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[>Consider how the drawing of the shoes may become vital in the future, in some intangible way]

>Consider how the drawing of the shoes may become vital in the future, in some intangible way

You see a future in which your shoe drawing is prized as a priceless piece of art, with prints displayed in galleries all over the world. Adoring critics write entire books digging into the history and meaning of the work, and the secrets of its enigmatic and incredibly attractive creator - an artist and a hero. Your eyes swell with tears of joy.

You wipe the tears away. Business time.

>Get out from under bed and talk to the stranger

You pop up from under the bed and wipe some dust off your shirt.

"Sorry about all that," you say. "I wasn't expecting visitors."

He shoots you in the chest.

>Don't die

Luckily the shock seems to have dulled the pain. Adrenaline floods your veins. You're not dead yet.

But you should probably seek medical attention as quickly as possible.

[>Use Pen on Pad to make drawing of CLASSY BLACK SHOE]

>Use Pen on Pad to make drawing of CLASSY BLACK SHOE

You quickly throw together a classy drawing of a shoe. What an excellent use of time.

>Try to tie intruder's shoelaces together

For a moment this seems like the best plan ever. Then you realize that his shoes are of the comfortable slip-on variety. There are no laces to be tied together.

Crushing defeat.

>scratch your butt to stimulate thinking abilities

Your thinking abilities are heartily stimulated.

> Record badguy's conversation with transponder

You stare at your transponder. You're pretty sure there's a means of transmitting recorded messages with this thing, but you've never had a chance to read the manual. All you know is how to send an emergency SOS signal back to HQ.

As you fumble with the transponder, the stranger begins to speak, his voice eerily modulated by the gas mask.

"Hey," he says. "Would you mind coming out for a moment? We may be able to help each other."

[>Crawl under bed and listen]

>Crawl under bed and listen

You roll under the bed. You can see the stranger's classy black shoes closing in on the bedroom door.

>Check inventory

You are carrying:
- suit (worn)
- emergency cufflink transponder
- collection of small plastic bags (for evidence!)
- plastic bag full of partially-digested paper chunks
- fake ID
- genuine ID
- keycard
- notepad
- pen

[>Sneak a peak]

>Sneak a peak

You raise your head and peek over the bed. You sure hope you don't regret it!

Through the bedroom door, you catch a glimpse of a gentleman in a stylish black tuxedo. The elegant effect is ruined somewhat by the gas mask on his face and the silver-coloured pistol in his hand. Also, he seems to be coming into the bedroom.

You duck back down behind the bed. Impossible to tell if he noticed you.

[>duck and cover]

>duck and cover

You dive silently behind the bed and hunker down facing the giant window.

>listen warily

You can hear faint footfalls in the other room, but the carpet seems to be absorbing most of the noise. It's hard to tell how many people are out there or where they're going.

[>quickly check the handheld data device for any dirty content and pocket it]

>quickly check the handheld data device for any dirty content and pocket it

You switch on the device. It seems to contain a number of archived communications from various cryptically named sources: "The Bleeding Basset", "The Splintered Gorilla", "The Lovely Parrot", "The Grimacing Weasel", "The Penniless Koala". You open a message at random. It reads:

"another flaw to correct meet at usual place tomorrow night only thirteen days left to wait"

Interesting. You drop the device into your pocket.

>look under the bed

You glance under the bed. No dead bodies, just some dust.

>jump on the bed for a bit

You bounce a few times, experimentally, and ascertain that the springs are sound.

That's what you were doing. Ascertaining that the bedsprings are sound.

Somebody has to do it.

>Examine Swimming Pool

Time to examine the swimming pool! Shame you didn't bring your swim trunks along. You turn to leave the bedroom.

In the other room, you hear the DING of the elevator door opening.

[> north]

> north

You are in the BEDROOM. The first thing that catches your eye is the massive floor-to-ceiling window on the far wall, through which you can see the neon glow of the city by night. It's so awesome, you almost miss the king-size bed in the corner.

