In this educational game, you are a student learning the Inform 6 programming language, using a simplified version called Inf. Complete 27 programming tasks; each task has detailed help and a worked example in its classroom. When you're ready, take the final exam to win.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of a work of interactive fiction. Please make an honest effort to play the work before reading this walkthrough.
Likewise, P 2 through P 27 take you to classrooms 2 through 27.
PLACE 99 or P 99 takes you to the Inform Laboratory.
PLACE 0 or P 0 takes you to a previous location, usually Campus Yard or Inform Laboratory, but not always.
CHANGE, BEGIN, or B takes you into or out from the Inner Game. The Inner Game is written by you and should mimic the classroom of whichever task you're currently working on.
T 99 (followed by YES or Y) takes you to your final exam.
Map 2: Classrooms / Inner Game rooms
The four locations you create in tasks 1 to 27 should mimic these four, but you can change the details.
Classrooms 1 and 2 are only the Simple Classroom.
Beginning in classroom 3, you can go south from Simple Classroom and visit the other three rooms.
Beginning in classroom 7, a locked door is east of West Classroom, but it's left open in classroom 9 and afterwards.
Beginning in classroom 20, you can cast DABRA to go from the West Classroom to return to the Simple Classroom.
Beginning in classroom 22, the player starts in the East Classroom.
Map 3: Final Region
"Plaza" is a location you must code yourself. Feel free to name it whatever you like. You must also code the connections to and from it.
Walkthrough
You are warned that this game has the potential to crash your interpreter and lock up your computer.
> SPACE
Explore the campus and get your stuff.
Leafy Quadrangle
> x me. i. x letter.
> x gate. x building. x path.
> e.
Administration Building Lobby
> x portraits. x carpets. x table.
> take all from table. x map.
> x box.(has eight switches and a dial)
> x lantern.
> x book.(The Book of Inf)
>> A
> 100(Introduction)
> 101(Inf and Inform)
The web-addresses given in section 101 are out-of-date.
Task 7: Add a locked door east from the West Room.
Inform Laboratory
> t 7. r 7.
> object
>> timber_door "timber door" west_room `
> name
>> "timber" "door" `
> with_key
>> brass_key `
> has
>> door static openable lockable locked `
> door_to
>> east_room `
> door_dir
>> e_to `
> when_closed
>> "A timber door in the east wall is tightly closed." `
> when_open
>> "The timber door is open; a tunnel leads east." `
> select west_room
> e_to
>> timber_door `(replacing the east_room reference)
> b.
Simple Room
< s.
West Room
< e. x door. open door.(locked)
< take key. unlock door with key.
< open door. look. e.
East Room
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 7.
Task 8: Add a switchable heater.
Inform Laboratory
> t 8. r 8.
> object
>> heater "heater" west_room `
> name
>> "heater" "space" "radiator" `
> has
>> switchable `
> when_on
>> "A space heater gives off pleasant warmth." `
> when_off
>> "There is a space heater here, but it is cold." `
> b.
Simple Room
< s.
West Room
< x heater. turn it on. look.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 8.
Task 9: Use debugging verbs. Open the door and cabinet.
I won't use any debugging verbs for this task, but I'll start using them from now on when I feel like it. My favorite debugging verbs are GONEAR, PURLOIN, and TREE. It's definitely not cheating to use them in this game!
> t 9. r 9.
> select timber_door
> has
>> door static openable lockable open `
> select cabinet
> has
>> container openable lockable open `
> b.
Simple Room
< s.
West Room
< x door. e.
East Room
< x ring. b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 9.
Task 10: Add a clear plastic case.
Inform Laboratory
> t 10. r 10.
> object
>> plastic_case "clear plastic case" east_room `
> name
>> "new" "clear" "plastic" "case" `
> has
>> transparent openable container `
> b.
Simple Room
< take old. gonear new case.
East Room
< open case. put tire in it. close case. look.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 10.
Task 11: Add a glowing ball.
Inform Laboratory
> t 11. r 11.
> object
>> glowball "glowing ball" plastic_case `
> name
>> "glowball" "glowing" "ball" `
> has
>> light `
> b.
