"Backyard" by Aisa The story headline is "An interactive exploration". The story description is "A neglected backyard may hide many surprises; and maybe you do too. A domestic adventure for animal lovers.". Release along with an interpreter, cover art ("A magpie"), source text and an introductory postcard. [temp cover: ALAN SCHMIERER/Flickr/CC0 1.0] When play begins: say "When your weird uncle left you this run-down house in his will, you intended to sell it immediately; but now you're glad you've never got to it. After some life changes you decided to move here, and you're still making yourself at home. It's surprisingly comfortable - tiny, isolated, but on a decent-sized property. You've fixed up the inside, and now you're ready to take on the neglected backyard.". Part 1 - Scenery The Backyard is a room. "Your backyard is large. Very large[if grass-weed is in location] and in parts overgrown with grass[otherwise], with a big lawn[end if][if reeds are in location]; in one corner there's a patch of tall reeds[otherwise]; in one corner there's even a small pond[end if]. Behind the crumbling fence, a meadow is nibbled by an encroaching forest." The forest is scenery in the Backyard. "Bushes, saplings, young trees, and then a mass of tall trees of all kinds upon a thick underbrush. [one of]A bird flies up, circles and settles onto a different branch.[or]One bush shakes vigorously.[or]A large shadow moves far off through the trees.[purely at random]" . The meadow is scenery in the Backyard. "Sunny, with bees buzzing between the sweet smelling flowers." The fence is scenery in the Backyard. "By this point, it's more of a statement than an actual barrier. Rotten and half-eaten through boards have fallen down in several places." The grass is scenery in the Backyard. "[if the grass-weed is in location]Grotesquely overgrown.[otherwise]A nice lawn. You could dig a garden bed here, if you wanted.". Understand "lawn" as the grass when the grass-weed is nowhere. The reeds are scenery in the Backyard. "Tall and almost unpenetrable." The pond is scenery. "A hidden meadow spring forms a small pond by the edge of the yard.[if the lotus is in the pond] The surface is covered by large lotus leaves.[end if][if the reed nest is suitable] By the pond you see a reed nest." The pond is a container. Carry out inserting something (called the floater) into the pond: say "[The floater] doesn't need a swim." instead. The tree is a container in the Backyard. "A solitary tree is growing in the middle of the space.". It is fixed in place. The description of the tree is "A largish beech tree with nice thick branches.[if scythe is in the tree] A scythe is wedged high in the branches. It's probably safer not to speculate how it got up there.". Understand "beech" as the tree. A branch is part of the tree. The description of the branch is "Sturdy and reachable - like they were made for climbing." Instead of climbing the branch, try climbing the tree. Understand "branches" as branch. Instead of putting something on the branch, try inserting the noun into the tree. Instead of climbing the tree for the first time: say "You start climbing the tree. You go higher and higher, until you get within reach of the scythe. You give it a big push and it slides free. Unfortunately this is too much for your balance, and you start tumbling to the ground. You grab onto banches on the way, but still end up wheezing on your back in the grass. You stand up after a while, dust yourself and pick out all the twigs that caught on you during your fall."; now the scythe is in the location; now the scythe is described; now the bunch of twigs is carried by the player. Instead of climbing the tree: say "Considering your previous attempt, do you think it's such a great idea?" [Inside from the Backyard is the shed. ] The shed is a container in the Backyard. "A dinky wooden shed crouches to one side." The description of the shed is "A small unimpressive toolshed[if the shed is locked], securely closed and locked[end if].". The shed is opaque and locked. It is fixed in place. Part 2 - Definitions Use scoring. To acquire (animal - animal): choose a blank row in the Table of Diary Contents; now the topic entry is the topic corresponding to a critter of animal in the Table of Available Animals; now the heading entry is the heading corresponding to a critter of animal in the Table of Available Animals; now the reply entry is the reply corresponding to a critter of animal in the Table of Available Animals; now the diary is updated; increment score. To lose (animal - animal): decrement score. The maximum score is 9. A home is a kind of thing. A home can be empty or occupied. A home is usually empty. A home can be suitable or unsuitable. A home is usually