The Sueño is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2015 by Marshal Tenner Winter. This was entered in IF Comp 2015 where it took 17th place.
You play as Benji Evans, an average male university student in Philadelphia. You're usually broke, so you've come to the local hospital to earn some money by participating in a sleep study that will test the side effects of a new medication called The Sueño. It means dream in Spanish.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 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.
Waiting Room
> x me. i.
> x magazines. x couch. x receptionist.
The receptionist says you can go in now and unlocks the north door for you.
> n.
Corridor
> e.
Sleep Lab
> x machine. x Dr.
> talk to Dr. (new topics: Dr Lynch, MRI device, clipboard, sleep study)
Ask him about himself before attempting other topics.
> a dr.
> x clipboard. (new topic: new medication)
> a MRI device. a clipboard.
> a medication. (new topic: side effects)
> a side effects.
Dr Lynch asks if you've had a lucid dream?
>> yes —or— no
He now wants you to go to the dressing room and change into the dressing gown.
> n.
Dressing Room
For what it's worth, you don't need to use the toilet, and toilet-related verbs aren't supported.
> close door.
> x shoes. remove shoes. drop shoes.
> x jeans. remove jeans. put jeans on peg.
> x shirt. remove shirt. put shirt on peg.
> i. x socks. x shorts.
> x gown. wear it. x mirror.
> s.
Sleep Lab
Lynch gives you a pill in a cup, asking you to eat the pill.
> x pill. ("7178")
> eat pill. give cup.
> enter bed. (Lynch attaches the equipment to you, turns off the light, and goes into the observation room.)
> x equipment. x window. look through window.
>> SPACE
You fall asleep and wake up somewhere else...
Someone's Bedroom
In a few turns, the brain in the aquarium starts ordering you to take it.
> stand. x me. (You're still you.)
> i. (Your shoes and jeans are back, but with the gown.)
> x aquarium. x brain.
> talk to brain. (topics: brain, Lynch, sueño)
> a brain. a Lynch. a pill.
Well, those answers weren't helpful, but take the brain anyway.
> take brain.
> x posters. g. g. g. g.
> x glow. x cot. x TV.
> turn on TV. x it. g. g. turn it off.
> n.
Carpeted Junction
> look through window. (gray day, pines)
> knock on bathroom door.
> e.
Steamy Bathroom
> e. (You bump into a shower door.)
> open shower door. (locked; man's voice says he'll be out soon)
> s. (You find a toilet.)
> n. (You find a sink and fogged-up mirror.)
> x mirror. ("7178, see u tonite")
> flush toilet.
Because of the change in the water temperature, the naked man in the shower shrieks and runs out past you. (Note: Turning on the sink does not have the same effect.)
> e.
Shower Stall
> turn off water. (how? no knobs)
> x washcloth. take it.
> x drain.
> w. w. se.
Cozy Study
> x chair. x fireplace. x dwindling fire.
> x metal door. open it. (locked)
> look through window.
> x bookshelf. g. g. g. g. (There are many more than this.)
> clean metal door with washcloth. (Four dials were hiding under the soot.)
> x dials. x first dial. (from 0 to 9)
Set the dials to the number you saw on the bathroom mirror or the pill you ate. The number isn't randomized.
> set first dial to 7.
> set second dial to 1.
> set third dial to 7.
> set fourth dial to 8. (The safe door opens.)
> look in safe. take napkin.
> x napkin. ("remember- you are DREAMing")
This is a clue that DREAM is relevant command in this game.
> dream. (dream what?)
> dream diploma. (nope)
Maybe something more basic.
> dream water. (You're back at...)
Steamy Bathroom
Oh. So I'm guessing you can teleport to anything you've seen in the dreamworld?
> dream posters. (hm, no)
> dream cot.
Someone's Bedroom
> dream fireplace.
Cozy Study
Okay, so you can't quite dream everything you've seen, but several things.
> s.
Dining Room
> x boxes. w.
Kitchen
> x cupboards. open drawers. (You take a box cutter.)
> x cutter. e.
