Key & Compass presents:
The eight-headed giant
by Zeno Pillan

The eight-headed giant is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2024 by Zeno Pillan. It was an entry in the Neo-Twiny Jam 2024, then later in the Short Games Showcase 2024.

In this short abstract game set in an office, you play as Gaya, an organized girlboss. Gather what you need, then make your presentation to the eight-headed giant in the aquarium. Features ASCII art.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.

SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.

Map
Walkthrough
Extras
- Artwork, Characters, Credits, Endings, Inventory
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
Support me on Ko-Fi
External links:
- This game at Homepage, IFDB, and IFWiki.
- Follow me at Bluesky, Ko-Fi, Mastodon, Patreon, and Wordpress.

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Walkthrough

Office West

> help. command. about.

> i. x shirt. x trousers. x bag.

> x notes. take notes.

Note that "read notes" in this game means "read notes out loud to someone else", so that command won't help you here and now.

> x machine. buy cola. x cola.

> x Dafne. face Dafne. x dashboard.

> x Eric. talk to Eric. x egg.

> e.

Office East

> x Nolan. talk to Nolan. face Nolan. (forget him)

> x Sally. talk to Sally. x mirror.

> x Bryon. talk to Bryon. x dice.

You now have the tools and skills you need to deal with the giant.

> n. n.

Hive

You're now running a gauntlet of questions, one per head.

For the first head:

> face head.

For the second head:

> give egg.

For the third head:

> reflect head. (using the mirror)

For the fourth head:

> read notes.

For the fifth head:

> give cola.

For the sixth head:

> give dashboard.

For the seventh head:

> roll dice.

The eighth head thanks you for your presentation.

*** The End ***

Extras

Artwork

This game features some ASCII art with an emphasis on cubes.

The eight-headed giant

           __         __ 
  __   __ /\_\    __ /\_\ 
 /\_\ /\_\\/_/__ /\_\\/_/ 
 \/_/ \/_/__ /\_\\/_/ 
    __   /\_\\/_/ 
   /\_\  \/_/ 
   \/_/

Designer bag

             ,n 
            /??> 
        _ _I==( 
      _/ /A\   ) 
   ==// \\\\  / 
   /\\===\\ F* 
  //*"   .TL.

Updated dashboard

   __  __  __ 
  /\_\/\_\/\_\ 
 /\/\_\/\_\/\_\ 
 \/\/_/\/_/\/_/ 
  \/_/\/_/\/_/

Dice

          ____ 
    ____ /\•••\ 
   /\•  \• \•••\ 
  /••\__•\•/ • / 
  \ •/• •//_•_/ 
   \/•_•/

Characters

Gaya, an organized girlboss, is the player-character.
Dafne, the Data sorchness, is in Office West.
Eric, the southern-Europe area manager is in Office West.
Nolan, the Nordic market specialist, is in Office East.
Sally, the Sales analyst, is in Office East.
Bryon, the senior Buyer, is in Office East.
The eight-headed giant is in the Hive.

Credits

This is the response to ABOUT:

Hi, this is a 499 words interactive fiction written by Zeno Pillan for the Neo-Twiny Jam 2024.

Endings

Both endings end with The End.

If you encounter a head without the item necessary for it, the giant dismisses you, and you lose.
If you respond to the first seven heads correctly, the eighth thanks you, and you win.

Inventory

Flower shirt, Pleated trousers, and Designer bag. You're wearing them.

Examine them, then ignore them. Yes, you can take them all off. No one cares.

Notes. They're on your desk in Office West.

Read the notes to the fourth head in the Hive.

Cola can. Buy the cola (from the vending machine) in Office West.

Give the cola to the fifth head in the Hive.

Updated dashboard. Acquire it in Office West by facing Dafne.

Give the dashboard to the sixth head in the Hive.

Chocolate egg. Acquire it in Office West by talking to Eric.

Give the egg to the second head in the Hive.

Mirror. Acquire it in Office East by talking to Sally.

Reflect the third head in the Hive, using the mirror.

Dice. Acquire them in Office East by talking to Bryon.

Roll the dice for the seventh head in the Hive.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

I create larger walkthroughs too! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.

Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!

Key & Compass presents: The eight-headed giant by Zeno Pillan

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