Simple Room
< s. e.
East Room
< turn off lantern.
< take case and cabinet.
< d.
Cellar / Darkness
< i. open case. take ball.
< put ball in cabinet. close cabinet. open it.
< drop cabinet. close it.
< open it.(Can't open it now, since you can neither see it and you're not holding it.)
< purloin ball. look.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 11.
Task 12: Add a new tire that you can only call "tire".
Inform Laboratory
> t 12. r 12.
> object
>> new_tire "new tire" simple `
> name
>> "tire" `
> description
> "Congratulations on your new tire." `
> b.
Simple Room
< x new tire. x tire.
< drop lantern. take old and chocolate.
< s.
West Room
< drop old and chocolate. gonear lantern.
Simple Room
< x tire. take lantern. b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 12.
Task 13: Make identical dark balls.
Inform Laboratory
> t 13. r 13.
Take care to make sure the name property matches exactly with these two new items.
> object
>> ball1 "dark ball" plastic_case `
> name
>> "dark" "ball" "balls//p" `
> plural
>> "dark balls" `
> object
>> ball2 "dark ball" plastic_case `
> name
>> "dark" "ball" "balls//p" `
> plural
>> "dark balls" `
> b.
Simple Room
< s. e.
East Room
< open case. x ball. x dark ball. take it.
< take dark ball from case. i.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 13.
Task 14: Gain points for taking the ring or visiting the cellar.
Inform Laboratory
> t 14. r 14.
> select ring
> has
>> scored `
> select cellar
> has
>> scored '
> b.
Simple Room
< turn on lantern.
< s. e.
East Room
< take ring.(+4)
< d.(+5)
Cellar
< b.(−9)
Inform Laboratory
> m 14.
Task 15: Add a vanishing cube.
Inform Laboratory
> t 15. r 15.
> object
>> cube "shy cube" simple `
> name
>> "shy" "cube" `
> description
>> [;
>> remove cube;
>> "The cube fades under your intense stare, then vanishes.";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< x cube. look. b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 15.
Task 16: Add a car tire with take/drop messages.
Inform Laboratory
> t 16. r 16.
> object
>> car_tire "car tire" simple `
> name
>> "car" "tire" `
> description
>> "This is the biggest tire yet." `
> after
>> [;
>> take: "You take the tire, a truly awkward thing to carry.";
>> drop: "The tire hits the ground with a hollow thwonk.";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< x car tire. take it. drop it.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 16.
Task 17: Block taking the cube. Make the cube hum.
Inform Laboratory
> t 17. r 17.
> select cube
> before
>> [;
>> take: "An unseen force field deflects your hands.";
>> listen: "It hums faintly.";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< take cube. look. listen to cube.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 17.
Task 18: Make a smelly tasty cheese.
Inform Laboratory
> t 18. r 18.
> object
>> cheese "smelly cheese" workbench `
> name
>> "stinky" "smelly" "cheese" `
> has
>> edible '
> before
>> [;
>> smell: "The cheese is really strong, perhaps a Maroilles.";
>> taste: "Delicious in spite of the powerful aroma.";
>> ] `
> after
>> [;
>> take: "You grab it, getting stinky cheese all over your hands.";
>> eat: "It is so good you eat it all, to your later regret.";
>> drop:
>> remove self;
>> "A St. Bernard bounds in and runs off with the cheese.";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< s.
West Room
< take cheese. smell it. taste it. eat it.
< purloin smelly. drop it.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 18.
Task 19: Define ABRAC to reset the cheese and cube.
Inform Laboratory
> t 19. r 19.
> push abracsub.
>> [abracsub;
>> move cheese to workbench;
>> move cube to simple;
>> "The cheese and cube are now back where they started.";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< x cube. s.
West Room
< take cheese. eat it. abrac. look.
< gonear shy cube.
Simple Room
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 19.
Task 20: Define DABRA to take you from West Room to Simple Room.
Inform Laboratory
> t 20. r 20.
> push dabrasub.