> examine bed

You straighten your collar and slick back your hair. THE SEARCH IS ON!

The bed is a standard king-size hotel bed. You pull back the sheets and flip over the pillows.
Underneath one of the pillows is a HANDHELD DATA DEVICE.

[>Get in Elevator]

>Get in Elevator

Gotten. In.

>Travel to Penthouse

You scan the massive panel of buttons. At the very top is the button for the PENTHOUSE. You give it an experimental push. A red light comes on.

AUTHORIZE WITH KEYCARD, suggests the label of a blinking red light.

>Use Keycard to enter Penthouse

You slide the keycard into the slot. DING! The elevator glides away.
An interminably long time later, it grinds to a stop. DING! The doors slide open.
Curiously, it seems the elevator opens directly into the penthouse's main room.

You are in the PENTHOUSE ENTRANCE, where thick red carpets give way to rich redwood walls, hung with tasteful paintings. To the east, you can see an INDOOR SWIMMING POOL. To the north is the door to the BEDROOM. To the west is the BATHROOM, which from here looks larger than your entire apartment.

>Check for signs of forced entry into Penthouse before you got here

You quickly check the room. There are no signs that anyone has been here before you. In fact, everything is so immaculate, it seems unlikely that anyone is staying here at all.

indie game mag awwww yeah

[> Ask receptionist: I seem to have misplaced my keycard. Can i have a new one?]

> Ask receptionist: I seem to have misplaced my keycard. Can i have a new one?

"Sure thing," she says, passing you a KEYCARD. You shove it into your pocket.

Smooth as ever, Angelo. ONWARD!

Go upstairs

You love to exercise, but the penthouse is approximately 50 floors straight up. This is probably a job for the ELEVATOR.

[> Examine fake ID]

> Examine fake ID

On the front is a picture of you. The card claims that your name is "Blonde Jack," and that you have full access to the Magical Wonders Casino and Hotel Penthouse.

On the back is a sticky note reading: "ANGELO! This ID card should get you into the penthouse. IT WILL NOT HOLD UP UNDER CLOSE SCRUTINY! BE CAREFUL! DESTROY THIS"

At that point it seems the writer ran out of space on the note.

> Show fake ID to receptionist

The receptionist is staring at you with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"Ah," you say, "right. No, I'm not from the press." You wave the card in her face.

"Oh," she says, "so you're the guy in the penthouse suite." She nods knowingly.

> Lie

"Yes," you assert. "My name is Blonde Jack."

[> examine tapestries]

> examine tapestries

After several minutes of careful study, you conclude that they are indeed tapestries.

You don't know much about art.

> Examine receptionist

A woman of twenty to twenty-five, strawberry blond hair, expertly applied makeup, purple nail polish slightly chipped on left thumb, wearing a white sweater and what look like pearl earrings.

> Ask receptionist if she's seen anyone or anything strange at the hotel recently

It's time to do what you do best - make conversation.

You sidle up to the desk and give the receptionist a friendly nod. "Evening."
"Evening, sir," she says politely. "Can I help you?"
"I'd just like to know if you've seen anyone or anything strange in the hotel recently."
She squints at you. "I don't think so," she says. "What, are you with the press or something?"

> Make note to ask receptionist for a date once all this is over

"One sec," you say, pulling out your notepad and hastily scribbling a reminder: Ask receptionist for date when all this is over!

> Reminisce about Salt Mines of the Screaming Desert

Ah, the Salt Mines of the Screaming Desert! The part you remember best is when you were trapped at the bottom of the mine shaft as it slowly filled with water, trying to wake up your partner Jimmy Waterloo, who was sleeping off a hangover thirty feet above you.

Good times. Sadly, you and Jimmy are no longer partners.

You are in the LOBBY, a lushly carpeted sanctuary decked out in polished cedar and resplendent with tapestries. Clearly this is not a place for cheapskates.

