Suppose we want to remind the player that he doesn't have all the time in the world, by starting to nag him when he's nearly, but not entirely, done going over his inventory in preparation for a job.

"The Prague Job"

A thing can be seen or unseen. A thing is usually unseen. Carry out examining: now the noun is seen.

The player carries a lockpick, a smoke bomb, a grappling hook, and a pair of gloves. The description of the lockpick is "Effective on most kinds of key locks, it is a gift from your mentor in the discipline, old Wheezy." The description of the smoke bomb is "Your last of these, so you should rely on it only when other modes of escape have vanished. It takes effect when dropped, producing a cloud of purple haze sufficient to fill a medium-sized room." The description of the grappling hook is "Good for shooting at balconies and other sorts of overhang." The gloves are wearable. The description of the gloves is "Black and shiny, with gripping material on the palms. Batman would be jealous."

The Toilet is a room. "The walls are painted an unattractive green; the fixtures are a bit old. But it is the only place in the hostel with any privacy." The Long Hallway is outside from the Toilet.

Reviewing Possessions is a scene. Reviewing Possessions begins when play begins.

Escalating Danger is a scene. Reviewing Possessions ends when Escalating Danger begins. Escalating Danger begins when preparations near completion.

To decide whether preparations near completion:
    if at least two of the things which are carried by the player are seen, yes;
    no.

When Escalating Danger begins: say "Someone pounds on the door of your hideout and yells at you in Czech."

Instead of going from the Toilet during Reviewing Possessions: say "You need to go over your equipment first, and make sure you're ready here."

Instead of going from the Toilet during Escalating Danger: say "You're not done checking over your materials."

Instead of waiting during Escalating Danger: say "There's no time to waste."

Every turn during Escalating Danger: if the time since Escalating Danger began is greater than 1 minute, say "Impatient footsteps pass your door again."

Escalating Danger ends when every thing which is carried by the player is seen. When Escalating Danger ends, say "There -- nothing damaged or torn. You're ready to go."

Mission is a scene. Mission begins when the player is in the Long Hallway. When Mission begins: end the story saying "The game is afoot"

Test me with "i / x lockpick / out / x bomb / out / x hook / x gloves / out".

The power of scenes lies in their ability to watch for general conditions and move the narrative along whenever these are fulfilled. Instead of waiting for the player to do one specific thing, the game waits for the world to be in a certain condition, before moving to the next stage of the plot.

For instance, suppose we have a story in which the player has been captured for doing something inappropriate at court and is brought in to await a meeting with a palace official. We want to give the player a few minutes to stew, and we want the scene to end with him doing something mildly peculiar or embarrassing, and the official catching him in the act. So we tempt him into trying any of a number of different kooky activities, and just wait until he falls into the trap...

"Entrapment"

Waiting Suite is a room. "You find yourself in a narrow room, more cozy than is really comfortable, with dark paneling on all the walls. Underfoot is a thick carpet the color of dried blood. The head of a dragon kit is mounted on the wall."

The wood paneling is scenery in the Waiting Suite. The description is "Just the sort of ornate panels that might conceal a carved switch. You've heard all sorts of rumors about secret rooms and passages in the palace, some of which have not been opened in centuries because no one remembers how to get at them." Understand "panels" or "panel" or "panelling" as the paneling.

Instead of switching on the paneling, say "First you'll have to locate any switches or catches with a careful search."

The thick carpet is scenery in the Waiting Suite. Understand "red" or "blood" or "rug" as the carpet. The description is "A dull, unwelcoming weave, only a touch redder than the wood around you. You discern that it does not lie perfectly flat."

Instead of touching the paneling for the first time: say "You run your hands over the paneling with a methodical touch, knowing exactly what you're looking for but never quite feeling anything that gives or twists; then thump lightly, looking for hollow spaces."

Instead of touching the paneling for the second time: say "With increased vigor, you run your fingers along the borders between panels, then smack each panel sharply at the center. No luck yet, but if you keep at it, you're bound to turn up anything that's there to find."

Instead of attacking the paneling: try touching the paneling. Instead of searching the paneling: try touching the paneling. Understand "knock on [something]" or "tap [something]" or "tap on [something]" as attacking.

After touching the paneling when the player is not confident:
    say "Having polished off all the panels within easy reach, you now have to contort yourself around furniture here and crawl along the floorboards there, hitting each panel three times quite solidly before moving on.";
now the player is embarrassed.

Instead of looking under the carpet for the first time:
    say "You take a corner of the carpet and tug. The floor is sticky, so it doesn't come up on the first try."

A small table is an enterable supporter in the Waiting Suite. On the table is a copy of Dragon Pursuit Today. The description of Dragon Pursuit Today is "Full of glossy illustrations of dragons in various stages of capture, captivity, and destruction. The back of the magazine contains small black-and-white advertisements for hunting kits and the like." Some advertisements and some illustrations are part of Dragon Pursuit Today. The description of the illustrations is "You have the misfortune to look first at the photographs accompanying 'Cleaning Dragon Splanchna', and feel quite unwell." The description of the advertisements is "Mostly terse ads and phone numbers."

