In this game, you play as a gnu in a zoo. You wake up in the middle of the night and discover that the gate to the gnu enclosure was left unlocked. The thought of exploring the zoo is thrilling. Is tonight the night you escape from the zoo?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 3 of the game. But you should really visit the author's homepage for this game and read his walkthrough written in Twine which explains how every animal respresents a different license and which ones are GNU-compatible!
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.
> x yellow key.(has yellow furry material stuck on it)
> x brown key.(multiple earth tones, feathery texture)
> out. n. w.
Lion Enclosure Entrance
> x lion. x Tex. x fence. x gate. x platform.
> x enclosure itself. x pool float.
Unlock the gate for the point, but do not ever open this gate! Tex will eat you!
> unlock gate with yellow key.(+1)
> e. e.
Elephant Enclosure Entrance
> x Vincent. x fence. x skips. x shelter. x straw.
Unlock the gate for the point, but you need not enter. CAUTION: If you do enter and if you persist in trying to wake Vincent, he will roll over in his sleep and crush you.
> unlock gate with white key.(+1)
> w. s. w.
Devil Enclosure Entrance
> x Beastie.(has white lumps in his side)
> x lumps.(claws from a tiger, maybe?)
> unlock gate with red key.(+1)
> in.
Devil Enclosure Itself
> take claws.(This works.)
> lick Beastie.(He becomes a gnu!)
> Beastie, follow me.(+1)
> take keys.
> out. e. e.
Reptile House (North)
> x gecko.(Mo the Gecko)
> x tank.(locked)
You don't need Mo, but you do get a point for unlocking Mo's tank.
> unlock tank with green key.(+1)
> s.
Reptile House (South)
> x Odi. x branch. x tank.(locked)
> unlock tank with green key.(+1)
> open tank.
> touch Odi.(She becomes a gnu!)
> Odi, follow me.(+1)
> w.
Lakeside
> x Tabby. x bench.
> x pond. x weir. x sign. x building.
> wake Tabby.(The cat becomes a gnu!)
> Tabby, follow me.(+1)
> w.
Storage Area
> x Glenda. x silos. x smaller containers.
You can't really do anything with Glenda.
> e. s.
Main Concourse
> x tower. x archway.
> w.(aviary door locked)
> unlock door with brown key.(+1)
> w.
Aviary (North)
> x pole.(On it is Miron the Condor.)
> x Miron. x rail.
> s.
Aviary (Middle)
> x lower perch.(has Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle)
> x upper perch.(has Striker the Patchy Eagle)
> x Behlendorf. x Striker.(Behlendorf is the older of the two.)
> s.
Aviary (South)
> x rail. x Sparky. x burner.
> x sack.(has five lumps of coal)
> drop keys. take lump. n.
Aviary (Middle)
> throw lump at upper.(Striker flies to the rail.)
> touch Striker.(He becomes a gnu.)
> Striker, follow me.(+1)
> s. e. e.
Front Entrance
Note that you only get the point for escaping if you manage it within the first four hours of game time.
> x gates. x booth. x window.
> e.(+1)
Your herd of six gnus smash down the gates!
*** You have achieved freedom! ***
> amusing
Extras
Amusing
This is the response to AMUSING after you've won the game:
I hope you enjoyed that.
You worked out, I expect, that this game is a thinly-veiled tutorial on software licence compatibility. It should be fairly obvious that the character you play represents the GNU General Public Licence; that it's version 3, maybe less so. But did you work out which licences the other twelve residents of the zoo represent? (For hints, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html.)
You might also want to look out for the four possible ways to lose the game. But probably not.
Characters
Affero the Gnu was dozing in her stall until you approach her.
Beastie the Tasmanian Devil is suffering in his enclosure because some claws are embedded in his side. If you help him then touch him, he becomes a gnu!
Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle is fast asleep on the lower perch in the middle of the aviary.
Glenda the Rabbit is ghostly white in the field west of the storage area.
Miron the Condor is on a pole in the north end of the aviary. He appears as a vague silhouette in the darkness.
Mo the Gecko is lying on a stone in his tank in the reptile house.
Odi the Python rests on a branch in her tank in the reptile house. If you touch her, she becomes a gnu!
Sparky the Phoenix is sleeping on a coal burner in the south end of the aviary. The burning coals don't bother her at all.
