Zigamus is a comedy text adventure written in Inform 6. You can play it on Windows using the installer Zigamus_setup.exe and also on other platforms using the file Zigamus.z5 (or Zigamus.ulx) and a Z-code interpreter, such as Gargoyle for GNU/Linux and Mac OS, Frotz for iOS, Text Fiction for Android. Zigamus.ini is the configuration file for colors and fonts.
Seeing the monsters, Metalmark faints like a damsel in distress, so it’s up to you to save Vigamus and Paddy, stuck in her office. Surely you can find something useful to fight this horrible menace in the museum’s rooms. So, keep your eyes peeled and... no panic!
To move from one place to another within the game world, you have to use the directions >north (or just n), >south (s), >east (e), >west (w), >up (u), >down (d).
The command >inventory (i) prints the list of the objects you have, while >look (l) shows the description of the place where you currently are.
The verbs you can use in this game are: take (t), drop, examine (x), search, read, push, pull, break, unlock, lock, open, close, wear, remove, light, insert [something in something else], put [something on someting else], attack, show, give, kiss, talk, tell, ask, wait, sing, sleep, listen, eat, play and many others.
By examining the furnitures and the details mentioned in the descriptions of the places you can find hidden objects and important information. By speaking with the other characters you can know what you have to do to obtain their help.
You can also ask for >help to the game, >save your progress on a file, >restore it, or check your >score.
If you need more information, look at this card: pr-if.org/doc/play-if-card/.
To read again these instructions type >instructions or just >info. To read the software license type >license. To have information about the game, its author and playtesters type >credits.
Have fun!
Zigamus was written in Inform 6, an object-oriented programming language similar to C, created by Graham Nelson and dedicated in particular to the development of text video games. The best way to learn it is reading the Designer's Manual available on inform-fiction.org.
The game's beta testing was made by the "guinea pig" Alessia Padula, who tested a (very) alpha version of the adventure, and by Paolo Lucchesi, Rosa Squeo, Davide Somma, who played the beta version. Then it was translated into English by Francesca Noto and succesfully tested by Toby Ott. Sabrina Nofroni is the one who drew the cover art for the 2016 IF Comp.
This game is a tribute to mine and Metalmark’s passion (and Paddy’s too, I hope) for Interactive Fiction and zombies, in particular for Z-Nation’s ones. When I was asked to write a text adventure placed in Vigamus I thought about something that could be a tribute to the wonderful show of games and gadgets in the museum and, at the same time, could help people familiarize with the basis of this genre.
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