AGT Adventure Writing Contest 1993/94 - Part 1
          Information supplied by Dave Malmberg

@~Sue - Judging is currently underway for the latest contest, votes
@~having to be in at the beginning of April. Some of the games are
@~written with classic AGT, others with the Master version, and one
@~uses a customised source code. It's nice to see some British
@~entries again this year.  This section, and the next one, are
@~copied from the file I received from Softworks with the contest
@~disks. It has been compiled from the intro and instructions files
@~of each game.  Due to the size of some of the descriptions, it has
@~been split into two - classic and Master/customised.  First ...

******************************** "Classic" AGT games:

CERCLA - FANCIFUL FUN WITH SUPERFUND -- A game by Jeffrey Robinson

    You are an employee of a world renowned and extremely
    profitable consulting engineering firm.  Recently, you
    completed the remedial investigation of the McArdle hazardous
    waste site.  Following a wonderful vacation in the Caribbean,
    you have returned to work to find that disaster has struck.
    All the copies of the documents critical to the remediation of
    the site have vanished.  Even the computer files containing
    the documents have been wiped clean.  What is worse is that
    your boss has a meeting with (GASP) the U.S. EPA in a matter
    of days.  You must recover the documents before that meeting,
    or regulatory hell will break loose.

    Unfortunately for you, some, well, shall we say, supernatural
    beings have made off with the documents for their own
    mystical, nefarious purposes.  It is your quest to outwit
    these creatures and recover the documents.  Be careful, but be
    quick.  Time's a-wastin'!


DUCKSOUP -- A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR ADVENTURE -- By C. Evans

    She came into your office on a steamy city morning.  A small
    angel desperately trying to find someone.  Her name is Flood,
    and she wants you to find him. She is willing to pay you a
    handsome fee if you bring him back to her.

    You look her over and find she measures about five feet total
    (maybe an inch or so less), white-blonde hair, high forehead,
    thin nose, wide-set dark eyes, and a kind of thick chunky
    build you would call "buxom."  She is wearing wide-legged grey
    wool slacks over medium-heeled black boots, a white turtleneck
    pullover covered by one of those unstructured ladies' jackets,
    no hat, no jewelry that you can see, pale lipstick, too much
    eyeliner, and some rouge that doesn't quite hide the tiny scar
    just under her right eye.

    You decide to take the case.


SIR GUY GALLANT AND THE DEADLY WARNING -- by Eddie R. Wright

    `Sir Guy Gallant and the Deadly Warning' is a
    mystery/adventure game set in mid-17th century England, on the
    property of Gallant Hall.  The player takes on the role of Sir
    Guy Gallant, a cavalier-knight of that era.  As Sir Guy you
    must discover clues as to who killed your father, the late Sir
    James.  These clues are scattered about the scene of the crime
    (Gallant Hall).

    Some clues may be obvious, others may not, while others may
    just be thrown in to put you on a false scent, or maybe not.
    It's up to you to decide!  Once all of the appropriate clues
    have been found you will know who the killer is.  Then of
    course you can solve the mystery!  But that's not all!


JUBILEE ROAD -- A game by D. Ellis.

    This adventure takes place in an English neighborhood which
    the player needs to explore in detail to discover its secrets.



LOST IN SPACE: DR. SMITH GOES HOME -- A mini-text game designed to
play in a single sitting -- by Graeme Cree

    This game is based on the old TV series by the same name.  The
    game begins:

    Year:  2005.  You are Dr. Anne, ...er Zachary Smith.  It's
    been eight years since you became trapped aboard the Jupiter 2
    with the tiresome Robinson family.  After your early attempts
    to convince them to return to Earth turned rather nasty,
    you've been lying low ever since, playing the buffoon and
    waiting for your opportunity.  You thought you had it two
    years ago when you traded the ship's fuel supply to the
    circusmaster Farnum for a starchart.  Boy was Major West
    angry, but it was for his own good as well as yours.  Then
    what did that irritating lot do?  They took the charts and
    went to Alpha Centauri, their original destination, refusing
    to do a simple neighborly thing like drop you off at Earth on
    the way.

    Since they were six years behind schedule, they expected to
    find an Earth colony already established, but the planet that
    had been discovered years before was still empty.  Apparently
    your sabotage of the Jupiter set the U.S. space program back
    farther than you had thought.  At least you were well paid for
    that job, by Aeolis 14-Umbra, an agent from the nation of
    [CENSORED FOR YOUR PROTECTION].  Now all that beautiful money
    lies rotting in a Swiss account and you can't get back to
    spend it.

    But now your opportunity has arrived.  After two years of
    colonization the Robinson family has established themselves
    firmly on Alpha Centauri.  With aid from you they have built
    several shelters, and are living off the land quite
    comfortably.  Surely they wouldn't mind too much if you
    borrowed the ship, just to go back and inform Alpha Control
    where they are, mind you.