unsuitable. Transforming is an action applying to one carried thing. Understand "transform [something]" as transforming. Carry out transforming: say "You don't know what to do with [the noun]." Landscaping is an action applying to one touchable thing. Understand "dig [something]" as landscaping. Check landscaping: if the player is not carrying the gardening equipment, say "With what, your bare hands?" instead. Carry out landscaping: say "You're not particularly inclined to landscape [the noun].". A growing-place is a kind of thing. Ripeness is a kind of value. The ripenesses are seedy, shooty, unripe and ripe. A plant is a kind of thing. A plant has a ripeness. A plant is usually seedy. A seed is a kind of thing. A seed has a plant called product. Instead of taking a plant (called a victim): if the victim is ripe, say "There's no need to harvest [the victim]." instead; otherwise say "[The victim] are not ripe yet.". Instead of cutting a plant (called a victim), try taking the victim. Every turn when a seedy plant (called a shoot) is in the location: say "The seeds you planted sprout almost immediately and start growing tender shoots."; now the shoot is shooty; rule succeeds. Every turn when a shooty plant (called a shoot) is in the location: if a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds: say "The [shoot] plants grow quickly."; now the shoot is unripe; rule succeeds. Every turn when a plant (called a shoot) is unripe: if a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds: say "[The shoot] are now fully grown and ripe."; now the shoot is ripe. Producing relates one plant (called the produce) to one growing-place. The verb to produce means the reversed producing relation. To say produce state of (bed - a growing-place): say "[if the bed produces something]There [are] some [produce of the bed] growing there[otherwise]It is empty[end if].[no line break]" Part 3 - Things Some half-eaten boards are in the fence. the half-eaten boards can be infested or vermin-free. They are infested. The description of the half-eaten boards is "Something has bored lots of tiny holes all through them.[if infested] In fact, the quiet scritching indicates it isn't done yet.[otherwise] You get the feeling these could be transformed into something useful.". Understand "rotten" and "eaten" as half-eaten boards. The half-eaten boards are undescribed. After examining the half-eaten boards for the first time: now the half-eaten boards are described. Instead of listening to the half-eaten boards, say "[if infested]... chomp ... chomp ...[else] ...". Some healthy boards are in the fence. The description of the healthy boards is "Reasonably solid wooden planks. You get the feeling these could be transformed into something useful.". The healthy boards are undescribed. After examining the healthy boards for the first time: now the healthy boards are described. Some needles are here. "Pine needles are scattered through the grass." The description of the needles is "There's quite a lot of them, but it wouldn't be too hard to gather them all.". A bunch of twigs is a thing. The description of the bunch of twigs is "A good handfull of thin twigs.". Understand "twigs" as the bunch of twigs. Some tools are a thing. The description of the tools is "Pretty much everything you'd need for small projects.". Understand "use [tools]" or "use [tools] on [something]" or "build [text] from [something]" or "build [text] out of [something]" as a mistake ("If you want to build something, try to TRANSFORM a likely-looking material instead."). Some reed stems are a thing. The description of the reed stems is "Strong and bendy, they urge you to weave them into something.". Understand "reeds" as reed stems. Some mud is a thing. The description of mud is "Blobs of grainy oozy muck.". A scythe is in the tree. The description of the scythe is "A classic scythe with a sharp blade." The scythe is undescribed. Instead of taking the scythe when the scythe is in the tree, say "You think you might be able to free it if you climb high enough.". The grass-weed is a privately-named thing in the Backyard. It is undescribed. Instead of cutting the grass when the grass-weed is in location: if the player is carrying the scythe: say "You cut all grass in the yard. In the process you pick up several tools that had apparently been lost over the time."; now the grass-weed is nowhere; now the player carries the tools; otherwise: say "You don't have anything to cut it with.". Instead of cutting the grass, say "The grass doesn't need cutting for now.". Instead of cutting the reeds: if the player is carrying the scythe: say "The reeds have been hiding a small pond. You've discovered that fact by sinking into it up to your waist; your pockets are still full of mud."; now