Key & Compass presents:
Inspiration!
by Jacob Polar

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Characters, Credits, Endings, Inventory, Score
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at Unofficial homepage, IFDB, and ifwizz.
  • Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Map

Walkthrough

You're trying to write a new interactive fiction game, but you need inspiration. You've decided to walk around, then return to your office when you're ready.

>> SPACESPACESPACE

Office

> x me. i. x window. (locked)

> x clock. x desk. x laptop.

In Release 2 only:

> turn on laptop. x notepad. x pencil.

Continuing:

> e. (+5)

Corridor

> x rug. x photo. (+5)

> e.

Bedroom

Don't kill the fly just yet, please. And don't examine the phone; you'll lose points!

> x fly. x bed. x table.

> x bookshelf. read Africa. g. g. g.

> read Pieces. g. g. g.

> s.

Bathroom

> x mirror. x smudge.

> x sink. x soap.

> x shower. x holder. x roll. take it.

> x toilet. sit on toilet.

This only works if you have the toilet paper roll, and I found it difficult to guess-the-verb; CLEAN, RUB, and WIPE didn't work:

> take smudge —or— remove smudge. (+5)

> n.

Bedroom

Now that you have some toilet paper, you can deal with the fly better:

> kill fly. take fly. (+10)

> w. s.

Kitchen

> x counter. x stove. x table.

> x fridge. open fridge. (+5)

> look in fridge.

> x lemon. eat it. (no)

> x potato. eat it. (no)

> x milk. drink it. (+5)

> x bottle. close fridge.

> n. n.

Front Lawn

> x tree. x chair.

> sit on chair. (+5)

> stand. (Make sure you're off the chair before listening.)

> listen. listen. listen.

> s.

Corridor

> w.

In Release 2, you're asked if you're sure:

>> yes

Your game is fantastic, and it's praised by everyone, including newspapers!

*** The End ***

There is no AMUSING text, but if there were, I'm sure it would suggest trying to TAKE every scenery object in the game.

Extras

Characters

• A fly is buzzing around in your bedroom.
• One of your neighbors is mowing their lawn.
• Birds chirp after the lawnmowing is over.

Mentioned:

• The previous owners were good gardeners.
• Your sister gave you the lemon.
• Other people play and review your game. Some may be so inspired to write their own games.
• Emily Short and Charles Dickens are name-dropped in the best ending.

Credits

There are no true credits, but this is the response to ABOUT in Release 2:

This is version 2 of 'Inspiration!' which makes some minor fixes, medium fixes, and major fixes. It also expands the world slightly; adding more objects and making the already existing ones more complete. I did consider adding a highly explosive garden gnome too, but that's for a later project. Below is the original 'about'.

This game was written in about one (1) day, twelve (12) hours. But some additional, minor corrections were made the next day. Apple trees aren't supposed to be portable, reassembled doesn't have a "-" and such. If you find any bugs (in this perfect game?!) please send an email to email redacted and tell me the commands needed to reproduce the problem. This email address by the way, can also be used to send feedback in general, comments, suggestions and just about anything. Now, get back to that game! =)

Endings

Every ending in this game ends with The End, but the details vary.

• You die (by losing consciousness and bleeding to death) if you break the window in the office.
• You don't even write a game, if you return to the office with 0 points.
• Your buggy game is widely panned, if you return to the office with 5 points.
• Your game gets very poor reviews, if you return to the office with 10 points.
• Your game gets some harsh reviews but a few people like it, if you return to the office with 15 points.
• Your game gets some nice reviews, if you return to the office with 20 points.
• Your game gets mostly good reviews, if you return to the office with 25 points.
• Your game inspires new authors and you become a successful author, if you return to the office with 30 points.
• Your game is universally loved, and you're compared to both Emily Short and Charles Dickens, if you return to the office with 40 points.

Note: There's a bug (in both versions) that prevents you from returning to the office with 35 points. Oops. Assume that your ending would have been very good indeed.

Inventory

There is no inventory limit, and while I encourage you to try to take absolutely everything you can just for the lulz, you only need to take the toilet paper roll, the fly, and the bottle of milk.

• your laptop. It's on your desk in your office.
• Leave it on the desk. You can't open it or turn it on.
• your notepad and your pencil. They're in your office. (Release 2 only)
• You don't need either of these new items.
• a fly (dead). A fly is buzzing in your bedroom.
• While holding some toilet paper, kill the fly and take it to get 10 points of inspiration.
• "Animals of Africa" and "Famous Musical Pieces". Both books are on your bedroom's bookshelf.
• You can read random parts of both books, but neither inspires you today.
• a soap. It's on the sink in your bathroom.
• You don't need the soap.
• a toilet paper roll. It's on the holder in your bathroom.
• While holding some toilet paper, kill the fly in your bedroom and take it to get 10 points of inspiration.
• While holding some toilet paper, take the smudge on your bathroom mirror to get 5 points of inspiration.
• There's a disambiguation problem when the roll is in the bathroom; you can't easily refer to the actual toilet. Try leaving the roll in another room if you wish to interact with the toilet.
• a lemon, a potato, and a bottle of milk. They're all in your kitchen refrigerator.
• Drink the milk to get a glass bottle and 5 points of inspiration. You can try to eat the lemon, potato, or bottle but you won't eat any of them for different reasons.

Score

This is the response to SCORE:

You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 40, in several turns.

Points are awarded as follows:

• 5 points for leaving the office.
• 5 points for examining the photo in the corridor.
• 5 points for taking the dead fly (without the toilet paper roll),
  or 10 points for taking the dead fly (with the toilet paper roll).
• 5 points for opening the refrigerator for the first time.
• 5 points for drinking the milk.
• 5 points for sitting on the log chair on the front lawn.
• 5 points for taking or removing the smudge from the bathroom mirror using toilet paper.

Points are deducted as follows:

• −5 points for examining the telephone in your bedroom.

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!