After looking under the table:
    say "It's quite a low table and you have to get down on your knees and poke your head underneath in order to get a good look."

After looking under the carpet:
    say "You pull again at the carpet. There is a tug, then a tearing, as the ancient fabric struggles against the fabric glue. Some of the carpet winds up in your hand and some of it remains in patchy threads adhering to the floor."

After entering the table:
    say "You climb onto the small table, noticing belatedly that you are leaving muddy footprints on its polished surface. Oh well: you can wipe them away again when you get down."

The dragon head is scenery in the Waiting Suite. Understand "kit" or "mouth" as the dragon head. The description is "Its eyes are wide with bewildered surprise; its mouth gapes, its forked tongue protrudes indignantly. From down here it looks as though there's something shiny stuck in its mouth, though you can't tell for sure." The head contains a shiny thing. The description of the shiny thing is "Intriguing but impossible to see clearly." Instead of taking the shiny thing, try searching the dragon head.

Before searching the dragon head:
    if the player is not on the table, try entering the table;
    if the player is not on the table, stop the action.

After searching the dragon head: say "You have a good look inside the dragon's mouth. There's a ball of lucite inside, propping the jaw in display position."

A person can be confident, nervous, or embarrassed. The player is confident.

Touching the paneling is embarrassing behavior. Looking under the carpet is embarrassing behavior. Entering the table is embarrassing behavior. Looking under the table is embarrassing behavior.

Instead of embarrassing behavior:
    if the player is nervous, now the player is embarrassed;
    if the player is confident:
        say "Before you can act, you hear movement from the inner office. You freeze, not quite ready to be discovered in this situation. But no one comes out, and you begin to breathe more easily.";
        now the player is nervous;
    otherwise:
        continue the action.

Causing trouble is a scene. Causing trouble begins when play begins. Causing trouble ends when the player is embarrassed. When Causing trouble ends: say "Just at this inopportune moment, you hear a throat being cleared behind you. 'We can see you now within,' says a dry voice."; end the story saying "To be continued..."

Test me with "switch paneling / touch paneling / g / g / g".

Test more with "x dragon / x shiny / search head / g".

...and this scene might lead to another, and so on.

The purpose of an open-ended scene like this might be puzzly or narrative: we might be waiting for the player to get a puzzle solved, or we might be waiting for him to fulfil some plot condition that must be met before we can go on.

Scenes can have properties -- a fact that is very useful when it comes to writing a series of scenes that all need to act alike in some respect.

Suppose we have a plot that features a number of scripted scenes, where we need the player to stand still and wait while the events of the scene play out. One way to set this up is to create a property for such scenes -- let's call them "restricted" -- and then write a rule that keeps the player in place while the scene happens:

"Bowler Hats and Baby Geese"

Section 1 - The Procedure

A scene can be restricted or free.

Instead of going somewhere during a restricted scene:
    say "Better to stay here for the moment and find out what is going to happen next."

And now let's set up our restricted scene. In it, a clown is going to turn up wherever the player is (it doesn't matter where on the map he's gotten to at this point) and do a performance; the player will not be able to leave the area until the performance completes. We'll start with the setting:

Section 2 - The Stage and Props

The Broad Lawn is a room. "A sort of fun fair has been set up on this broad lawn, with the House as a backdrop: it's an attempt to give local children something to do during the bank holiday. In typical fashion, everyone is doing a very good job of ignoring the House itself, despite its swarthy roofline and dozens of blacked-out windows."

The House is scenery in the Broad Lawn. The description is "A cautious vagueness about the nature of the inhabitants is generally considered a good idea. They might be gods, or minor demons, or they might be aliens from space, or possibly they are embodiments of physical principles, or expressions of universal human experience, or... at any rate they can run time backward and forward so it warbles like an old cassette. And they're always about when somebody dies. Other than that, they're very good neighbors and no one has a word to say against."

Instead of entering the House:
    say "You can't go in, of course. It's not a house for people."

The Gazebo is north of the Broad Lawn. "The gazebo is sometimes used for bands, but at the moment has been appropriated for the distribution of lemonade."

The clown is a man. "A clown wearing [a list of things worn by the clown] stands nearby." The description is "He winks back at you."

The clown wears a purple polka-dot bowler hat. He carries a supply of baby geese. The description of the supply of baby geese is "Three or four. Or five. It's hard to count." Understand "goose" or "gosling" or "goslings" as the supply of baby geese.

There are some eggs. The description of the eggs is "A blur, really."

There is a Spanish omelet. The description of the Spanish omelet is "Exquisitely prepared."

...And now the scene itself:

Section 3 - The Scenes

The Clown Performance is a restricted scene. Clown Performance begins when the turn count is 3.

When Clown Performance begins:
    move the clown to the location.

Every turn during Clown Performance:
    repeat through the Table of Clowning:
        say "[event description entry][paragraph break]";
        blank out the whole row;
        stop.

When Clown Performance ends:
    now the eggs are nowhere;
    now the clown carries the omelet.

