Moon-Shaped is a Z-machine version 8 interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2006 by Jason Ermer. It was entered in IF Comp 2006 where it took 5th place. At the 2006 XYZZY Awards, it was a finalist in two categories (Best Story and Best NPCs).
In this game partly inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, you play as Rosalind Wechsler, a girl on the cusp of her 13th birthday. What begins as a trip to Grandmother's house in the woods leads to disturbing family secrets, and may end in a family reunion, death, or both.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on both Releases 1 and 2 of the game. Although I originally wrote this walkthrough for Release 1, I try to note where gameplay is different for Release 2, so you should be able to use this walkthrough for either version 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.
Your Home
It's almost your thirteenth birthday. You plan to deliver stuff to Grandmother, who should've been here yesterday. You're also angry with your mother, who always uses the occasion of your birthday to cry about the twin brother you never knew.
> x me. (You are Rosalind, daughter of Gretchen and Rolf.)
> i. x basket.
> n. (No. You don't want to disturb your mother.)
> x jar. x bottle. x bread.
> take all from table. put all into basket.
> x bed. look under bed.
> x chest. open it.
> x cape. take it. wear it. (Ready to go.)
> x stove.
> e.
Your Front Porch
> x porch. x field. s.
On the Path to Grandmother's House
> x path. sw.
Edge of the Woods
In this cutscene, a wolf steps into your path and addresses you. Rosalind chats with him politely and tells him that she's going to her grandmother's house and explains where it is. They walk together for a bit. Rosalind is lost in thought, still angry with her mother. When the wolf points out she's missing the scenery, she turns to look. The wolf leaves her during this distraction.
NOTE: In Release 2: you'll only need to push SPACE five times, not six.
... SPACESPACESPACESPACESPACESPACE
Field of Wildflowers
Picking flowers is optional. Go any direction from here.
CAUTION: In Release 1: "smell bouquet" throws an Inform 7 run-time error in this location. This error is fixed in Release 2.
> pick flowers. x bouquet. put bouquet in basket.
> s.
Lost in the Woods (two locations)
Any direction will do. Just keep moving.
> s. s.
Covered Bridge
The bridge marks the break between the prologue and the game proper. Once you're past this location, you cannot return to the bridge.
> smell bouquet. (This works properly in Release 1, away from the Field, but is superceded by any general location smell in Release 2.)
> x bridge. x leaves. n.
Wooded Path
Note that it's a full moon tonight. Considering that the game itself is called "Moon-Shaped", you might already be expecting werewolves in this story.
> x moon. nw.
Clearing
> x fence. x oak trees. x house.
> n. n.
Living Room
Something's wrong. Grandmother is not here and there's signs of a struggle.
> x quilt. x bed.
If you're playing Release 1:
> look under bed. (You find and take some white gloves.)
If you're playing Release 2:
> move quilt. look. take gloves.
Continue looking about:
> x gloves. x window. x chair. x clock. open clock. (No obvious way to do that.)
> w.
Kitchen
> x stove. u.
Crawlspace
> x glint. (A locket. Pewter, not silver; looks like the full moon.)
> take locket. open it. (It won't open, but you remember Grandmother doing it.)
> d. (In Release 2, you'll automatically wear the locket at this point.)
Kitchen
In Release 1, the cellar door's existence isn't as obvious.
> d. open cellar door. (It's locked.)
Let's check outside.
> e. s. w.
Side Yard
I found it odd that the broken window isn't implemented here, but perhaps it's on another side of the house?
> x wood. search wood. x log. (It's a walking stick.)
> x hatchet. take it.
> x well. x bucket. look in well.
> enter bucket. (Note that "enter well" and "d" don't work. You must specifically enter the bucket.)
Bottom of the Well
> x key. take it. n.
Cellar
You sense there's more here that you can't see. A clear clue to return with a light-source.
