5 Days a Stranger - IF - intro

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 09/08/2004 12:06:06

Until I find me an artist for Anchorhead, which is unfortunately very iffy at the moment, I'll start me a project I can complete at my own leisure, no hurries, no pressure, no one depending on me and me not depending on anyone. This project is an IF version of 5 Days a Stranger.

I know I'm dwelling into one of the most beloved AGS games ever, so before I go on I present you the intro, and I ask you - is this good enough? Can I go on like this? Do you accept it?

**************************

I was admiring the view when the phone rang. I let it ring. There are times one doesn't want to be disturbed, and this was one such time. Also, I was sure I knew who it was. When I picked the receiver up, hearing my fence's voice didn't surprise me in the least.

"Trilby, that you?"

My name wasn't Trilby, of course, but as a name it sufficed. It wasn't the first one I'd had, certainly not the one I was born with, and it wouldn't be the last. In this job, you can't afford to stick to one name. Or one home. Or one telephone number.

"Who else, Barney?"

"Man, I had the devil's own time getting this number! How the hell do you expect me to keep you informed if you ain't got the decency to warn me when you change numbers?"

"Why should I? You always find me, don't you? The day you can't find me is the day I'll be forced to find a more competent contact."

I let him mull over this for a bit. I could almost hear his brain working out the full meaning of what I'd said, and took another look out my window. I sighed - very gently. One never has time to appreciate such things.

"What have you got this time?"

"You know the DeFoe manor?"

Of course I did, and as soon as he said it I knew what was coming. But it was better to pretend not to. It was better to let him think I couldn't manage without him. "I know where it is. Why should I be interested?"

"The last DeFoe guy died a while ago. He didn't leave a heir, and no one's come up to claim his family heirlooms yet."

"No one?" I asked. I didn't just mean legal claims, and he knew it.

"No one, Trilby. The lawyers locked the place up tighter than a whore's wallet, and no one's even tried yet. I though you might like the challenge."

As chance would have it, I'd had my eyes on the manor for some time. The cliff on which it had been built made it rather unsavory for less experienced burglars. The only way in was one of the windows in the front of the house, too overt for most to dare. But then, they were the brutish sort, the thugs.

You see, robbery is an art. And like most arts, it has its share of ignoramuses, giving the trade a bad name. These are the thugs, the amateurs, the vandals. True robbery is an exercise in invisibility. It requires class. It requires finesse. And it required people like me, who were currently in short supply. Not that I was complaining.

I knew how to enter the mansion, in the night's generous disguise. And being empty, it would be child's play to collect whatever there was to be collected. All I'd been waiting for was this call, and now that I knew it was worth the trouble it was time to get on the car and do what I loved best.

"Not much of a challenge, Barney, but that's alright. I needed a break anyway."

I put the receiver down and headed towards the DeFoe manor. It was waiting for me, and I always keep my appointments.

*************************

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 09/08/2004 12:12:44

Interactive Fiction, i.e., text adventure games. I'll be using SUDS, a discontinued IF maker which uses no typing interface - point and click, just like a graphical adventure. But it's a text adventure.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 09/08/2004 12:17:16

Hmmm, as that's not my forte, I actually WAS thinking of porting it just like the original was...

...hmmm, I'd like some more feedback on this point, please.

Redwall · Mon 09/08/2004 14:06:06

...Have you talked to Yahtzee?

mätzyboy · Mon 09/08/2004 14:14:50

Although the game has potential as IF with a lot of bookreading and stuff in it which should do better in IF than in an adventure game I have to say - why? The game has already been made once, isn't that enough?

Reading your text I believe you have the skills to make a game of your own with a new story for us to enjoy.

Babar · Mon 09/08/2004 14:38:18

If you plan to go through with this, I would definitely suggest (as Redwall has) that you talk to Yahtzee. In GREAT detail. Since IF is a lot more descriptive than graphical point and click, there is a great chance that your conception of a lot of the game would be different than how it otherwise seemed. Of course, if Yahtzee agrees to let you make a game based on your own conception of the game, go ahead and let your imagination run wild.

Kweepa · Mon 09/08/2004 14:50:00

That's pretty good english for a non-native speaker!
Just a couple of things:
the plural of ignoramus is ignoramuses
claimings should be claims
stubb is spelt stub
on short supply should be in short supply
get on the car should be get in the car
I also thought that the words "operation" and "diplomatic" were slightly out of place.

On the wider issue of remaking 5DaS, I agree with mÃ¤tzyboy.
Maybe you could write a prequel or sequel (with Yahtzee's approval), or a sequel to The Lurking Horror, or somesuch.

BlackMan890 · Mon 09/08/2004 15:41:35

if you are going to create it then PLEASE....

make it that i can skip the intro!!!!

i hate playing 7 days a scheptic because the intro is sooooooo long

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Mon 09/08/2004 16:44:45

Regarding Yahtzee - I e-mailed him for permission just before I started this thread, and I'm awaiting his response.

Quotewhy? The game has already been made once, isn't that enough?

Just a little passtime for me, really, since my main project is still Anchorhead. Besides, although it's your opinion that

QuoteReading your text I believe you have the skills to making a game of your own with a new story for us to enjoy.

(and I thank you very much for that), I can't really make things up, crerate a story or puzzles - my forte is writing.

Babar has quite a point, I'll be sure to comment it with Yahtzee as soon as he replies to my e-mail.

And Steve, thanks a bunch, that's EXACTLY the sort of stuff I was worried about. And about making some other story... I don't have the skill to create one, just to rebuild what's already there (I once tried an IF port of Phantasmagoria, which I took as far as chapter 5, and then flushed in a bout of depression; and I even considered Syberia for IF form, or Gabriel Knight). That's why I've only presented remakes so far. And I'd rather find me a storywriter for my graphical adventures (the ones that come after Anchorhead) than for my text adventures.

It's really just a little passtime of mine, just to feel like I'm doing something.

nickeedoo · Mon 09/08/2004 17:48:45

Just press the Esc key and you'll skip the intro!! :

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Tue 10/08/2004 08:59:17

Yahtzee gave me his permission. He just asked me not to make Trilby a smoker, so I edited the text a bit.