>> [dabrasub;
>> "You feel a bit odd for a moment, but nothing happens.";
>> ] `
> select west_room.
> before
>> [;
>> dabra:
>> print "With a lurch you find yourself in...^";
>> playerto(simple);
>> return 1;
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< dabra. s. e.
East Room
< dabra. s.
West Room
< dabra.(You teleport to...)
Simple Room
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 20.
Task 21: Add a sweet poison pill.
Inform Laboratory
> t 21. r 21.
> object
>> pill "pink pill" simple `
> name
>> "pink" "pill" `
> has
>> edible `
> before
>> [;
>> taste: "Tastes sweet.";
>> ] `
> after
>> [;
>> eat:
>> deadflag = 1;
>> "Oh no, it was a poison pill!";
>> ] `
> b.
Simple Room
< take pill. taste pill.
< eat pill. undo
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 21.
Task 22: Start the player with key and in East Room.
Inform Laboratory
> t 22. r 22.
> push initialise.
>> [initialise;
>> location = east_room;
>> move brass_key to player;
>> "^^^^^^Welcome, player!";
>> ] `
> b.
East Room
< i.(You should have the key.)
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 22.
Task 23: Make a bathtub and a magic rug.
Inform Laboratory
> t 23. r 23.
> object
>> tub "white bathtub" cellar `
> name
>> "white" "tub" "bathtub" `
> has
>> open enterable static container `
> object
>> rug "prayer rug" east_room `
> name
>> "prayer" "rug" `
> has
>> enterable supporter `
> description
>> "It needs cleaning, but which text game has a dry cleaner?" `
> before
>> [;
>> go: "The rug uncertainly carries you in that direction.";
>> ] `
> b.
East Room
< x rug. get on it. s. e. d.
Cellar
< stand. get in tub.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 23.
Task 24: Make a machine that does something every turn while on.
Inform Laboratory
> t 24. r 24.
> r 900.(ga is a global var you can use.)
> object
>> machine "machine" cellar `
> name
>> "machine" `
> has
>> switchable `
> description
>> "It's rather bizarre. It has a back fan, lots of plastic tubing,
>> and blocks to move and squash the tubes." `
> after
>> [;
>> switchon:
>> startdaemon(self);
>> "The machine gulps in some air.";
>> switchoff:
>> stopdaemon(self);
>> ga = 0;
>> "The machine coughs, then falls silent.";
>> ] `
> daemon
>> [;
>> ga = ga + 1;
>> if (ga > 4) ga = 1;
>> ] `
> each_turn
>> [;
>> if (self hasnt on) return 0;
>> if (ga == 1) "The machine shouts ~School!~";
>> if (ga == 2) "The machine shouts ~Boys!~";
>> if (ga == 3) "The machine shouts ~Get!~";
>> if (ga == 4) "The machine shouts ~Toys!~";
>> ] `
> b.
East Room
< d.
Cellar
< x machine. turn it on. z. z. z. z. turn it off.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 24.
Task 25: Fine-tune the machine's and new tire's names.
Inform Laboratory
> t 25. r 25.
> select machine
> name
>> "machine" "noisy" "silent" `
> short_name
>> [;
>> if (self has on)
>> print "noisy ";
>> else
>> print "silent ";
>> ] `
> select new_tire
> article
>> "the elusive" `
> short_name
>> "tire with one name" `
> b.
East Room
< d.
Cellar
< turn on machine. look.
< turn off machine. look.
< u. s. dabra.
Simple Room
< take all tire. b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 25.
Task 26: Add a dog that stops you from eating the pill.
Inform Laboratory
> t 26. r 26.
> object
>> dog "shaggy dog" simple `
> name
>> "shaggy" "dog" `
> has
>> animate `
> initial
>> "A shaggy dog is watching you curiously." `
> life
>> [;
>> attack: "No, you don't want to do that.";
>> kiss: "You pet the dog, which it accepts as its due.";
>> default: "The dog is puzzled by your behavior.";
>> ] `
> react_before
>> [;
>> eat:
>> if (noun ~= pill) rfalse;
>> "The dog grabs your arm before you can eat the pill.";
>> ] `
> b.