In Release 1:
> unlock door with key. open door. e. (to Kitchen)
In Release 2:
> e. (to On the Cellar Stairs)
On the Cellar Stairs
NOTE: This location doesn't exist in Release 1. It serves to move the cellar door away from the dark cellar. I suppose the author wanted it to be quite clear that any light from the kitchen can't reach into the cellar proper.
> unlock door with key. open door. e. (to Kitchen)
Kitchen
> e. s. s. e.
Firefly Glen
You need a clean jar for the fireflies.
> x fireflies. e.
On the Lakeshore
Mondscheinsee is German for Moonlight Lake.
> x lake. x post. x chain.
> pull chain. x boat.
> enter boat. (You go to Center of the Lake.)
Center of the Lake
> open locket. (It opens in full moonlight.)
A long textdump. You experience the vision of locket, as seen from the crawlspace through someone else's eyes, of a wolf killing the viewer's father. Remember that the clock stopped at 2:35 am.
In Release 2, you get a new command "concentrate on something" which allows you to re-experience the vision associated with that object.
You also feel pulses of energy from the key and the walking stick.
Now that the locket is "charged" with moonlight, you'll start to get visions from various places and things. The locket is your Grandmother's, so the visions will always be memories of things that she saw and did.
> x locket. x images.
If you're playing Release 1:
> wear locket. (You need to wear the locket to get visions from other items. In Release 2, you're already wearing it.)
Examine the items that you felt energy from:
> x key. (The vision of key reveals how the key was thrown into the well.)
> x stick. (The vision of the walking stick reveals that it belonged to a witch, and that waving it changes the smell of the air.)
> pull chain. (You return to shore and disembark.)
On the Lakeshore
> open jar. taste honey. wash jar. (Objects can be washed at any water-source location. Alas, the honey cannot be saved by pouring it into another container first.)
> w.
Firefly Glen
> catch fireflies.
> w. n.
Grandmother's Front Garden
The vision of the garden reveals Grandmother reunion with her father after being lost after she and her brother were lost.
In Release 2, use the command "concentrate" to re-experience a vision associated with the current location.
> n.
Living Room
> set clock to 2:35. (As per the vision of the locket. The clock opens, revealing a jacket.)
> x jacket. (For a boy; several pockets.)
> search jacket. (You find white pebbles.)
> x pebbles. (Hint to examine them again under moonlight.)
By the way, we can't put the pebbles back; the jacket/pockets aren't a container. You can wear the jacket if you like, but there's no reason to.
> w. w.
On the Cellar Stairs
In Release 2, go west once more:
> w.
Cellar
You see a fragment of glass with the aid of the fireflies.
> x glass. (It's a monocle.)
> take monocle. x monocle. (The vision of the monocle: The witch uses the monocle to search for your Grandmother and find her.)
Leave the cellar:
> e. (if Release 1) —or— e. e. (if Release 2)
Kitchen
Head back outside:
> e. s.
Grandmother's Front Garden
> x pebbles. (It's necessary to examine the pebbles outside. In Release 2, the vision of the pebbles happens now. In Release 1, it happens one turn later.)
> s.
Clearing
The vision of the pebbles is revealed under moonlight: You see Grandmother's brother, Hansel, tell his plan to leave a trail of stones so they can find their way home.
After having had the vision of the pebbles, you now see a trail of white stones already on the ground. Follow the trail:
> se.
Wooded Path
The vision of the Wooded Path: You see Grandmother's father, goaded by her stepmother, leading Grandmother and her brother into the forest to abandon them.
Note: The game won't tell you go south to the bridge from here since you haven't yet learned what happened to your grandmother.
> e.
Marshy Patch
Speckled mushroom here. I'm going to ask you ignore the mushroom for now, please.
> x mushroom. x pools.
> ne. nw.
Bramble Thicket
The vines/brambles can't be cut by the hatchet. The path through them isn't visible at all until the stone trail is revealed.
> x vines. ne.
