TWO

TWO is a treasure-hunt style TEXT ADVENTURE game in which every location description, object description, incidental message & response message consists of a maximum of TWO words. 

TWO was written using using the in-browser development tool, ADVENTURON CLASSROOM. A link to the source code of the game can be found at the bottom of that page.

If you like two, please consider entering the #treasurehuntjam game jam (ends 5th March 2020).

How To Play

• Find 10 Treasures.
• Deposit All Treasures In Treasure Room To Win.
• Score At Top Of Screen Shows Treasures Deposited In Treasure Room So Far.

Useful commands

• INVENTORY ... shows you what you are carrying.
• N,E,S,W,U,D ... compass direction + up / down, for moving in the environment.
• EXAMINE OBJECTNAME ... examines the object named.
• LOOK ... redescribes the current location
• VERB NOUN ... Use your own verb noun combinations to interact with the game world.

Plenty Of Help Available

If you are a newcomer to text adventure games, then check out the printable Play Guide PDF at the bottom of this page which serves as a tutorial to this game, and to text adventures in general. 

If you get stuck in the game, then hints are available further down this page including a full puzzle chart.

If you want a full solution, then check out Garry Francis' solution here (many spoilers).

If you like this game PLEASE RATE and SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA  ( Twitter: @LearnAdventuron ) . It really helps to get the word out.

Features

• Developed Using Adventuron Classroom.
• Optimized for Desktop, Tablet, And Mobile Platforms.
• Fast Response.
• 10 Treasures To Find.
• Multiple Puzzles.
• Minimal Text For Ease Of Reading.
• No Graphics.
• No Story At All.
• VERB NOUN commands only.
• Autosave (revisits to this page will resume game).
• Manual LOAD / SAVE command support.
• Death As A Game Mechanic (with Rollback on Death Feature).
• Authentic Retro-Sounding Bleeping Sounds.
• Limited Interactive Help System (Approx 50% of Game).

Difficulty

The game is medium difficulty. Tips are available on this page, but at the beginning of the game, try talking to other people, examining things, and  note that the bird doesn't like having an empty nest.

Graphics

This game features no graphics. The purpose is to minimise clutter, especially on mobile, and to focus the player on the scenario.

Saving Progress

This game features an autosave feature and you can also type SAVE and LOAD for manual saving into save slots slots.

Notch Mitigation (Mobile)

Type MT 20 to offset the top of the screen by 20 scaled pixels, change the number up or down as required.

Text Size Adjustment (Mobile)

Type COLUMNS 20 for a 20 column display, or COLUMN 30 for a 30 column display.

Death

This game features death as a mechanic, but an undo mechanism is provided to go back to a point in the game before the death occurred.

It is extremely unlikely you will finish the game without dying at least once. One death in the game is very mean indeed, but death is a good way to build a bit of tension and working out why a death occurred and how to avoid it is part of the fun.

Save regularly, and if you forgot to save, then you have a choice to "ROLLBACK" after a death (type Y or YES a the ROLLBACK? prompt).

FAQ

"I see more than two words on the screen."

Here are the quite arbitrary rules:

• Every location has a maximum of two words description.
• Every object has a maximum of two words description (multiple objects may be listed in a location).
• Every response message is a maximum of two words.
• The intro text is a maximum of two words.
• The game over text is a maximum of two words.
• Items in lists have their own two word allocations (such as directions, objects).

"Why not 1 word?"

Tested, but one word wasn't fun.

In my personal opinion, I think that TWO is the minimum amount where a fun (parser based) game can be made.

Is It Interactive Fiction?

No, it is not interactive fiction - it is a puzzle-box text adventure game, without a story.

Credits

• Written by Chris Ainsley, using Adventuron Classroom.
• This game uses the DAAD font (public domain).
• Thanks to Gareth Pitchford for playtesting.

Release Information

• First Release - 23rd November 2019.
• Minor Bugfixes - 12th December 2019 (version 0.3.3).

HINTS

All answers are Base 64 encoded to avoid spoiling the entirety of the game accidentally.