Striker the Patchy Eagle is on the upper perch in the middle of the aviary. If you touch him, he becomes a gnu!
Tabby the Cat is sleeping on a bench at Lakeside. If you touch her, she becomes a gnu!
Tex the Lion stares at you from inside his enclosure. He's hungry and dangerous.
Vincent the Elephant is sleeping in his enclosure. I suggest that you don't try to wake him.
Lee, the keeper, left his keys in his hut. If you haven't escaped by 6 o'clock, he appears and takes you back to your enclosure.
Mentioned:
A junior keeper left your gate open.
Kangaroos and wombats are said to be west of the devil enclosure.
Credits
This is the response to ABOUT:
The inspiration for this game came from two sources, really.
First was the set of four mini-games written for the TuxRadar podcast: see http://tuxradar.com/content/podcast-season-2-episode-18. You will probably be able to detect elements of at least three of those games in this one.
The other was some work I did in the latter half of 2010 on data licensing. This game is nothing to do with data licensing, but the connection will hopefully become clear.
Special thanks go to Barbara Ball and Chris Ball for testing the game for me.
Endings
Tex's mouth and stomach are no mystery to you now.
if Tex the Lion eats you.
Fatal error: Vincent took exception.
if you try to wake Vincent the Elephant three times.
Wrong species type (expected help, got flamed).
if Sparky the Phoenix attacks you because you threw three lumps of coal at her burner.
There is no escape.
if you haven't escaped by 6 o'clock. Lee, the keeper, takes you back to your enclosure.
You have achieved freedom!
if you and your herd escape the zoo by smashing down the front gates.
Inventory
Held items
Note: You can only hold one thing in your mouth at a time.
a keyring. It's in the Keeper's Hut and there's six keys on it:
a brown key. It unlocks the aviary door.
a green key. It unlocks both the lizard tank and the snake tank.
a red key. It unlocks the devil enclosure gate.
a white key. It unlocks the elephant enclosure gate.
a yellow key. It unlocks the lion enclosure gate.
a black key. It unlocks the gnu enclosure gate.
some claws. They're the white lumps in Beastie the Tasmanian Devil's side.
Take the claws to remove them from Beastie's side; you'll automatically drop them. You don't need the claws. You just want to help Beastie.
a lump of coal. There are five lumps of coal in the coal sack at Aviary (South).
Note that you can't carry the coal sack. You must take one lump of coal at a time.
At Aviary (Middle), throw a lump of coal at the upper perch. Striker flies to the rail where you can now touch him.
Your gnu herd
Tell all the other gnus to follow you. You need every gnu you can get to bust down the front gates.
Affero the Gnu. She's in Affero's Stall.
Beastie the Gnu, originally Beastie the Tasmanian Devil. He's in the Devil Enclosure Itself.
Take the claws from Beastie's side, then lick him to turn him into a gnu.
Odi the Gnu, originally Odi the Python. He's in the snake tank in Reptile House (South).
Unlock the snake tank with the green key, then touch Odi to turn him into a gnu.
Striker the Gnu, originally Striker the Patchy Eagle. He's on the upper perch in Aviary (Middle).
Throw a lump of coal at the upper perch. This makes Striker fly off the perch and land on the nearby rail. Touch Striker to turn him into a gnu.
Tabby the Gnu, originally Tabby the Cat. She's sleeping on the bench at Lakeside.
Wake Tabby; she turns into a gnu.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 12, in several turns.
Points are awarded as follows:
1 point for unlocking the aviary door with the brown key.
1 point for unlocking the elephant enclosure gate with the white key.
1 point for unlocking the devil enclosure gate with the red key.
1 point for unlocking the lion enclosure gate with the yellow key.
1 point for unlocking the lizard tank with the green key.
1 point for unlocking the snake tank with the green key.
1 point for asking Affero the Gnu to follow you.
1 point for asking Tabby the Gnu to follow you.
1 point for asking Beastie the Gnu to follow you.
1 point for asking Odi the Gnu to follow you.
1 point for asking Striker the Gnu to follow you.
1 point for escaping from the zoo within four hours of game time.
Points are deducted as follows:
−1 point for locking any gate or door. For example, locking the gnu enclosure gate with the black key. You can regain the point by unlocking the gate again.
the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Mitch, Vivienne Dunstan, and Peter Berman;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen and Matthew Foxley;