East Room
< s. dabra.
Simple Room
< x dog. hit dog. kiss dog.
< take pill. taste pill. eat pill.
< ask dog about pill.
< b.
Inform Laboratory
> m 26.
Task 27: Put a blank diploma in the cabinet. Win with 100 points when you cast DABRA on the diploma.
Inform Laboratory
> t 27. r 27.
> object
>> diploma "blank diploma" cabinet `
> name
>> "blank" "diploma" `
> description
>> "The diploma is missing your name. To sign it,
>> cast dabra on it." `
> before
>> [;
>> dabra:
>> deadflag = 2;
>> score = 100;
>> "The dabra spell works its magic and the diploma is yours!
>> Your mother will be so happy.";
>> ] `
> b.
East Room
< x diploma. dabra diploma.(+100)
*** You have completed your coursework. ***
You are offered the chance to UNDO the win and take the final exam.
< undo
< b
Inform Laboratory
> m 27.
The Final Exam
> read book. E. 99.(Doesn't tell you much, does it?)
> t 99.
...proceed? y
(somewhere)
The first step is to create a new location, and go from here to there. In the process, you'll drop the lantern and it turns itself off, but you don't really need it any more. If you want it back, so you can read your book, PURLOIN LANTERN and turn it back on.
< select somewhere
< s_to
>> plaza `
< object
>> plaza "Plaza" `
< description
>> "This is a lovely plaza on the campus." `
< has
>> light `
< s.
Plaza
A wooden map case appears! But it has no name.
< select
< name
>> "wooden" "map" "case" `
< has
>> openable container `
< take case. open it.(A scrap of paper is inside!)
< select paper.
< name
>> "piece" "paper" "scrap" `
< take paper. x paper.
Well, that was unhelpful. But the TREE debugging command now shows a new room that didn't exist before: Western Bank of the Raving River, and the V command without any arguments tells you its object_name is "riverbank".
Did you forget about the V command? It was mentioned in section 103 of your book. It becomes very useful in the final where you don't know the object_names of anything new.
< tree. v.
< select plaza
< e_to
>> riverbank `
< e.
Western Bank of the Raving River
< e.(no, you would drown)
Let's remake the rug, but restyle it as a raft.
< object
>> raft "raft" riverbank `
< name
>> "raft" `
< has
>> enterable supporter `
< before
>> [;
>> go: "The raft glides along the water.";
>> ] `
< enter raft. e.
Middle of the Raving River
< v h.(You can't disembark here.)
< e.
East Side of the Raving River
< v h.(You can't disembark here either.)
< u.(Yes, ride the raft upwards. Why not?)
Top of the Eastern Cliffs
< v h. n.(blocked by vault door)
< object
>> rusty_key "rusty key" raft `
< name
>> "key" "rusty" `
< take key.
< select vaultdoor
< name
>> "door" "vault" `
< with_key
>> rusty_key `
< unlock door with key. open door. n.
Vault
< v.(The gold loon's object_name is goldbird.)
< select goldbird
< name
>> "loon" "gold" "bird" `
< take loon.(Need a burly troll.)
Make sure the troll is burly, or this won't work.
< object
>> troll "burly troll" vault `
< name
>> "troll" "burly" `
< has
>> animate `
< orders
>> [;
>> take:
>> move noun to troll;
>> "~Sure.~ The burly troll picks it up.";
>> default: "~Afraid I can't help you there.~";
>> ] `
< troll, take loon.
*** You have passed the final examination. ***
Extras
ASCII art
Examine your campus map to see this lovely artwork:
Inform School Campus
N
|
W --+-- E Numbered Classrooms
| (use 'place' to enter)
S |
|
|
|
Main _ _ _ _ Leafy _ _ _ _ Administration Campus
Gate Quadrangle Building Yard
\ / |
\ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ / |
|
|
Inform
Laboratory
and
Stone Ruins
Characters
Igor is a lab assistant, initially in the Campus Yard. He can do a demo for you, and he appears if your code has serious errors in it.
A Second Assistant Under Dean stops you from going north from the lobby.