This site is useful for base 64 decoding : https://www.base64decode.org

• LADDER -> RFJPUCBMQURERVIgKEFUIExBS0VTSURFKQ==

• DOG -> R0lWRSBCQU5BTkEgKEJBTkFOQSBJTiBCQVJOKSAtIFRPIEJFRlJJRU5E

• LOG -> TUFLRSBCT0FUIChXSVRIIEFYRSk=

• BOULDER -> Q0FTVCBTUEVMTCAoV0lUSCBXQU5EKQ==

• KNIFE -> U0hBUlBFTiBLTklGRSAoV0hFTiBBVCBCT1VMREVSIE9SIFNUT05FIExPQ0FUSU9OUyk=

• ISLAND -> IChPTiBJU0xBTkQpIFBMQUNFIEFQUExFICwgRVhBTUlORSBTVEFUVUUsIEVYQU1JTkUgSEFORCwgR0VUIFdBTkQ=

• FOREST PATH -> IEVYQU1JTkUgVFJFRVMgKFRPIFNIT1cgVklORVMp

• VINES -> Q1VUIFZJTkVTIFdJVEggIEtOSUZFIChBRlRFUiBTSEFSUEVOSU5HKQ==

• BIRD/MAGPIE ATTACK -> TUFLRSBTVVJFIFlPVSBMRUFWRSBPTkUgSVRFTSBJTiBMT0NBVElPTiBUTyBBVk9JRA==

• CAT ATTACK -> UEVUIERPRyBUTyBNQUtFIERPRyBGT0xMT1cgWU9VIE9ORSBUVVJOLCBMRUFEIERPRyBUTyBDQVQu

• JESTER ATTACK -> QkUgV0VBUklORyBDSEFJTk1BSUwgVE8gU1RPUCBJTlNUQU5UIERFQVRILCBBVFRBQ0sgSkVTVEVSIChXSElMU1QgQ0FSUllJTkcgU1dPUkQpLgo=

• FIBRE ->TUFLRSBST1BFIChJTiBMT09NIFJPT00p

• WELL -> VElFIFJPUEUgKEFGVEVSIFdFQVZJTkcgUk9QRSk=

• DARK ROOM -> QkUgQ0FSUllJTkcgTEFNUC4K

• GUARD -> VElDS0xFIEdVQVJELCBURUxMIEpPS0UsIE9SIFRIUk9XIEZMT1VSLg==

• RIDDLE MAN -> U0FZIEdBUkxJQy4=

• SPOON-> Tk9UIFVTRUZVTCAoUkVEIEhFUlJJTkcpCg==

• ECHO CHAMBER -> U0FZIEVDSE8u

• WIZARD -> R0lWRSBXQU5ELg==

• FLOUR -> R0lWRSBUTyBHVUFSRCAoT1BUSU9OQUwp

• ALTAR -> UExBQ0UgQVBQTEU=

• AXE -> R0VUIEVHR1MgKEZST00gTkVTVCksIFNFTEwgRUdHUywgR0VUIENPSU4sIEJVWSBBWEUK

• SWORD IN STONE -> V0VBUiBDUk9XTiwgUFVMTCBTV09SRC4=

• GARLIC -> UkVEIEhFUlJJTkc=

• NUMBERS PUZZLE -> U0FZIDEgb3IgOSBpbiB0aGUgUkVELCBHUkVFTiwgQkxVRSByb29tcyAoQ0FSUllJTkcgTEFNUCBUTyBSRVZFQUwgVEhFTSksIEZPUk1VTEEgSVMgKDEwMDAgWCBOVU0tVFJFQVNVUkVTLUlOLVRSRUFTVVJFLVJPT00pICsgKFJFRCBYIDIwMCkgKyAoR1JFRU4gKiAgNSkgKyBCTFVFIC4uIEFGVEVSIFNFVFRJTkcgTlVNQkVSUyBQUkVTUyBCVVRUT04gSU4gQVJNT1VSWS4=

• FINAL TREASURE -> U0VMTCBBWEUgQkFDSyBUTyBTSE9QS0VFUEVSIFRPIFJFVFJFSVZFIEZJTkFMIENPSU4u