Eurydice is a Z-machine interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2012 by Anonymous. It was an entry for IF Comp 2012 where it took 2nd place. At the 2012 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in two categories (Best Writing and Best Story).
In this game inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, you play as a young Oxford man mourning Celine, your friend and housemate. Friends are downstairs, if you feel brave enough to socialize. Or, if you'd rather, take the mysterious lyre from your room to nearby Hinksey Park.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1, Serial number 121206 (the post competition release) 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.
Note: "And Back Again", "Home Again", and "Marlborough Road Again" are all the same geographic location as "Marlborough Road"; they signify different endings for plot purposes.
This will be the only verbose walkthrough.
Empty Room
> x carpet. x hook. x wardrobe. open it.
> x chest. open it. x shelves.
> w.
Upstairs Landing
> listen. w.
Your Room
> x bed. x bookshelves.
> x Cthulhu. x Head. x tinsel. x piles.
> x lyre. take it. play it.
> e. n.
Dave's Room
> x bed. x boxes. x socks.
> s.
Upstairs Landing
> u. (no: shouldn't snoop there)
> u. (do it anyway)
John's Room
> x mess. x clothes. x shelves.
> x bottles. x computer. x glass. x bed.
> x mask. x blinds. x skylights.
> x bag. open bag. x packets.
> take packets. x pills.
> d. d.
The Downstairs Hall
> x painting. n.
The Living Room
You need not talk to any of these people, but you may if you wish to.
> x Laurie. x John. x Twitch.
> x Rick. x port.
> x Jess. x Adrian. x Elsie.
> x table. x Go. x fireplace. x sofa.
> x stand. x my coat. take it.
> x dusters. x velvet jacket.
> x hoodie. x military coat.
> search my coat. x coin.
> e.
The Kitchen
> x Natalie. talk to Natalie.
> x pasta. smell it.
> x Vera. water Vera. x Tilda.
> x counter. x hob. x utensils. x knifeblock.
> x knife. take it.
> n.
The Back Garden
> x lawn. x snake. x patio. x sky. x sun.
> play lyre. (You manage it this time, entrancing the snake.)
> kill snake. (It dies then it's gone. You feel better.)
> s.
The Kitchen
You won't enter the living room with a cleaver, so just put it back.
> put knife in knifeblock.
> w. s. w.
Marlborough Road
> x houses. wear coat. nw.
Hinksey Park Gate
> x bench. sit on bench.
> x willow. x lake. x swan.
> x path. x pool. x river.
> w.
The River
> x river. x railway. x fields.
> x boat. x man. x pole.
> talk to man. ("This journey isn't for you.")
> give coin. (He accepts it.)
> in. ("Are you sure?")
>> yes
Iron Gates / Gates to the Warneford Hospital
> x dog. x meat. x bowl. x gates.
> put pills in water. (The dog sleeps.)
> se.
Warneford Hospital Approach
> x grass. x building.
> w.
Vaughan Thomas Path
> x signs. x grass. x borders.
> w.
Vaughan Thomas Exterior
> x tree. x bench. sit on bench.
> x door. x doorbell.
> push button. talk to grill. x nurse.
> w.
As you enter, Nurse explains you must see the Doctor first.
Vaughan Thomas Corridor
> x boards. x chairs. x bookshelf.
> x table. x magazines. smell.
> n.
The Dining Hall
> x artwork. x television. smell.
> n.
The Doctor's Office
> x prints . x Rothko. x IKB. x Doctor.
> x desk. x computer. x paperweight. x cradle.
> talk to doctor. (He offers to send you home. Agree?)
>> no
> talk to doctor. g. (He is adamant.)
> push cradle. (denied)
> s. s. s.
By the way, whenever you re-enter the entry corridor, you're likely to have a random encounter with a patient or nurse. You may ignore those events, even though they're quite interesting.
Residential Corridor
This is the first time it's confirmed your character is male.
> w.
Celine's Room
> x bed. x carpet. x wardrobe.
> x chair. x cardigan. x radio. x cards.
> x plant. ("Sylvia")
> take plant.
> e. n. w.
Sun Room
> x chairs. x bed. x woman.
> talk to woman. g. g. g.
> give plant to woman.
Do you want her to speak to her husband?
>> yes
The Doctor's Office
She tells the Doctor she wants the plant and for him to help you. He tells you Celine is in the gardens beyond the Sun Room, to take her, but never turn around or else you'll lose her forever. The woman leaves.
> s. s. w. w.
Warneford Gardens
> x Celine. talk to her. g. g. g. (She agrees to follow you.)