Dining Room
> open boxes. (using cutter; you acquire a floppy disk labeled "Read Me")
> x disk.
> w. nw.
Screened Porch
> x backpack. take it. open it. look in it. wear it.
Keep the box cutter handy, but everything else that's loose can go into the pack.
> put brain, disk, washcloth, napkin in pack.
> x needles. x chair. x screens.
> w.
>> SPACE
You briefly wake up in the lab and quickly answer a questionnaire before resuming the dream.
>> SPACE
Trees (near the screened porch)
> x gutters. x roof. s.
Trees (near the doghouse)
> x strange tree. x doghouse.
> look in it. (You acquire a spiked dog collar.)
> x collar. (Feel free to wear it, if you like.)
> n. n. ne.
Trees (near the small waterfall)
> x waterfall. x crag. x stream.
> ne.
Trees (near the overlook cliff)
> x cliff. x town. (no traffic)
> se. (You are blocked by dark entities like black rabbits.)
> a collar. (The brain suggests dreaming about it.)
> dream collar. (You're in the wrong location?)
> dream doghouse.
Trees (near the doghouse)
> dream collar. (There's now a black mastiff wearing the collar, guarding you.)
> x dog. pet dog.
The dog doesn't come with you if you teleport, so...
> n. n. ne. ne.
Trees (near the overlook cliff)
> se. (The mastiff chases off the spirits but doesn't return to you.)
> se.
Rocky Path
> x boulders. se. e. e.
>> SPACE
You wake, update Lynch briefly, then you fall asleep again.
>> SPACE
Woodside Lane
Note that when exploring the town, you often need to be explicit whether you mean a building or its door.
> x library building. e. (locked)
> n.
Woodside & Main
> x shop. (pharmacy)
> n. (locked)
The brain suggests smashing the door, but you need a tool for that.
> e.
Main Street
> x hardware store. n.
Hardware Store
> x dust. ("my name is richard lynch")
> a message. (The brain suggests you might not be in your dream anymore.)
> x shelves. x counter.
> look behind counter. (You acquire a hammer.)
> x hammer.
> s. w.
Woodside & Main
> hit door with hammer. n.
Pharmacy
> x sundries. x supplies. x items.
> x shelves. x counter.
> look behind counter. (You acquire a pad and pencil.)
> x pad. x pencil.
> rub pad with pencil. ("Richard Lynch is someone else. You're no longer in your own head. Despair and be forgotten.")
You also know time has passed in town; this means the bank is now open.
> put pad and pencil in pack.
> s. s. s.
Woodside & Cliff
The old key isn't for this door; library or church seems more likely.
> x bank. x door. s.
Bank Anteroom
> x body. search body. (You acquire a credit card.)
> x card. ("Dr Richard Lynch")
> x blood. x ATM. x device.
> put card in ATM.
> type 7178 in ATM. (You get a $20 bill.)
> x bill.
> put card in device. (South door unlocks.)
> s.
Bank Lobby
The guard seems to be the only ghost that notices you.
> x ghosts. x kiosk. x banking slips.
> x teller. x window.
> x guard. x vault.
> give bill to guard. (He accepts it, and the vault door opens.)
> w.
Bank Vault
> x boy. x boxes. x monocle. take it.
> put card and monocle in pack.
> e. n. n. e.
Cliff Street
> x post office. x logo.
> s.
Post Office
> x counter. look in local bin. (empty)
> look in out of town bin. (care package)
> x package. take it.
> open it. (no: unwrap it first)
> unwrap it. i.
> x paper. x package.
> open package. look in it.
> take old key. x it.
> put paper, package, key in pack.
> x posters. x wanted poster. (mugshot of Lynch with "Dr. Wallace Josephs - Physician to The Philadelphia Mob")
> n. e.
Church & Cliff
> x office building. x door. (dentist's)
> se.
Dentist's Office
> x sofa. x chair. x table. x placard.
Hey, I know you don't want to sit on this chair, but you know you gotta do it, right?
> sit on chair. (You're now paralyzed and a flying dental probe threatens you.)