the reeds are nowhere; now the pond is in the location; now the player carries the reed stems; now the player carries mud; otherwise: say "You don't have anything to cut them with.". Some gardening equipment is a thing. The description of the gardening equipment is "A hoe, shovel, clippers, and several other implements you don't know the proper names for; pretty much everything you need for gardening.". The garden bed is a growing-place. "[if the garden bed produces something]A garden bed full of [produce of the bed][otherwise]An empty garden bed[end if] lies in the middle of the lawn." It is fixed in place. Understand "grass" and "lawn" as the garden bed. The description of the garden bed is "A nice small garden bed. [produce state of the garden bed]". It is nowhere. Instead of landscaping the grass: if the player is not carrying the gardening equipment: say "You have no tools for that. It would be a nice place for a garden bed, though."; otherwise: say "You prepare a nice garden bed."; now the grass is nowhere; now the garden bed is in location. Instead of landscaping the grass when the grass-weed is in location, say "It would be a nice place for a garden bed, if the grass weren't so high.". Some flower seeds are a seed. "Small nondescript seeds. You could put them in a garden bed." The product of the flower seeds are the flowers. Some salad seeds are a seed. "Small nondescript seeds. You could put them in a garden bed." The product of the salad seeds is the salad-plant. Some flowers are a plant. The flowers are undescribed. The description of the flowers is "[if shooty]Just seeds, but some are already sprouting.[end if][if unripe]A bunch of leafy stems.[end if][if ripe]Colorful blooms catch the eye.[end if][if butterfly is in the location] A butterfly [one of]flutters around the flowers[or]is sitting on one bloom[or]startles and takes of from a flower[or]hovers above the biggest bloom[then at random]." The flowers are seedy. Understand "flower" as the flowers. Understand "seeds" and "sprouts" as the flowers when the flower seeds are not in location and the flowers are shooty. Understand "stems" as the flowers when the flowers are unripe. A bouquet is a thing. "A bunch of sweet-smelling flowers." Salad-plant is a plant. The printed name of the salad-plant is "salad". The salad-plant is undescribed. The description of the salad-plant is "[if shooty]Just seeds, but some are already sprouting.[end if][if unripe]A smattering of small curled leaves.[end if][if ripe]Thick heads of crisp green leaves.[end if][if the salad-plant is munched] A slug [one of]is chomping away on one leaf[or]is busily dining[or]has eaten most of them, though[stopping].[end if][if the salad-plant is colonised] A slug is happily munching on the leaves." The salad-plant is seedy. Understand "salad" as the salad-plant. Understand "seeds" and "sprouts" as the salad-plant when the salad seeds are not in location and the salad-plant is shooty. Understand "leaves" as the salad-plant when the salad-plant is unripe. Understand "heads" as the salad-plant when the salad-plant is ripe. The salad-plant can be munched, colonised or free. The salad-plant is free. The salad-plant is edible. Check eating a plant: if the noun is not ripe, say "It's not ripe yet.". Instead of inserting a seed (called a seedling) into the garden bed: if the garden bed produces something, say "This bed is already occupied." instead; say "You sow the seeds in the garden bed."; now the seedling is nowhere; now the product of the seedling is in location; now the garden bed produces the product of the seedling. Understand "plant [seeds] in [something]" and "sow [seeds] in [something]" as inserting it into. Instead of inserting a seed into something (called a pot): if the pot is not a container, say "The seeds won't probably grow well there."; if the pot is scenery, say "Now, if you had a garden bed somewhere...". Instead of taking a plant (called a victim) when the garden bed produces the victim: if the victim is not ripe, say "[The victim] are not ripe yet." instead; say "You harvest all the [victim]."; now the player carries the victim; now the garden bed produces nothing. Part 4 - Shed The shiny key unlocks the shed. After unlocking the shed with the shiny key: try opening the shed. A box of shavings is a container in the shed. It is fixed in place. In the box of shavings is a home called shavings. The shavings are privately-named and undescribed. The description of the box of shavings is "A box full of wooden shavings.[if shavings are occupied] Some small wriggles are happily munching inside.". A woodworm is an animal. Instead of listening to the box of shavings, say "[if occupied]... chomp ... chomp ...