MIND THE DOORS! by Neil Shipman Perhaps the most common barrier to progress in adventures is the ubiquitous door. In fact, it's hard to think of an adventure which doesn't have a door in it somewhere. Some are, of course, necessary for scenery - well you'd expect buildings, rooms etc. to have doors wouldn't you? - and can simply be opened. But writers don't always make things that easy and the ways of getting through doors are many and varied. So what should you do when confronted with a door for the first time? Obviously EXAMINE it to see if you get any information about how it's secured. It might be locked or bolted, have a keyhole, handle, wheel, doorknob, etc. Is there a slot for a card or, perhaps, a keypad, button or a plate just waiting for your hand to be placed on it? In a fantasy adventure there could be symbols for magic, and so on. Whatever you find, make sure you examine that too. It's surprising how often OPEN DOOR is all that's needed. Then, to go through it, usually a direction is sufficient - if it isn't then IN, ENTER or even the horrible GO DOOR (found in early adventures and still sometimes seen) may be necessary. Not all doors open in the way you might expect so SLIDE, LIFT and RAISE are worth trying as are PUSH and PULL. And, if a door keeps closing on you try to WEDGE it open. Brute force shouldn't be ruled out and BREAK, SMASH or HIT it with an object (USE AXE), LEVER, PRISE or FORCE it with something (INSERT CROWBAR) or KICK it open. Or, if you're not feeling aggressive, is there anyone at home? KNOCK and see! Some doors are only open at certain times, e.g. store doors during shopping hours or daylight, so just because a door is closed the first time you try it doesn't necessarily mean it will still be closed if you go back later. Remember, too, that an action in some other location such as PULLing a ROPE or PUSHing a certain BUTTON may be all that's needed. Handles, doorknobs and wheels can be TURNed or TWISTed, buttons PUSHed or PRESSed and, if the door's bolted, UNBOLT DOOR or SLIDE BOLT may work. If you've found a key then UNLOCK DOOR (WITH KEY) even if there doesn't appear to be a keyhole. In the absence of a key, locks can be PICKed using objects like needles, pins, files, nails (which you might need to bend first), thorns and, every burglar's flexible friend, the good old plastic card! LOOK IN KEYHOLE may show you a key in the lock on the other side and you can then try the old trick of sliding a piece of paper under the door and pushing the key onto it. A keypad usually requires a certain button or combination of buttons to be pressed, in which case you should have already found what the code is from elsewhere, but sometimes PUSH or TOUCH KEYPAD will work. If you're stuck for the right command try things like PUSH BUTTON 1, PRESS 3, TYPE 642 or even INPUT CODE. If there's a plate or panel by the door and simply pushing it doesn't work then PRESS PALM (AGAINST PLATE), TOUCH PLATE (WITH HAND) or PUT/PLACE FINGER ON PANEL. Your fingerprint may not be recognised - so how about cutting off someone else's hand and using that instead? Bloodthirsty, but it could be effective. Security doors like this often only require you to INSERT the correct CARD into an appropriate slot. But what if there's a microphone as well? SAY your NAME or a particular phrase or SPEAK INTO MICROPHONE may work, although the door may not be programmed to open to just anyone's voice. Can you record someone else's and play that back? Or, if you've seen someone with a squeaky voice go through, you could disguise yours by BREATHing or INHALing HELIUM gas or by WHISTLing. Some doors can detect your approach and you may need to satisfy certain conditions before they'll stop closing in your face. Have you got the right clothes on, are you carrying certain items and wearing the correct identification? In adventures where magic works you might have a simple spell for opening things including some doors. Strange symbols on the door could correspond with ones on an object like a talisman or seal you've found, so RUB TALISMAN or PRESS SEAL (INTO DOOR) are worth trying. And don't forget the obvious WAVE/RUB WAND/ROD and even OPEN SESAME - although these tend to be found more in earlier adventures than in recent offerings. If you can't open a door by yourself perhaps someone else can help. In adventures peopled with non-player characters (NPCs) instructions like SAY TO THORIN "OPEN DOOR" or FLOYD, OPEN DOOR may be what you need. Just POINTing AT DOOR or SHOWing DOOR TO WIZARD may spur the NPC into action on your behalf. Where possible, timing the action of a NPC to coincide with your own efforts may be crucial, e.g. GALAHAD, WAIT THEN OPEN DOOR followed by OPEN DOOR will have both you and Galahad working together in Level 9's Lancelot. Finally, there's the "intelligent" door with a mind of its own which can sometimes be found in science fiction adventures. One such door is that on the Heart of Gold in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy which has a rather philosophical bent, being equally unimpressed whether you're carrying tea or no tea! But one of my favourites is a door I came across recently which was bored stiff and would only open if I told it a joke. Unfortunately, I had to go through it a few times but I only knew two jokes, and if it had heard one already it sulked and stayed shut. The solution? I found a Des O'Connor joke book and told it one from that which made it laugh so much it blew its circuits and jammed wide open! I don't know whether this was an indication of its intelligence - I think it just couldn't stand any more! Postscript: I wrote this article some time ago and a few readers may have already seen it printed elsewhere. Since then a couple of adventurers have mentioned to me various ways of getting through doors which I haven't covered. Well, I wasn't seeking to give an exhaustive list - more an indication of things to try (especially for beginners) while you're sitting at the keyboard tearing your hair out. Of the further suggestions I've had I particularly liked the idea of using a lens to focus the sun's rays on a wooden door and burn round the lock! What's the most obscure way of opening a door that you've come across in an adventure - and what's your favourite method? @~C'mon, folks - let's have your nominations!