    The Robinsons are just setting off in the chariot to check the
    weather station, or dust the atomic pile, or some fool thing.
    You have learned enough to pilot the ship, but you must fuel
    it up, find the course data to Earth and make the ship
    spaceworthy before they return.


LOST PROPERTY -- by Edward McArdle.

    You have to gather some "Lost Property", which is anything you
    find whose name is enclosed in *asterisks*, and return it to
    the Vice-Principal's office (where you DROP it).


SON OF LOST PROPERTY -- A SEQUEL TO LOST PROPERTY -- by Edward
McArdle.

    You are in a school, and wandering around trying to find
    *treasures*, which you can recognize by their asterisks.  Some
    treasures may be found in surprising places!  Unlike the game
    to which this is a sequel, there are not many ways to be
    killed, because the game has to be completely restarted from
    scratch if you are killed, but a couple of places are no-win
    situations, and you may have to quit.

    All of your treasures must be dropped in the staffroom...
    which is not that easy to get into!


THE WIZARD'S CASTLE -- by Edward McArdle.

    Everything depends on you, to save your people from having to
    live without the protection of the Ruby of Rashmik, the magic
    implement which makes the crops grow, the birds fly and your
    team win the interkingdom basketball.


THE GAME OF RECOVERY -- AN ALLEGORICAL ADVENTURE -- by Daniel J.
Pallotta

    The Game of Recovery is an allegory based on the twelve
    suggested steps originated by Alcoholics Anonymous, now widely
    used by many support groups.  The Game was developed to
    illustrate some of the concepts involved in the steps.

    The game is intended for entertainment purposes only and is
    not intended to support, replace or otherwise supplement any
    group, program or philosophy. However, if you know of the
    steps, you have a head start and can refer to them.  If you
    don't, then this game may illustrate what the steps are about.
    Remember, this game does not attempt to explain or define the
    Twelve Steps. "Take what you like and leave the rest."

    The game has "pop-up" hints.


THE SPATENT OBSTRUCTION -- By Christopher Canavan

    In this game you are a regular guy adventurer named Aber
    Johnson.  You will meet friends along the way and a few will
    even join you for the game.  I'm not going to tell you much,
    it's your job to figure the rest out.


THE DARKEST ROAD TRILOGY -- by Clive Wilson.

    This trilogy consists of three related games: THE DARKEST
    ROAD, THE UNBORN ONE, and TWAS A TIME OF DREAD.  It has been
    suggested that this group/trilogy should be judged as a single
    entry.

    THE DARKEST ROAD

    As the great sadness spread over the land and the darkness
    drew ever closer from the north, the whispers around the
    campfires were of some strange dark magic dispensed by the
    evil one known as the BLACK WANDERER.  Far to the north, over
    the Darklen Moor and beyond the Eagleshorn, is where he is
    said to dwell, in a vast, grotesque fortress known as 'The
    Pinnacle'.  From within its confines the 'Black One' deals out
    his awesome powers and covers the land in in the creeping
    darkness that threatens to envelop all who occupy it... even
    the beast of the field and the fowl of the air are not safe
    from this dark malignancy.

    Then one morn as the sky grew ever greyer and the sun ever
    weaker, a Stranger entered the village... ragged and drawn he
    begged for sustenance and was grateful for the warm bread and
    cold milk that was offered him.  In return he told of the
    darkness and of the BLACK WANDERER and his thirst for power.
    However, he also told of the means to prevent this happening
    and of the one person who could carry out this task.  He told
    of the power of the SILENT SONG and of the bearer of this
    power.  Of the person who could use this power... of YOU....
    for you possess the gift of SILENT SONG and YOU alone can
    drive the darkness from the land.

    THE UNBORN ONE

    Once more, the Mysterious Stranger had appeared from out of
    nowhere and sought your assistance in putting right the
    problems besetting the land.  For a vile plague had befallen
    the people... killing them in their thousands... and the
    Southlands were in dire need of some form of salvation.
    Unless this happened soon the Southlands would become no more
    than a barren wilderness, devoid of all life, save the warped
    beings that now stalked the night.

    This plague was brought about by the one known as 'The Unborn
    One'.  An evil concocted by the Black Wanderer and hidden away
    until now, just waiting to heed his call.  The Unborn One had
    risen and taken the Citadel of Gor as his nest and it was he
    who dispensed the plague in all its vile glory.  The Citadel
    is protected by the Hosts, an evil breed of creature that only
    the legendary 'Silent Song' can destroy.  But be warned, The
    Unborn One cannot be harmed by the 'Silent Song' ...  It is a
    creature more deadly than the Black Wanderer and as such is
    immune to the powers of the Song.

    You must gain access to the Citadel and somehow stop The
    Unborn One from destroying the Southlands, whilst all the time
    avoiding the evil creatures that protect him.