Burned Ground
Vision of the Burned Ground: Anger and fear. Hansel and your grandmother discover the witch's house.
> wear monocle. (You see a cage with candies.)
You are unable to do much of anything while ensorcelled by the sight of the candies.
> x cage. x candies. blink. (The monocle falls and the cage and candies vanish.)
> x oak tree. x grass. x patch.
> eat bread.
> take monocle. wear it. (Candies aren't quite so alluring now.)
The vision of the cage: Your grandmother finds Hansel trapped in the cage.
> take candies. (You can't quite reach them.)
> x candies. (The vision of the candies reveals the death of the witch, burning in her own oven, chanting something you don't understand.)
> push candies with stick. take candies.
> remove monocle. sw. w.
Misty Area
> x mist —or— x depression.
> n.
Cave Opening
In release 2, you get a vision: The witch swings her stick before heading into the cave.
> x cave. x mountain.
> n. (The air smells of almonds, and the ground is like dough. You can't approach the cave.)
> wave stick. (Cool air blows from the cave. You can now go get closer.)
> n. e.
Cavern
> x inscriptions. (Foreign to you.)
> look through monocle —or— wear monocle. (The inscriptions sparkle.)
> x inscriptions. (You can read them now, through the monocle.)
Long textdump. The witch was the keeper of a curse, La Maledizione del Lupo, the Curse of the Wolf.
A cursed man become wolves by the full moon's light, trapped until a new moon restores him. A cursed woman carries the curse in her blood to her children. The cursed children, in turn, become werewolves and pass the curse to their children. Cursed people cannot touch silver.
To break the curse, one must pour something ("a sprinkling of my sweet temptation") onto the bones of the first person who died of the curse.
> x table.
A spontaneous vision: Hansel suicides after confessing to Gretel that he was the wolf who killed his father. For this vision to unlock, you must have both seen the vision of the candies and read the inscriptions through the monocle. The locket remains hot, and several more visions appear in subsequent turns:
> x mortar. (The message on the mortar is only visible if you're wearing the monocle.)
> x pestle. x box.
> open box. x dagger. (Silver and shiny.)
> take dagger. (Hurts to carry with bare hands. Your blood snarls.)
> remove monocle. (Can't walk around while wearing it.)
> take box.
> take mortar. take pestle.
> put candies in mortar. crush candies with pestle.
> x powder. drop pestle.
> w. s. s. sw. sw.
Top of the Waterfall
> x waterfall. x stream. x ledge. x slope.
> sw.
Bottom of the Waterfall
Vision of the Bottom of the Waterfall: Gretel will find a place near here to bury Hansel.
The waterfall is directly east. The stream blocks everything south.
Earlier in the game, there's no obvious way through the ferns either, but if you've triggered the vision of Hansel's suicide, you'll see the path to the north.
> x waterfall. x stream. x ferns. x rocks.
> drink water.
Both the mortar and tin box are dirty and can interfere with glove-wearing later, if you need to wear gloves.
> put mortar and tin in basket.
> save.
> n.
Graveyard
You find two graves and the wolf!
> s. (wolf won't let you leave.)
> x wolf. x stone grave. (Rainer's.)
> x wooden grave. (Hansel's.)
> open it. x bones.
There's eight official endings possible. Choose one, but it's clear that Ending 1 is the best.
There's also a death by mushroom ninth ending, but it's not part of the endgame in the Graveyard.
| Choose Your Ending: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curse lifted: | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no | no | no |
| You survive: | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | no | no |
| Grandmother survives: | yes | yes | no | no | yes | no | yes | no |
| Father/wolf survives: | yes | no | yes | no | no | no | yes | yes |
> cut wolf with hatchet. (Grandmother crawls out from wolf's belly.)
> put powder on bones.
Release 1:
You have lifted the curse and saved both your father and grandmother. Your family is free and whole again.*** (This is ending 1 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
That is, "The fairy tale is over."