Clown Performance ends when the number of filled rows in the Table of Clowning is 0.

Table of Clowning
event description
"A clown with a purple polka-dot bowler hat strides into the vicinity and begins to juggle baby geese."
"While the clown juggles, the baby geese visibly grow older and larger. The clown becomes unnerved."
"In an attempt to resolve the problem, the clown reverses the direction of his juggling. The geese revert to goslings."
"The goslings become smaller and smaller until the clown is juggling goose eggs[replace eggs]."
"The clown throws all the eggs into the air at once and catches them in the bowler hat. He takes a bow; the audience applauds. As a final gesture, he upends his hat to release a perfectly cooked omelet."

To say replace eggs:
    now the supply of baby geese is nowhere;
    now the clown carries the eggs.

Free Time is a scene. Free Time begins when Clown Performance Ends.

Test me with "scenes / n / z/ z / look / x geese / s / x geese / x eggs / z / s".

"Day One"

Lecture is a scene. Lecture begins when play begins.

Every turn during Lecture:
    repeat through Table of Lecture Events:
        say "[event entry][paragraph break]";
        blank out the whole row;
        rule succeeds.

Here we use a table (see subsequent chapters) to keep track of all the events we wish to have occur during the course of the scene.

Table of Lecture Events
event
"'Welcome to Precolumbian Archaeology 101,' thunders Dr Freitag from the front of the class. 'Miss-- yes, you in the back. If you can't find a free seat, how are you going to find Atlantis? Sit down or leave. Now. Thank you.'"
"Freitag stands behinds his desk and lines up the pile of books there more neatly. 'It has come to my attention over previous years that there are two sorts of person who enroll in my class,' he says.

'Some of you will be members of the swim team or women's lacrosse players who have a distribution requirement to fulfill and are under the mistaken impression that archaeology must be easier than psychology. If that description applies to you, I advise you to drop the class now rather than at the midterm break. Under absolutely no circumstances will I ever sign a withdrawal form for someone who is crying at the time. Make a note of that, please.'"
"'The second sort of person,' Dr Freitag says, getting another wind. 'Yes, the second sort of person takes this class because she imagines that it is going to lead to adventure or possibly to new age encounters with dolphins.'

His eye moves over the class, lingering an especially long time on a girl in a patchwork skirt.

'You should also leave now, but since you are probably lying to yourself about the reasons you're here, you will probably not heed my warning and we will be doomed to a semester of one another's company nonetheless.'"
"'Whatever you may tell yourself, you are not here to gain a deeper understanding of the world or get in touch with yourself or experience another culture.'

He paces before the first row of desks, hammering on them one at a time. 'I know you probably wrote an admissions statement saying that that is what you hoped to do. Well, too bad. It is not inconceivable that some of you, somehow, will muddle towards a deeper understanding of something thanks to this class, but I am not holding my breath, and neither should you.'"
"Freitag takes a breath. 'No, my dear freshwomen, what you are here to do is learn facts. FACTS. Facts are unpopular in this university and, I am unhappily aware, at most of the institutions of inferior preparation from which you have come. Nonetheless, facts it will be. I will expect you to learn names. I will expect you to learn dates. I will expect you to study maps and I will expect you to produce evidence of exacting geographical knowledge on the exams. I will expect you to learn shapes of pottery and memorize masonry designs. There are no principles you can learn which are more important or more useful than a truly colossal bank of facts right there in your own head.'"
"'I do not ever want to hear that you do not need to learn things because you will be able to look them up. This is the greatest fallacy of your computer-semi-literate generation, that you can get anything out of Google if you need it. Not only is this demonstrably false, but it overlooks something phenomenally important: you only know to look for something if you already know it EXISTS. In short there is no way to fake knowledge, and I am not going to pretend there is.' He smiles in lupine fashion.

'This class is likely to be the most miserable experience of your four years in university. Clear?'"
"Everyone is silent."
"The lecture is interrupted by the shrill of a bell."

And then we define the scene so that it ends when the table runs out.

Lecture ends when the number of filled rows in the Table of Lecture Events is 0.

One advantage of this is that we can then edit the events in the scene by changing just the table; the scene will always run the right length and end on the turn when the last event occurs.

And to add a few additional details:

Instead of doing something other than waiting, looking, listening or examining during Lecture:
    say "Dr Freitag glares at you so fiercely that you are frozen into inaction."

Notice the careful phrasing of "doing something other than..." so that we do not mention the objects; if we had written "something other than listening to something...", the instead rule would match only action patterns which involved a noun. We state the rule more generally so that it will also match nounless commands such as JUMP and SING, since Freitag will probably take a dim view of those as well.

When Lecture ends:
    now Freitag is nowhere;
    say "There is a flurry of movement as your fellow students begin to put away their books. Dr Freitag makes his way to the door and is gone before anyone can ask him anything."

The Classroom is a room. Dr Freitag is a man in the Classroom. "Dr Freitag paces before the blackboard."

Test me with "listen / x dr / x me / jump / z / z / z / z / z / x dr".