    TWAS A TIME OF DREAD

    For three thousand years nothing has been heard of The
    Mysterious Stranger but now on a dark, wet and windy night he
    returns.  To you, a descendent of the 'Singer of the Song'.
    You, a mere child, still flush with the vigour of youth.  To
    you he comes.  You who have done nothing remotely heroic in
    all of your seventeen years.

    The Mysterious Stranger tells you that although the Silent
    Song has been lost, it too has mutated.  It has mutated within
    YOU.... into something more than what it was.  But he cannot
    tell you what.  That is for you and you alone to discover.  He
    leads you to the giant bird Sebac, who is to carry you over
    the Eagleshorn to the realm of Legion and there he bids you
    farewell.  You must now set out upon the giant bird in the
    direction of Legion and there do what you will to stop the
    evil spreading to the west.......


MURDER AT THE FOLKESTONE INN -- A WEEKEND ADVENTURE WITH VITA
SACKVILLE-WEST AND VIOLET TREFUSIS -- by Anne Laughlin

    You are Vita Sackville West, the lively and elegant British
    heiress who is married to the Foreign Office diplomat, Harold
    Nicholson.  You are in love with Violet Trefusis, a woman from
    a family not unused to scandal; Violet's mother had been the
    mistress of King Edward.

    The year is 1918.  Though both you and Violet have remarkably
    understanding husbands, it still remains a fact that in order
    for you to spend anything more than fleeting moments together,
    you and your lover must create the most elaborate of ruses.
    Some of these can be rather fun, however, and you look forward
    to the coming weekend's scenario with particular relish.  You
    will dress as a man and accompany your lover by train to the
    sea-side town of Folkestone.  There you will spend the weekend
    at a quiet inn, and whenever you appear outside your room you
    will do so in your role as Julian North.  Both you and Violet
    are aching for the freedom to move about and act like lovers,
    to pretend for even a short while that yours is a world where
    you can love as you choose.  You are also both excited by the
    prospect of pulling off such a gigantic charade, and only hope
    you can stay out of the bedroom long enough to show off what a
    handsome, well-bred couple you are.

    You and Violet head off for Folkestone on the train.  You are
    dressed as a gentleman and very much look the part with your
    well-cut clothes and strong, clear features.  You sport a
    small beard to divert attention from your fair skin, a wig to
    cover your long curls, and gloves to hide your small, feminine
    hands.  In all other ways you are most natural in the
    masculine role.  You laugh boisterously, flirt with and tease
    Violet, and handle her with a relaxed but possessive hand, to
    which Violet responds most gaily.  You are both deliriously
    happy.

    So begins this very unusual adventure.


THE RIFT -- By Michael A. Buonaccorsi

    It is the year 2020, you are a cargo transport pilot for the
    Interstellar Space Trading Corps (ISTC) and you are taking a
    long needed vacation from your job.  You're heading back home,
    to Earth.  It'll take 2 days to get there on your own personal
    shuttle.  It's not much of a ship, but it'll get you places
    faster than the colonial transport cruisers will.  You are on
    your ship all alone, and you left from your last assigned
    docking station yesterday.

    While on route to Earth, your sensors detect an anomaly of
    space in a nearby star system.  After looking at the readouts,
    you decide to check it out.  So, you drop out of hyperspace
    and change your course for the disruption.

    As you approach it, you can see the anomaly as a small green
    cloud floating in space about 200,000km in front of you.  A
    bright light emanates from the center of the cloud, almost
    like a nebula would look, as the hue of the green clouds
    around it constantly change in brightness.

    Your ship's sensors cannot come up with any kind of
    explanation as to what that thing is.  As you move your ship
    in closer to get a better scan, the rift suddenly emits a
    bright flash of light.  All of your controls and instruments
    go haywire and the engine system is damaged.  Your small ship
    is thrown out of control and is being pulled into the gravity
    well of a nearby planet.  You try to recover stability but
    it's useless.  There's nothing you can do but wait until you
    impact on the surface.  You soon enter the atmosphere of the
    planet and brace yourself for an impact.

    It was only a matter of minutes until your ship slammed into
    the ground.  But the impact wasn't all that intense.  You
    didn't even get any cuts.  As you peer out your window, you
    can see a vast valley of snow.  You check your sensors to
    determine what planet you are on.  Damaged by the impact, this
    task takes forever.  Finally, after a few minutes, the
    computer tells you that you are on the planet Arguillius VI
    (six), the 6th planet in the Alterian system.  You think to
    yourself for a minute, this planet hasn't been inhabited by
    any life since 2017, due to the decreasing temperatures that
    fell upon the atmosphere after a nearby star exploded.  The
    colonists that lived here had to evacuate and the planet was
    turned to a big ball of snow and ice.  You've heard rumors
    through the ISTC that some colonists stayed on Arguillius VI.
    But you never believed them. Suddenly, you start to hope that
    they are true.....

    So begins this very unusual adventure.

@~To be continued next issue.





                              - o -