Re: [bookclub] Prose style in 'Losing Your Grip'

[Second April <dns361@merle.acns.nwu.edu>]

On Fri, 4 Feb 2000, Paul O'Brian wrote:

> On Fri, 4 Feb 2000 icallaci@my-deja.com wrote:
> > 
> > The question is: do I write the description as best I can and get
> > docked for not implementing every object mentioned in it, or do
> > I limit the description to objects I can code and get docked for
> > not providing rich descriptive text? It's very difficult to strike
> > a balance between these two extremes, and I'm *very* interested in
> > how other i-f authors handle it.
> 
> Two principles can ease the burden here:
> 
> 1) Aliasing. Say you're describing a computer, with a keyboard, monitor,
> CPU, mouse, cables, CD-ROM drive, etc. Creating one object whose names
> include "drive", "CD-ROM", "computer", "keyboard", "mouse", "cables",
> "monitor", "CPU", and "screen" allows you to mention lots of things in
> descriptions, all of which refer to the same one object. The nice thing
> about this compromise is that not only does it escape the appearance of
> failing to code objects, but it also gives the savvy player a hint that it
> won't be important to do anything with, for example, the cables
> specifically. Of course, the granularity with which you employ this
> technique depends a lot on what level of detail you want to implement -- 
> like many things, it can be taken too far.

In general, this is a good idea and it works well. There are some games
out there, however, that give a general alias but still expect you to look
at the component parts. I-0 is the one that comes to mind, since the
player was asked to infer most of the internals of the car--and with all
respect to Adam and to I-0, this drives me nuts. The virtue of the usual
convention "if it's not mentioned in the room description, it's not there"
(unless of course it's nested in something else) is that it allows the
player to know when she's checked out everything relevant in a given
room--whereas X DRIVER'S SEAT, X PASSENGER'S SEAT, X GLOVE COMPARTMENT, X
TAPE DECK, X STEERING WHEEL, X REAR VIEW MIRROR, X DASHBOARD, X DRIVER'S
SIDE WINDOW, X PASSENGER'S SIDE WINDOW, X DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR, X
PASSENGER'S SIDE DOOR...well, you see what I mean. That Adam was
thoughtful enough to code a lot of this stuff in I-0 just raised the
uncertainty level--okay, if the interior of this car is this exhaustively
detailed, there must be something more here.

Admittedly, the problem is including the relevant pieces in a reasonably
interesting room description, and there generally isn't a lot to say about
a glove compartment and a passenger's seat. But frankly I think that's
better than the alternative.

Duncan Stevens
dns361@merle.acns.nwu.edu

But buy me a singer to sing one song--
Song about nothing--song about sheep--
Over and over, all day long;
Patch me again my thread-bare sleep.

--Edna St. Vincent Millay