The pretty RECEPTIONIST smiles at you over her newspaper.

To the west is the CASINO FLOOR. To the east are the ELEVATORS.

[> eat note]

> eat note

In the interests of secrecy, you immediately ingest the note. Things like this are always harder going in than coming out.

> regurgitate note

The moment you finish your last swallow, you wonder if Captain Paisley left you a secret message decipherable only via dunking in a solution of human saliva, like that one time in the Salt Mines of the Screaming Desert. You hastily induce vomiting and throw up all the little paper chunks. It may not be too late!

> attempt to decipher secret message revealed by saliva

Sadly, the slimy paper chunks are no longer legible. You keep them in a small plastic bag, just in case.

"For the eyes ANGELO DEADHAND only!

Listen, Angelo, we could be up against something BIG here. There's a ring of dangerous weapon smugglers we've been trying to bust for months. There may be other shady business involved. Nobody's sure, but it's time to take action. We think the ringleader is a man called BLONDE JACK, a foreigner currently staying in the penthouse suite of the MAGICAL WONDERS HOTEL. Sources say he's out on the town tonight. We've provided you with a FAKE I.D. CARD. Should be a simple job: Get into his apartment, steal as much evidence as you can, and slide out without a trace! Good luck and DESTROY THIS MESSAGE IMMEDIATELY!!!!

ORDERS DIRECTLY FROM
CAPTAIN PAISLEY, FUTURE CITY SECRET POLICE"

Residential Green hasn't updated in ages! OMG NO! But what's this?

TO THE REEEEEEESCUE

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If games like A Mind Forever Voyaging and Starship Titanic are the hefty literary classics of the Interactive Fiction genre, the ADVENTURES OF ANGELO DEADHAND are the shlock you buy in airport terminals to while away the time on your transatlantic flights. Critics called them trash designed for the lowest common denominator. Average people thought they were the best. Eighteen Angelo Deadhand games were released in all, with a further twenty-two planned, before the series' reclusive creator vanished under mysterious circumstances. Angelo Deadhand was forgotten in 1993, along with the entire genre of interactive fiction.

This is the seventh adventure, taking place immediately after ANGELO DEADHAND AND THE LUNAR CAPER. Angelo's experiences on the moon have left him scarred, but he's already back on the case.

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_____________________________________________________
ANGELO DEADHAND AND THE CASE OF THE GRIMACING WEASAL
_____________________________________________________

NEW, LOAD, or QUIT?

> new

You are ANGELO DEADHAND, crack investigator for the Future City Secret Police. You woke up this evening to the shrill sound of your phone ringing. Two hours later, you boarded a shuttle for the ritzy Upper City, a page of secret orders clutched in your hand. The shuttle touched down at its destination and you stepped out onto the landing pad into the bustling sounds of the big city.

You are on the LANDING PAD. In front of you are the glitzy main doors of the MAGICAL WONDERS CASINO AND HOTEL. In your left hand is the CRUMPLED NOTE.

>

It is an honour!

Also I'm curious, what was the "subtle choice" you mentioned?

It sounds like you managed to skip a chapter transition somehow . . . I'd better look into that.

after strangling the bouncer I was in the dark alley again (not next to the dumpster), entered the club through front door, followed the bartender and the music from the club was still playing and I think the dumpster wake up cutscene was about to happen...

So you strangled the bouncer, woke up in the alley, and then the wake up scene didn't play? That is odd. Did you get the chapter title before waking up?

I loved the game.  I am making a remake in 1024x768 and 32 bit color.

The backgrounds are real pictures. 

Alot of work. The music will be different.

LOL! I'm sure it will be the best remake ever!!! But could you do me a favour and also change the title? Maybe call it something like "The Neatly Folded Origami Caterpillar"

The ending will be slightly different depending on your actions, but not significantly.

And yeah, I wrote all the music.