[else] ...". Check inserting something (called the thingy) into the box of shavings: if the thingy are the half-eaten boards, continue the action; otherwise say "You don't see the benefit." instead. After inserting the half-eaten boards into the box of shavings: say "Hmmm.... .... chomp chomp chomp chomp ...."; the boards clear in three turns from now. At the time when the boards clear: now the half-eaten boards are vermin-free; acquire woodworm; now the shavings are occupied. A glass jar is a container in the shed. Check inserting something (called the thingy) into the glass jar: if the thingy is the salad-plant, continue the action; otherwise say "You don't see the benefit." instead. After inserting the salad-plant into the glass jar: say "You make a bed out of the salad leaves and nestle the slug in it. The slug seems happy in its new home."; now the salad-plant is colonised. A shelf is a supporter in the shed. It is fixed in place. On the shelf is gardening equipment, some salad seeds and some flower seeds. Part 5 - Homes Section concerning Ants Some ants are animals. The description of ants is "Black ants industriously crawl in and out of the anthill.". The ants are undescribed. The anthill is a home. "[if occupied]You see a big anthill here.[else]A big heap of pine needles stands here." The description of the anthill is "[if occupied]It's itching with ants.[else]It's about knee high.". Understand "heap" as anthill. At the time when the anthill fills: say "You notice a trail of ants headed for the pile of needles."; now the ants are in the location; acquire ants; now the anthill is occupied. Instead of taking the needles: say "You rake all the needles in one heap."; now the needles are nowhere; now the anthill is in the location; the anthill fills in three turns from now. Instead of rubbing the needles, try taking the needles. Section concerning Woodpecker A woodpecker is an animal. The description of the woodpecker is "A black bird with a red cap.". The woodpecker is undescribed. Understand "bird" as the woodpecker. A birdhouse is a home. The description of the birdhouse is "Looks comfortable. [if occupied] It's occupied by a woodpecker.". Instead of transforming the healthy boards: if the player is carrying the tools: say "You construct a nice birdhouse out of the planks."; now the healthy boards are nowhere; now the birdhouse is carried by the player; the birdhouse hints in three turns from now; otherwise: say "You could build something out of the boards, but you lack the tools.". After inserting the birdhouse into the tree: now the birdhouse is suitable; say "You secure the birdhouse to the tree.". Instead of taking the birdhouse when the birdhouse is in the tree: say "The birdhouse looks fine where it is.". Every turn when the birdhouse is suitable for the third turn and the birdhouse is empty: say "A black bird with a red cap flies to the birdhouse, inspects it, and starts to make itself at home ."; now the woodpecker is in the location; acquire woodpecker; now the birdhouse is occupied. At the time when the birdhouse hints: If the birdhouse is unsuitable: If the birdhouse is carried by the player: the birdhouse hints in three turns from now; otherwise: say "A bird lands on the birdhouse, peers at it, jumps disdainfully and flies away.". Section concerning magpie A magpie is an animal. The description of magpie is "A black and white bird. One metallic blue feather catches the light.". The magpie is undescribed. Understand "bird" as the magpie. A twiggy nest is a home. The description of the twiggy nest is "A messy tangle of twigs. [if occupied] It's occupied by a magpie.". The printed name of the twiggy nest is "[if occupied]magpie nest[else]nest of twigs". Understand "twigs" and "magpie nest" as twiggy nest. Understand "weave [the bunch of twigs]" as transforming. Instead of transforming the bunch of twigs: say "You assemble a messy nest from the twigs. Good enough for a beak-less person."; now the bunch of twigs is nowhere; now the twiggy nest is carried by the player; the twiggy nest hints in three turns from now. After inserting the twiggy nest into the tree: now the twiggy nest is suitable; say "You cradle the nest in a fork of a high branch.". Instead of taking the twiggy nest when the twiggy nest is in the tree: say "The nest looks fine where it is.". Instead of putting the twiggy nest on the tree, try inserting the twiggy nest into the tree. Every turn when the twiggy nest is suitable for the third turn and the twiggy nest is empty: say "A black-and-white bird flies to the nest, inspects it, and starts to make itself at home."; now the magpie is in the location; acquire magpie; now the twiggy nest is occupied; the magpie strikes in three turns from now. At the time when the twiggy nest hints: If the twiggy nest is unsuitable: