Chapter 6: Commands
6.5. Examining

By default, examining an object shows its description, and - for devices - tells us whether the object is switched on or switched off.

This kind of additional information is not always what we want, so if we have a device whose on/off status we want to conceal, we may write

The examine described devices rule is not listed in any rulebook.

On the other hand, there are times when we may want to add a similar line or two to the descriptions of other kinds of objects. Waxwork shows how to make containers and supporters automatically list everything they're holding when examined, while Crusoe allows us to append an "It is charred." sentence to the end of descriptions of things we have burned in the fire. Since it works by introducing a "printing the description" activity, Crusoe is also a good example to start from if we want to introduce more complex, flexible descriptions of items throughout our game.

Odin rewrites the "You see nothing special..." line with other text of our own, for items that otherwise do not have a description.

Finally, we may want to look at multiple things at once. The Left Hand of Autumn demonstrates how we might provide a different response for EXAMINE PAINTINGS than for examining each individually; Beekeeper's Apprentice provides a SEARCH command that will show the descriptions of all the scenery in the current location.

* See Actions on Multiple Objects for an alternative EXAMINE ALL command


194
* Example  Waxwork
Containers and supporters that report their contents when you EXAMINE them.

WI

The actual description of an examined thing is printed in the carry out phase, so whatever we add to the report phase will happen afterward:

"Waxwork"

Report examining a supporter which supports something:
    say "On [the noun] [is-are a list of things on the noun]."

Report examining an open container which contains something:
    say "In [the noun] [is-are a list of things in the noun]."

That's the whole of what we need to fulfill the requirements of the example -- though beware that, since otherwise undescribed supporters and containers are always described with their contents anyway, this will give redundant results for any supporters and containers that do not have descriptions. So we should be sure to use this only when we intend to provide some description or other for these objects.

Then a scenario for testing with:

The Bonus Room is a room. The craft table is a supporter in the Bonus Room. The description of the craft table is "A folding table used whenever a major project is in session."

A basket is on the table. The description of the basket is "A straw basket with a perky pink bow on the handle." Understand "perky" or "pink" or "bow" as the basket. In the basket is a finished egg. The description of the egg is "Primarily blue and green, with filigree-like decorations in yellow on both sides."

On the table are a candle, some matches, and a tablet of pure beeswax.

The player carries a wax application tool. The description of the application tool is "It has a wooden handle, at one end of which is a brass fitting: this is shaped like a funnel. The trick is to heat the fitting over the candle flame, fill it with beeswax from the tablet, and then apply thin stripes of melted beeswax from the tip of the funnel wherever they are intended to go on the egg." The brass tip is part of the application tool. In the brass tip is a wax lump. The description of the tip is "Shaped like a funnel." Understand "fitting" as the tip.

The player carries an unfinished egg. The description of the unfinished egg is "Ambitiously designed in a celtic knotwork pattern which you have only finished as far as the orange layer."

And now, since the room is currently looking quite cluttered at first glance:

After printing the name of a container while looking: omit contents in listing.

Test me with "x table / x tablet / x basket / x unfinished / i / x finished / x application / x tip".

We can easily override this report rule for individual items or types of item with an appropriate After.

318
*** Example  Crusoe
Adding a "printing the description of something" activity.

WI
42
* Example  Odin
Replacing "You see nothing special..." with a different default message for looking at something nondescript.

WI
280
*** Example  The Left Hand of Autumn
The possibility of using a [things] token opens up some interesting complications, because we may want actions on multiple items to be reported differently from actions on just one. Here we look at how to make a multiple examination command that describes groups in special ways.

WI
66
** Example  Beekeeper's Apprentice
Making the SEARCH command examine all the scenery in the current location.

WI


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