Loyalists Preserve Past Through Text-Only Games

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "'You are at the edge of a clearing with an impressive view of the mountains. A trail splits off toward some standing stones to the southwest, while the main road emerges from the forest to the east and continues westward down the hill, via a series of switchbacks.' So begins 'A New Life' (downloadable from here), part of a group of game hobbyists going back to text-only basics. They try to keep the genre alive by posting their titles online for free and meeting in chat rooms dedicated to the craft, the Wall Street Journal Online reports. 'Console games are demanding,' says Mike Snyder, a 33-year-old computer programmer in Wichita, Kan. 'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back and play more.'"

d'oh

[rbochan]

I have been eaten by a grue :(

What fun

[AKAImBatman]

You wake up.

> get up

You can't get up, it's dark.

> turn on light

You turn on the lamp.

> get up

You can't get up. You've got a headache from that hangover.

> look in pockets

While you look in pockets, your house is demolished by a bulldozer.

Try Again?[y/n]

#$@@#$! That's the third time in a row! !@#%!#@ text games!

You are in a twisty maze of comments

[Anonymous Coward]

...all alike.

This is a game I could play

[Anonymous Coward]

... at the prompt: go make a sandwich,.

Now if it told me to grab a beer while I was up I'd be addicted to playing.

Text mode Quake, anyone?

[Ragetech]

QUAKE II
Copyright (c) 1991-2001. All rights reserved.

West of steaming pit of hell
You are standing in an open room west of a steaming pit of hell leading down.
There is a gun here.

>

(recycled: http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/12/31/ 043214&tid=112 [slashdot.org])

--

RageTech

Like the Amish

[NardofDoom]

They'll produce wonderful text-based games, and people from the cities of MMORPG and FPS will travel out to them to buy blankets and marvel at their monochrome screens.

WTF?

[Anonymous Coward]

'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back and play more.'"

It's called the Pause button. Frickin' old people..

Re:Love text adventures

[Snarfangel]

You have to realize, though, that we only use words like "xyzzy," "zorkmid," and "blorple" on formal occasions.

Re:d'oh

[hungrygrue]

Does that mean I have to change my name now?

Re:d'oh

[Prospero's Grue]

Does that mean I have to change my name now?

I hope not.

Re:d'oh

[meringuoid]

I have been eaten by a grue :(

> WHAT IS A GRUE?

Re:d'oh

[Anonymous Coward]

This grue you speak of sounds terrifying - can you provide a screenshot?

Re:d'oh

[rubberbando]

'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back and play more'

It was much worse in my case, I took a bathroom break and came back to find that my SANDWICH was eaten by a grue. :(

Re:hmmm...

[cyber0ne]

That's part of the beauty of Everquest. You don't have to play it at all and it's still just as interesting.

Slashdot as a text game ...

[Hulkster]

Computer is on
> Surf to /.
Page Loads - no recent stories
> Reload 7,512 times
A new story pops up
> Click on the story
Nothing to see here - move along
> Reload 389 times
You see the new story
> Write pithy First Post comment - hit Submit
Comment accepted - 8/8
> Reload page
Your comment is gibberish because you didn't preview it
> Reload page again
Comment moderated to -1 as Troll
> Change race to Elf
Change not accepted - you are now permanently cursed as a Troll.

Re:You are in a twisty maze of comments

[Anonymous Coward]

> North

Re:hmmm...

[mustafap]

'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back

Must have been written in Java then.

Re:Love text adventures

[meringuoid]

Um... you learned English from text adventures?

Please tell me that when you first met a native English-speaker, you did not greet them with 'Hello sailor'...

Re:Text mode Quake, anyone?

[meringuoid]

You hear a distant sound of rending flesh to the SE

> nw

Welcome to the World of Slashdot

[Nom du Keyboard]

You are in a Slashdot article with 3 mod points left. There's an obvious Troll on your left that deserves to be modded down to negative infinity. Ahead of you is a post you really want to respond to. The Reply button beacons to the right, offering you a chance to get your original thoughts higher up on the page. The Back button will return you to the mundane world.

>_

Re:Love text adventures

[Golias]

Was the main exercise that tought me English pretty early.

You must be a lot of fun around the office.

"Hey, which way is it to the bathroom in this building?"

"Get up; go left; y; y; door; light; use stall."

"Uh... thanks."

Re:d'oh

[broggyr]

Want some rye?

Of course you do!

Re:WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, "TEXTMODE QUAKE"?

[Eric604]

I am the only who feels a sudden urge to ask him for the source code of Quake?

Re:WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, "TEXTMODE QUAKE"?

[BushCheney08]

I say you should go for it. I think he might have it, despite his repeated assertions to the contrary. Be sure to put "STUPID QUESTION" in the subject line.

Re:d'oh

[IdleTime]

Posting AC since I have modpoints and wanted to mod the parent -1 TROLL ...

Re:d'oh

[AviLazar]

So basically have Galstaf with you?

"I am Galstaf, Sorcerer of Light!"

"I cast Magic Missile at the darkness!"

Re:d'oh

[IdleTime]

Duh...

I have to quit smoking herb....

Re:You are in a twisty maze of comments

[zardor]

You are in a twisty maze of articles. ...all alike

Re:d'oh

[BushCheney08]

Hey dude. You really should change your homepage. All that comes up is the "Apache has been successfully installed!" page. Fucking noobs...

Oh Man...

[psbrogna]

Oh man, I have to know how to read to play these games!? That doesn't sound like much fun at all.

Re:d'oh

[meringuoid]

Posting AC since I have modpoints and wanted to mod the parent -1 TROLL ...

> MOD -1 TROLL WITH NASTY KNIFE

Re:Can't Belive nobodys mentioned...

[Lord Dimwit Flathead]

I'm glad you like it. FCD #3 was my crowning achievement, you know.

Re:d'oh

[Destoo]

/
Specify unknown object by cursor? [ynq] (q) n
Specify what? (type the word) Grue

I don't have any information on those things.


And a good thing this is.. Can you imagine grues in Nethack?

Re:What fun

[Pollardito]

that's more of a cultural problem, as apparently bucket-excreting slugs aren't common in north america. if they were, that solution would have been obvious

A hollow voice says "Plugh"

[Ranger]

You find yourself transported to a site containing a worthless slashdot story about text adventure games. You make a witty comment that you hear FORTRAN is making a comeback. Your post is moderated Troll.

Just what I'm looking for

[ChrisF79]

FTA: 'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back and play more.'

And that's the kind of excitement I'm looking for.

Not only text games

[Sierpinski]

'With text games, you can sit there at the prompt, go make a sandwich, then come back and play more.'"

I do this in WoW all the time. Hit 'Stealth'. Go make a sandwich, etc. Come back, and I'm still stealthed. In the unlikely event (mostly depending on where I am when I go afk) that I die, I can just resurrect. Sure I'm out a few silver for repairs, but at least I have a sandwich!

It certainly is...

[DeafByBeheading]

After being burned to a crisp by the dragon in King's Quest, you were told something about how by venturing too close to the dragon's flame, you made an ash out of yourself.