If the twiggy nest is carried by the player: the twiggy nest hints in three turns from now; otherwise: say "A bird lands on the nest, peers at it, jumps disdainfully and flies away.". At the time when the magpie strikes: say "The magpie returns to the nest with something shiny in its beak. When it flies away again, you undertake a thieving expedition and retrieve a small key from the nest."; now the shiny key is carried by the player. Section concerning bees A bee is an animal. The description of bee is "A hairy bee buzzes around.". The bee is undescribed. Understand "bees" as bee. A bug hotel is a home. The description of the bug hotel is "A bunch of boards with big holes. [if occupied] Several of the holes are occupied by mason bees.". The printed name of the bug hotel is "[if occupied]bee hotel[else]empty bug hotel". Understand "boards" and "holes" and "bee hotel" as the bug hotel. Instead of transforming the half-eaten boards: if infested: say "They are full of wrigglies."; otherwise: say "You put the boards together and prepared them for hanging up. They would make a nice bug hotel."; now the half-eaten boards are nowhere; now the player carries the bug hotel. After inserting the bug hotel into the tree: now the bug hotel is suitable; say "You hang the bug hotel on the tree.". Instead of taking the bug hotel when the bug hotel is in the tree: say "The hotel looks fine where it is.". Every turn when the bug hotel is suitable for the third turn and the bug hotel is empty: say "A mason bee flies out from a hole in the bug hotel and heads to the meadow. You notice several other holes are also occupied."; now the bee is in the location; acquire bee; now the bug hotel is occupied. Section concerning butterflies A butterfly is an animal. The description of butterfly is "A beautiful butterfly. Its wings are mainly red, with crazy patterns in black and royal blue.". The butterfly is undescribed. Every turn when the flowers are in the location and the flowers are ripe for the third turn: say "A butterfly flutters to one of the blooming flowers and starts to drink."; acquire butterfly; now the butterfly is in the location. Instead of taking flowers when the flowers are ripe: say "You cut the flowers and collect them into a bouquet. The butterfly tries to follow them for a bit, but finally gives up."; now the flowers are nowhere; now the player holds a bouquet; now the garden bed produces nothing; now the butterfly is nowhere; lose butterfly. Section concerning slugs A slug is an animal. The description of slug is "A brown slug, shiny with mucus.". The slug is undescribed. Every turn when the garden bed produces the salad-plant and salad-plant is ripe for the third turn: say "A slug crawls to a salad head and examines it with its feelers."; acquire slug; now the slug is in the location; now the salad-plant is munched. Every turn when the salad-plant is in the location and the salad-plant has been munched for 5 turns: say "All the salad has been eaten. The slug departs to juicier pastures."; now the salad-plant is nowhere; now the garden bed produces nothing; now the slug is nowhere; lose slug. Instead of taking the salad-plant when the salad-plant is munched: say "You collect the remaining salad together with the slug."; now the player carries the salad-plant; now the player carries the slug; now the salad-plant is colonised; now the garden bed produces nothing. After dropping the salad-plant: try dropping the slug; now the salad-plant is munched. Check inserting the salad-plant into a container: if the second noun is not the glass jar, say "The slug wouldn't be happy there." instead. Instead of taking the slug, say "The slug is happy where it is. Also, ew.". Instead of dropping the slug when the player carries the salad-plant, try taking the slug. Instead of eating the salad-plant when the salad-plant is not free, say "You prefer other proteins in your salad. In other words, ew.". Section concerning ducks A duck is an animal. The description of duck is "A colurful male duck, with his bill held proudly high.". The duck is undescribed. A reed nest is a home. The description of the reed nest is "A bunch of reeds artfully woven together. [if occupied] It's occupied by a pair of ducks.". The printed name of the reed nest is "[if occupied]duck nest[else]nest of reeds". Understand "reeds" and "duck nest" as reed nest. The reed nest is undescribed. Instead of taking the reed nest: say "The nest looks fine where it is.". Understand "weave [the reed stems]" as transforming. Instead of transforming the reed stems: say "You weave the reeds into a nest-like shape. You place it gently by the pond."; now the reed stems are nowhere; now the reed nest is in the location; now the reed nest is suitable. Every turn when the reed nest is suitable for the third turn and the reed nest is empty: say "A brightly coloured duck wades to the nest and finds it acceptable."; now the duck is in the location; acquire duck; now the reed nest is occupied. Section concerning frogs A frog is an animal. The description of frog is "Small, jewel green and shiny.". The frog is undescribed. A lotus is a home. The description of the lotus is "Great green leaves are floating on the water.