> cut wolf with hatchet. (Grandmother crawls out from wolf's belly.)
> drop stick. wear gloves.
> cut wolf with dagger. (He dies in flames.)
> put powder on bones.
Release 1:
You have lifted the curse and saved your grandmother. Your father, however, has died.*** (This is ending 2 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> put powder on bones.
Release 1:
You have lifted the curse and saved your father. Your grandmother, however, has died.*** (This is ending 3 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> drop stick. wear gloves.
> cut wolf with dagger. (Wolf and grandmother die in flames.)
Release 1:
> put powder on bones.
You have lifted the curse and saved yourself. Your father and grandmother, however, have died.*** (This is ending 4 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> cut wolf with hatchet. (Grandmother crawls out from wolf's belly.)
> drop stick. wear gloves.
> cut wolf with dagger. (He dies in flames.)
> s. s. (Hansel's bones are consumed.)
Release 1:
You and Grandmother survive. You failed to lift the curse, however, and your father is dead.*** (This is ending 5 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> drop stick. wear gloves.
> cut wolf with dagger. (Wolf and grandmother die in flames.)
> s. s. (Hansel's bones are consumed by flames too.)
Release 1:
You survive. You failed to lift the curse, however, and your father and grandmother are both dead.*** (This is ending 6 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> cut wolf with hatchet. (Grandmother crawls out from wolf's belly.)
> s. s. (The wolf kills you. Grandmother crawls away.)
Release 1:
You have died. Your father and grandmother survive, though they remain held under the Curse of the Wolf.*** (This is ending 7 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
> s. s. (Wolf kills you.)
Release 1:
You have died, and you failed to save your grandmother. Your father survives, though he remains held by the Curse of the Wolf.*** (This is ending 8 of 8) ***
Release 2:
*** Das Märchen ist vorüber. ***
Marshy Patch
The mushroom is an example borrowed from section 4 of The Inform Designer's Manual Fourth Edition by Graham Nelson.
> x mushroom. take mushroom.
> eat mushroom. (There's a 30% chance it will kill you. Keep trying to eat it until you die.)
*** You have died ***
"Credits and Thank Yous" are a menu item accessed via the ABOUT command. These are the credits from Release 2:
Credits and Thank Yous
The creation of this game has been inspired, influenced, and made possible by a number of different people. Special Thanks to...
- Graham Nelson, Emily Short, David Kinder, and the rest of the Inform 7 Contributors: For giving me the ability to write (and learn how to write) a game like this in the first place. Inform 6 was great, Inform 7 is amazing.
- Emily Short, Eric Eve, John Ingold: For their extension writing, which has provided me (and many others) with a great deal of flexibility.
- The very talented yet anonymous artist who created cover art for Moon-Shaped and submitted it as part of Emily Short's IF cover art drive in the spring of 2008. Thank you!
- Shawn Tyson: Play tester, proofreader, and idea man. Your help has been invaluable.
- Beta Testers: James Jolley, Mara Meijers, Marius, Jason O., Reiko Yukawa. Each brutally honest comment improved this project -- both the story the game-play -- greatly. Thanks for your input, and your patience.
- Michael S.: For listening to me get excited about this stuff, as lame as you might consider it to be. :) La-a-a-ame!
- Paul O'Brian: His reviews of past IFComp entries got me so excited about IF that they led me to write my own. I can see why Stephen Granade says, "His reviews are often better than the games they're about." (Read them at:
ucsu.colorado.edu/~obrian/IF.htm#Reviewhttps://spot.colorado.edu/~obrian/IF.htm)
Items are listed in the order they're acquired in this walkthrough.
Here is a list of visions that the locket can provide. If you're playing Release 2, use the command "concentrate" in a location to re-experience its associated vision, or "concentrate on something" to re-experience the vision associated with that specific object.
I shall attempt to put the visions in chronological order:
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with
Ko-Fi is a way to send me small one-time donations. Every little bit helps, and thank you!