A campus cop stops you from going south from the lobby.
A guard dog is guarding the pill in the Simple Classroom beginning with classroom 26.
Dean Mildew tears up the classroom's diploma if you cast dabra on it. She also congratulates you when you successfully complete the final.
A burly troll is the only character who can take the gold loon.
A green frog is what you become if you dare kiss Igor. You return to normal five turns later.
Mentioned:
Your widowed mother made generous contributions to the administration building renovation fund to ensure you were accepted at the school.
Students are mentioned when describing parts of the school.
Credits
The game's credits are displayed before the game's prologue:
Credits
Graham Nelson and Andrew Plotkin have made many contributions to our world. Without Inform and "Lists and Lists" this game would not be.
Larry Kwong tested "Informatory" and suggested it be made into an honest tutorial. This is the result.
Jennifer Vaughan, Neil Cerutti, and Barbara Wood tested the game. They earned their many thanks.
Notes
This game may not work at all on some versions of the Z-Machine since it relies on some obscure features that may not have been implemented or may have been improved away. See the appendix on Z-Machines in the Book of Inf. It does work on WinFrotz. If you get a crash when attempting to create or modify objects, try the split command as discussed near the end of Section 104 of the Book of Inf.
All comments will be gratefully received. They should be sent to email redacted.
Endings
You have died
if you eat either poison pill.
You have given the dean indigestion.
when you cast DABRA on the classroom's diploma.
You have completed your coursework.
when you cast DABRA on your copy of the diploma (assuming you coded the diploma correctly).
You have passed the final examination.
when your burly troll takes the gold loon.
It's also possible to crash the game, but I made no attempt to do that on purpose.
In theory, it's also possible for the game to mess up your computer with a wild write to memory outside the game's bounds, but this is rather unlikely with modern Z-machine interpreters.
Inventory
In this sort of game, every object in the game (including the rooms!) can potentially end up in your inventory, but for sanity's sake, I'm only documenting intended inventory items here.
Outer game items
your admission letter. You're carrying it.
Read it. It explains what to do first.
a campus map. It's on the fancy table in the administration lobby.
a small switch box. It's on the fancy table in the administration lobby.
There's a lot of switches on the box to control how verbose the error-checking messages are. I ignored it.
a lantern. It's on the fancy table in the administration lobby.
It's a light source. Turn it on for light in the School Cellar and your version of the cellar. It never runs out of fuel.
Turn the lantern off for task 11, when you're testing your version of the glowing sphere.
You accidentally drop the lantern after a few turns into the final exam, and the "(somewhere)" location is unlit. Feel free to either PURLOIN the lantern back into your inventory or create a new light source.
a book. This is the Book of Inf; it's on the fancy table in the administration lobby.
Read it to see a table of contents and to select a chapter from A to F. Numbered sections can be read just by typing their number. You can also type NEXT to go to the next section.
Very helpfully, the numbered sections 1 through 27 correspond to tasks 1 through 27.
a task assignment list. It's on the fancy table in the administration lobby.
Read it. There are 27 tasks. To read an individual task, use TASK or T followed by the task number.
To mark a task as done, use MARK or M followed by the task number.
Classroom items
Note that you are expected to re-create all of the classroom rooms, their connections, and their contents by completing your tasks. So by the time you're ready to take your final exam, every classroom object will have its twin on the shelf in the Inform Laboratory.
an old tire. Introduced in task 2: It's in Simple Classroom.
Examine it.
a chocolate tire. Introduced in task 2: It's in Simple Classroom.
This is a simple example of something edible. Examine it and eat it.
a cabinet. Introduced in task 4: It's in East Classroom.
This is an example of an opaque openable container.
Beginning in task 5, the cabinet is locked and unlocked with the brass key. Also, a gold ring is now in the cabinet.
Beginning in task 9, the cabinet is now initially open.
In task 11, take the cabinet to the cellar to test how the light of the glowing sphere is blocked when the sphere is inside the closed cabinet.
a brass key. Introduced in task 5: It's on the workbench in the West Classroom.