[if occupied] A small frog sits squarely in the middle of the biggest one.". The lotus is scenery. Understand "leaves" as lotus. Instead of taking the mud: say "You clean most of the mud out of your pockets and plop it in the pond."; the lotus blooms in three turns from now; now the mud is nowhere. At the time when the lotus blooms: say "Lotus leaves start opening on the surface of the pond. That was... fast?"; now the lotus is in the pond; now the lotus is suitable. Every turn when the lotus is suitable for the third turn and the lotus is empty: say "A small green frog jumps out of your pocket onto the biggest lotus leaf."; now the frog is in the location; acquire frog; now the lotus is occupied. Part 6 - Literature A thing has some text called printing. The printing of a thing is usually "blank". Understand the command "read" as something new. Understand "read [something]" as reading. Reading is an action applying to one thing, requiring light. Check reading: if the printing of the noun is "blank", say "Nothing is written on [the noun]." instead. Carry out reading: say "You read: [printing of the noun][line break]". Report reading: do nothing. A book is a kind of thing. Understand "book" as a book. A book has a table name called the contents. A book can be stale or updated. A book is usually stale. A book has a text called the update-text. The update-text of a book is usually "[italic type]updating[roman type]". To update (scribbling - a book): if the book is updated: say "[update-text of the scribbling][line break]"; now the noun is stale; Instead of reading a book: update the noun; say "[printing of the noun][line break]"; say "You can read about: [line break]"; repeat through the contents of the noun: say "[heading entry][line break]". Instead of consulting a book about a topic listed in the contents of the noun: update the noun; say "You read: [reply entry][paragraph break]". Report consulting a book about: update the noun; say "You flip through [the noun], but find no reference to [the topic understood]." instead. Understand "read about [text] in [something]" as consulting it about (with nouns reversed). A diary is a book in the shed. The description of the diary is "A small battered book in your uncle's handwriting. It talks, in strangely cryptic terms, about observing animals and attracting them to you. Apparently it used to include sheafs of information on specific animals your uncle observed, but most of them got lost. It seems a nice place to keep your own observations, even if you won't be able to match its former glory." The contents of the diary is the Table of Diary Contents. The printing of the diary is "There are some loose pages, filled with notes on various animals.". The update-text of the diary is "Before reading further, you jot down some of your recent observations." Part B - Tables Table of Diary Contents topic heading reply "dragon/dragons" "Dragons" "Dragons are extremely rare nowadays; only a most talented and skilled .... [italic type](the rest of the page is charred.)[roman type]" with 10 blank rows Table of Available Animals topic critter heading reply "ants" ants "Ants" "Ants are social creatures that build antheaps from tree needles." "woodpecker" woodpecker "Woodpecker" "Woodpecker is a climbing bird recognizable by its red cap. " "magpie" magpie "Magpie" "Magpie is a black-and-white bird known for its fascination with shiny things." "duck/ducks" duck "Ducks" "Ducks are a common waterfowl. The males are colorful while the females are more inconspicuous." "frog/frogs" frog "Frogs" "Frogs are tail-less amphibians that live by ponds ond streams. They range in size from 1 cm to 30 cm and they're mostly green- or brown-coloured." "woodworm" woodworm "Woodworm" "Woodworm is a commen name for wood-eating larvae of several beetle species. They bore holes through wood before they emerge as adult insects." "butterfly/butterflies" butterfly "Butterflies" "Butterflies are insects with four large wings, which are often brightly colored. They feed on flower nectar and pollen." "slug" slug "Garden slug" "An apparently shell-less terrestrial gastropod mollusc. This all-around pest likes to feed onjuicy vegetables." [eaten boards - insect; whole boards - birdhouse; twigs - magpie nest; reeds - nest; lotus - frogs; salt - sheep; ]