with "FOCUS ON BELL / N / FOCUS ON PENNY / N / FOCUS ON RIBBON / N / FOCUS ON OLIVE / N / FOCUS ON ROBE / N". test finish with "focus on self / n". To say para -- running on: (- DivideParagraphPoint(); new_line; -). To say br -- running on: (- new_line; -). To say i -- beginning say_i -- running on: (- style underline; -). To say /i -- ending say_i -- running on: (- style roman; -). To say b -- beginning say_b -- running on: (- style bold; -). To say /b -- ending say_b -- running on: (- style roman; -).