The key unlocks the cabinet.
Beginning in task 7, the key also unlocks the heavy door.
Beginning in task 22, the player holds the key when first entering the classroom region.
a gold ring. Introduced in task 5: It's in the cabinet.
Beginning in task 14, taking the ring awards you 4 points.
a wooden block. Introduced in task 6: It's in on the workbench in the West Classroom.
The block is an example of something with another thing that's part of it, in this case, a silver disk. This component-of relationship is not well-modelled in Inform 6; the workaround used in this example is to put the disk in the block, make the block transparent (so the disk is visible and in scope), but make sure the block is not a container (or supporter), so the disk can't be taken. If the block needed to be a container or supporter, this workaround couldn't be used.
a heater. Introduced in task 8: It's in the West Classroom.
This is an example of a switchable object, something you can turn on and off.
a clear plastic case. Introduced in task 10: It's in the East Classroom.
This is an example of a transparent openable container. Because it's transparent, you can see its contents even when it's closed.
Beginning in task 11, the glowing sphere will be in the case.
Beginning in task 13, two dark spheres will also be in the case.
a glowing sphere. Introduced in task 11: It's in the clear plastic case in the East Classroom.
This is an example of a light-source, when you're not using the lantern.
a new tire. Introduced in task 12: It's in the Simple Classroom.
This is an example of a disambiguation problem. Since the player can only refer to it as a "tire", it can't be easily interacted with when the old tire, chocolate tire, or car tire are also visible.
Beginning in task 25, the new tire gets customized article ("the elusive") and short_name ("tire with one name") properties.
two dark spheres. Introduced in task 13: They're in the clear plastic case in the East Classroom.
This is an example of identical objects.
a shimmering cube. Introduced in task 15: It's in the Simple Classroom.
The cube fades away when you first look at it.
Beginning in task 19, you can cast ABRAC to return the cube to the Simple Classroom.
a car tire. Introduced in task 16: It's in the Simple Classroom.
This tire has custom responses when it's taken or dropped.
a strong cheese. Introduced in task 18: It's on the workbench in the West Classroom.
This is an example of something with a smell and a taste. It also has specialized responses to taking, dropping, and eating it.
Beginning in task 19, you can cast ABRAC to return the cheese to the workbench.
a pill. Introduced in task 21: It's in the Simple Classroom.
The pill is poison. If you eat the pill, you die. Type UNDO immediately to continue playing the game.
Beginning in task 26, a guard dog blocks you from eating the pill in its presence.
a small rug. Introduced in task 23: It's in the East Classroom.
It's an example of a vehicle. You can stand on it and travel while on it.
a machine. Introduced in task 24: It's in the School Cellar.
This switchable object produces a message every turn while the player is near it.
Beginning in task 25, the machine is styled as either a silent machine (when off) or a clanking machine (when on).
a parchment diploma. Introduced in task 27: It's in the cabinet in the East Classroom.
Cast DABRA on the diploma to win the game with a score of 100, except this win is immediately negated by Dean Mildew because it's just the classroom example. UNDO that false win. You must create a diploma of your own and dabra it.
Final exam items
a wooden map case. It appears in your created location when you leave the "somewhere" location.
Edit the map case's name field so you can refer to it.
Give the map case openable and container attributes.
Now open the map case to discover a piece of paper inside.
Open the map case, then edit the paper's name field so you can refer to it. Take the paper then read it.
a rusty key. You must create a key, but it doesn't have to be "rusty"; that's just what I called my key.
After creating your key, edit the vaultdoor's name field (so you can refer to it) and its with_key field (so it's equal to this key). Now you can unlock the vault door with this key.
Score
The response to SCORE is the standard:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 100, in several turns.
Points are awarded as follows:
4 points for taking the gold ring (classroom/task 14 and after).
5 points for entering the cellar for the first time (classroom/task 14 and after).
Also, your score is set to 100 when you cast DABRA on the diploma (classroom/task 27).
However, all points are removed when you leave the classroom or inner game regions. This game isn't about awarding you points, only in teaching you how to code earning points when writing Inform 6 games.