> dream probe. (You banish it. Now you see a mirror on the table.)
> x mirror. put it in pack.
> stand. nw. n. n.
Church & Main
You won't venture northeast out of town; you feel this would disrupt the lucidity of your dreaming.
> x church building. x door. e. (locked)
> unlock door with key. (success)
> put key in pack.
> e.
Saint Josephs'
> x windows. x saints.
> x sign. ("Saint Josephs the Innocent")
> x ceiling. x pews. x altar.
> open squat door. e. u.
Rickety Belfry
> i. (Make sure you're carrying the box cutter directly. Take it from your pack if it's in there. You'll need it soon.)
> x bat. take bat.
> x bell. hit bell with bat.
You hear a door slam, and you know the library is now unlocked.
You don't know it yet, but the bell also alerted Wallace Josephs to your presence in the town, and he's now heading this way as fast as he can.
> d. w. w.
Church & Main
Wallace Josephs, a demented version of Dr Lynch, is now here, or will be here in a turn from now; wait here if you must. He only understands violence; you can only hit him with weapons: the box cutter, the baseball bat, and the hammer.
> x Wallace. (has bloody apron, cleaver, and a syringe)
You need something from his apron; you must attack with the box cutter to cut the apron off him. If your attack misses, try again. If he hits and kills you, UNDO your turn.
> hit Wallace with cutter.
Assuming success, the apron is now on the ground and Wallace fled. But because you've done most of the town already, he'll be back for round two very soon.
> z. (Wait for Wallace's return.)
> hit Wallace with bat.
Assuming success, Wallace is gone from this dream, for now. He's taken too much damage. (Of course, if you miss, keep trying to hit him until you succeed.
> take apron. x it. look in pocket.
> take clock. x clock.
> put apron and clock in pack.
> w. w. s. e.
Library Lobby
> x posters. x notices. x fern.
> x desk. x computer. (too new for your disk)
> n.
Computer Lab
> x computer. (disk drive, keyboard, monitor)
> put floppy in drive. ("Look up Wallace Josephs in the Reference section. Then set your biological clock to wake up.")
> s. ne.
Reference
> x control box. x beams.
> dream beams. (interrupt them)
> interrupt beams with mirror —or— block beams with mirror. (You damage the control box and the beams vanish.)
> x books.
> look up Wallace Josephs in books. (can't: print is too small)
> wear monocle.
> look up Wallace Josephs in books.
You learn where you can find evidence against Wallace Josephs in the real world.
> remove monocle.
There's no harm in exploring the rest of the library, is there?
> s.
Periodicals
> x magazines. x seats.
> x books —or— x newspapers.
> s.
Main Collection
> x books. w.
Juvenile Section
> x books. n.
Library Lobby
Time to finish this.
> take clock. set clock to wake up.
> z. z. z. z.
You wake up. Lynch doesn't know you were in his head. You go to collect the evidence.
*** Thus ends The Sueño ***
Found dead:
Mentioned:
The response to CREDITS is:
This game was submitted to IFComp 2015. Cover art by Gwen C. Katz. Special thanks to my writing group, the Interactive Fiction Faction, for their invaluable assistance during the writing of this work. Very special thanks to my betatesters: Toby Ott, "Radical" Al Golden, Neil Butters, Ivan Roth, Joseph Geipel, Matt Goh, Geoff Moore, Andrew Shultz, Hanon Ondricek, Francesco Tortorici and Jason Lautzenheiser.
The napkin tells you about the DREAM command, and to use it, you DREAM something or DREAM ABOUT something, where the thing is something you've already seen in the game.
And what does DREAM do? Well, it depends on what you dream about.
Teleportation. Sometimes you simply teleport to the thing you dream. For example:
Summon or Banish. For example:
Information. Sometimes you just think about the thing, remembering where you last saw it. You might also get a small hint on what to do with it.
Absolutely nothing. Sometimes the game gives you a null-response for some objects. The game really ought to say something as a default response, in my humble opinion, but whatever.
Note also:
While you have a generous carrying capacity, you will need to use your backpack if you insist on carrying everything you can.
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