Re: Space and weight limitationin in text adventure


5 May 1995 19:06:36 GMT

In article <D80x09.M6p@discus.technion.ac.il>,
Assaf Razon <s2566657@techst02.technion.ac.il> wrote:
> Just a note for anyone who plans a text adventure game. I'm
>currently play *The Legend Lives* and, this is not criticism directed at
>Adventions latest production which I enjoy very much, but at all text
>adventures whose creators decided they should imitate Infocom games
>feature of limiting objects by weight and volume. This has *GOT* to be
>the most annoying feature in text adventure games. I guess makers of such

I've advocated physics before, at more detail. A realistic physics makes
the game more open-ended, because it lets the player develop the game in
ways the author hasn't thought of. A system of weight and volume is part
of that physics; overcoming those restrictions can be part of the plot.
I'm not talking about how many items you can carry; I'm talking about things
like getting Santa Claus down a narrow chimney, or getting a Volkswagen
Beetle out of your dorm room, etc. But if you treat the player character
the same way you treat any other object (and I *strongly* advocate doing
so), then the same restrictions must apply, re. size, capacity, and
strength.

Phil Goetz@cs.buffalo.edu