In this short game, you play as a survivor of an airplane crash. You regain consciousness on a gentle slope with a broken leg, your watch beside you. Help yourself and the other survivors as best you can.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the story.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction story. Please make an honest effort to play the story before reading this walkthrough.
> ask woman about man.("Arthur has a weak heart!")
> w. s.
Beside the airplane
> climb wing.
On the wing
> enter plane.
Inside the plane
Ignore the debris.
> s.
Forward cabin
> x seats. move seats.(find access panel in floor)
> open door. s.
Cockpit
> x pilot. x co-pilot. take cup.
> search seats.(Found a boy with a purse!)
> hug boy.(He calms down; he wants his mother.)
> boy, follow me.
> boy, give purse to me.
> open purse.(has asthma inhaler and newspaper)
> take all from purse.
> n. n. out. d. n.
Crash site
> give inhaler to woman.
> s. u. in. s. d.
Acceessway
> x box. n.
Rear crawlspace
> x tree. n.
Landing gear bay
CAUTION: Don't stay too long in this smoke!
> burn newspaper. s.
Rear crawlspace
> burn tree.(with newspaper; the tree catches fire)
> s. u. n. out. d. n. e.
Behind the airplane
I'm so sorry. You can't help Arthur. While you can remove your splint, you can't put it on him or his leg.
> x gash. z.(Repeat waiting.)
At 4:32 pm, Arthur stops breathing. Soon afterwards, the airplane, no longer impaled on the tree, slides off the steep drop, then explodes down below. The survivors are grateful that the plane didn't explode up here.
*** THE GAME HAS ENDED ***
Extras
Characters
An injured woman is at the crash site. She's having trouble breathing.
A little girl is with the injured woman, her mother. The girl is frightened, but otherwise okay.
A little boy is hiding in the cockpit between the pilot's seat and the wall. He's clutching a woman's purse and crying. When he follows you out of the plane, he runs to the injured woman, calling her "Mommy".
A wife is kneeling beside her husband, Arthur, behind the airplane. He's bleeding badly, and she can't help him. You can't help him either.
Other people have survived, but you can't interact with them.
Found dead:
The pilot and co-pilot died in their seats in the cockpit.
Credits
To view the credits, type HELP, then select the "Release history and game credits" menu-option:
RELEASE HISTORY AND GAME CREDITS
Credits
DOWN was written by Kent Tessman for the 1997 Interactive Fiction Competition. Thanks to Julian Arnold for some ridiculously last-minute playtesting.
Release history
Release 1 (September 1997) The first public release of Down for the 1997 Interactive Fiction Competition.
Endings
YOU HAVE DIED
if you stay in the smoke-filled landing gear bay too long.
if the plane explodes where it landed. There is nowhere you can go that's far enough away.
if you're still on the plane when it slides off the steep drop.
THE GAME HAS ENDED
if the plane explodes down slope, and you're not on the plane.
Inventory
your watch. It's beside you on the gentle slope.
Take it and wear it. The time is now displayed in the status bar.
a strip of cloth. Acquire it by ripping your pants.
With the branches and the strip of cloth, make a splint for your broken leg.
a poplar branch. Branches are within reach at the bluff of trees. Break one to take one.
Break your branch in half; you now have two poplar branches.
In the landing gear bay, light the newspaper from the fire there, then quickly go south to the rear crawlspace. Burn the tree with the newspaper before it's completely consumed.
Leave the plane. When enough of the tree has burned away, the plane slides off the slope, falls, and explodes away from the survivors.
Honorable mention:
your leg. It's part of you.
When you first try to stand, your leg can't bear your weight. Examine your leg: it's broken. Make a splint for it.
your pair of pants. You're wearing them.
You notice your pants are already torn when you examine your leg. Tear the pants to get a strip of cloth.
You are unwilling to either remove your pants or tear them again. However, if you set them on fire, you'll rip them off and toss them away immediately. Pantsless achievement!
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