> kiss Celine.
You won't hear her follow you; the blue door will be ajar.
> e. e. e. e. e.
Warneford Exit (formerly Warneford Hospital Approach)
> x gates. nw. (can't)
> open gates. (can't)
> play lyre. (silent)
> climb gates. (but what about Celine?)
There's no choice.
> turn around.
Celine is there, smiling. But you clutch at nothing.
And Back Again (formerly Marlborough Road)
> open door.
*** Finis. ***
This will be a speed-run.
Empty Room
> w. w.
Your Room
> take lyre. e. d. w. nw. w.
The River
> play lyre. (The man agrees to take you.)
> in. yes.
Iron Gates
> play lyre. g. (The dog sleeps.)
> se. w. w.
Vaughan Thomas Exterior
> push button. talk to grill.
> w. n. n.
The Doctor's Office
> talk to doctor. (He offers to send you home.)
>> yes
Home Again (formerly Marlborough Road)
> open door.
*** Finis. ***
This will be a speed-run.
Empty Room
> w. w.
Your Room
> take lyre. e. d. w. nw. w.
The River
> play lyre. (The man agrees to take you.)
> in. yes.
Iron Gates
> play lyre. g. (The dog sleeps.)
> se. w. w.
Vaughan Thomas Exterior
> push button. talk to grill.
> w. n. n.
The Doctor's Office
> talk to doctor. (He offers to send you home.)
>> no
> play lyre. (The Doctor destroys the lyre but tells you where Celine is and that you may take her but don't turn around or she's his forever.)
> s. s. w. w.
Warneford Gardens
> talk to Celine. g. g. g. (She will follow.)
> turn around.
Marlborough Road Again (formerly Marlborough Road)
> open door.
*** Finis. ***
This will be a speed-run.
Empty Room
> w. w.
Your Room
> take lyre. e. d. w. nw. w.
The River
> play lyre. (The man agrees to take you.)
> in. yes.
Iron Gates
> play lyre. g. (The dog sleeps.)
> se. w. w.
Vaughan Thomas Exterior
> push button. talk to grill.
> w. n. n.
The Doctor's Office
> talk to doctor. (He offers to send you home.)
>> no
> play lyre. (The Doctor destroys the lyre but tells you where Celine is and that you may take her but don't turn around or she's his forever.)
> s. s. w. w.
Warneford Gardens
> talk to Celine. g. g. g. (She will follow.)
> e. e. e. e. e.
Warneford Exit
The gates swing open.
> nw.
Eurydice is with you as you fall, confused.
*** Finis. ***
Mentioned:
Type ABOUT, then select "Thank yous" from the menu:
Thank yous
More thanks than I can say to my friends and loved ones - you may be few in number but you are great in heart.
And many many many thanks to my long-suffering, unsuspecting beta testers: Issy, Guy, Julian, Jessica, Dan, Shim and Arthur, with special thanks to Issy for the lovely artwork.
Also, um, to Emily Short, who I don't know personally but but without whom I wouldn't know a damn thing about Inform 7. In all honesty, I still don't know that much. The actual coding underpinning this thing is a terrible mess, but that's not Emily Short's fault. Pro tip: if you want to learn how to use Inform 7 don't start with an absurdly convoluted story about bereavement.
Post competition, I have a bunch of of new people to thank. Firstly, the IF community in general for being lovely and everyone who played the game. I'm so glad that some people liked it and got something out of it. And, err, I'm sorry for wasting your time and wrecking your day if you didn't. For everyone who reviewed it, I've really appreciated the insights, observations and the criticisms.
Eeek, it's getting like the Oscars in here.
But most particularly Sam Ashwell, for the German philosophers, Elizabeth McDonald, for an unexpected kindness, Nick Turner for the annotated transcript and various excellent suggestions, Zack Urlocker for going to an inordinate amount of trouble to get a crime dossier across the ocean, and ClubFloyd for the amazing transcript and hilarious discussion. The lyre-based emo folk group ending will be in the sequel. And, of course, Issy, yet again. Without whom nothing is possible.
There are four possible endings that all happen after you return to Oxford and you open your front door. All the endings use the Finis. epitaph.
These endings remind me of Infocom's Wishbringer where you could use the magical Wishbringer stone to solve most of your problems or opt to use non-magical methods instead. Here, the lyre is the magical problem-solver, but again, there are non-magical ways to solve those problems too.
Also, as far as I know, what you do or don't do in the back garden with the snake is entirely optional and has no effect on the ending.
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