I’ve started getting back into playing text adventure games, and even trying to write my own. However, I’m not going to release it when it’s done, it’s just for my own amusement and something to do in my spare time. Anyway, I got started programming in TADS, the Text Adventure Development System, a few years ago, and want to see what else I can do with it. I found some source code I had written, and all I can say is it’s nothing you’d want to see, but hey, we all have to start somewhere, right?
I also recently started playing MUD-based games (that’s Multi-User Dungeon), although the game I’m currently playing, Miriani, is a MOO. (Who names these things? First, MUD, now MOO (I’m not sure what that means), what’s next?) Anyway, this is a neat multiplayer text adventure game that allows you to do different things. For instance, you can buy a starship for salvaging debris, or go on different missions. There are lots of players, and various channels you can text-chat on, though there are some rules you have to observe when doing this. If you get stuck, no problem! There’s a Newbie channel that lets you ask questions about the game, and you can also ask players to assist you if you, literally, get stuck, which is what happened to me on my second day of playing. When I disconnected from the game, I was in my starship, but in space, rather than being on a planet with the power off. When I started the game later on, I discovered I was without a starship and back at the starting point! After putting in a request for help, my character went with a couple other players and we were able to get my ship back and working again. That’s something you couldn’t do in a regular text adventure!
If you’re interested in playing this game, I recommend also visiting Liam Erven’s Miriani Page, which allows you to download the MonkeyTerm client and files to make the game work with JAWS, as well as an awesome sound pack for certain game events, such as when your ship lands or takes off, beeps for communications, etc.
I also signed up to The Zone BBS after hearing about their games. These are my first impressions, but so far I’m not sure if I’m impressed with the site. I enjoyed playing Hangman and Blackjack, but there’s something wrong with the sounds in Blingo, a game where you have to guess a five-letter word. The game is supposed to play various beeps to let you know when a letter is in the right position, or if it’s correct but in the wrong position. It didn’t, unfortunately, do that for me, but just played what sounded like a three-note tone all at once. Oh well, I was able to figure out what was going on by reading the text. However, one thing I definitely don’t like is that you’re notified when someone puts you on their ignore list. Maybe there’s a way to turn that notification off, but that’s something I don’t need to see.
Well, I guess that’s all for now, I’m off to see what I can find in my luxury debris salvager in Miriani. That, and think about what’s going to be in Episode 6 of my podcast.