Prodcut: Adventure Game Toolkit
 
OVERVIEW OF THE ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT:
 
The ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT (AGT) lets you design/write your own high-quality
text adventure games.  Once created, these adventure games can be shared with
others -- even if they do not have a copy of the AGT themselves.
 
AGT has a number of features that make it a very comprehensive adventure game
creation product.  Some of these key features are:
 
   *     "Look and feel" of Infocom adventure games with similar screen layout
         and standard vocabulary and routines.
 
   *     Large standard vocabulary with potential to define many more words
         unique to your gam.  Typical games can have a vocabulary of 500 words
         or more.
 
   *     Sophisticated parser that can understand (1) complex input commands
         including pronouns (IT, HIM, HER, THEM, MY and ITS), and (2) compound
         commands separated by AND or THEN or punctuation symbols, and (3)
         commands addressed to characters within the game.  Here are a few
         examples of commands AGT can handle with ease:
 
              GET THE FLASH LIGHT AND THEN SWITCH IT ON
              PUT ON THE CLOAK, THEN EXAMINE IT; READ ITS LABEL
              PLACE THE GREEN ROCK AND THE SMALL PEBBLE BEHIND THE TREE
              ENTER THE HOUSE; GET ALL; EXIT; SOUTH; SOUTH THEN DOWN
              SULU, SET A COURSE FOR ALPHA 14
              SCOTTY, BEAM DOWN A TRICORDER AND THE QWERTY MODULE
              DROP THE FOOD, THE KEY AND THE BOTTLE THEN UNLOCK THE DOOR WITH
                   THE BRASS KEY AND THEN LEAVE
 
   *     Function and cursor keys predefined to input frequently used commands
         and move directions.
 
   *     SCRIPT and UNSCRIPT commands to echo game output to printer.
 
   *     Versions for IBM, Macintosh, Atari ST and Amiga.  Games created on
         one of these computers can be played on all of the others without
         modifications to the game.
 
 
WHAT THE REVIEWERS HAVE SAID ABOUT THE ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT
 
     "Using the Adventure Game Toolkit, anyone with an ounce of
     imagination can create a text adventure game ... similar in layout
     and sophistication to those made by Infocom and other commercial
     developers." -- Donald B. Trivette (PC Magazine)
 
     "The Adventure Game Toolkit (AGT) acts as a compiler which allows
     for creating remarkably complex and sophisticated games in a fairly
     simple way .... AGT's parser reminds me of Infocom's." -- Scorpia
     (Computer Gaming World)
 
     "If you have ever wondered what it is like to create your own
     adventure games, but didn't have the programming knowledge to do it,
     this product is for you .... The process is easy ... and you'll have
     hours of fun doing it." -- Resul DeMaria (Public Domain Software &
     Shareware)
 
     "The Adventure Game Toolkit from Softworks ... provides all the
     tools you need to build your own text based adventure games .... The
     Adventure Game Toolkit is an extremely powerful development
     package." -- Bob Napp (Big Blue Disk)
 
     Recently, the Adventure Game Toolkit was awarded the "Golden Chalice"
     Award by the Adventure And Strategy Club (of England).
 
 
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS FOR AGT
 
IBM: The games created by the Adventure Game Toolkit requires a computer with
at least 384K of memory, MS-DOS 2.1, and at least one disk drive.  It is
possible to use any kind of monitor and AGT will automatically adjust its
output to best suit the monitor.
 
 
THE "CLASSIC" EDITION OF THE ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT
 
The "Classic Edition" (i.e., the version we have been perfecting for the last
seven years) of AGT is very simple to use and can be used by programming
novices or even by non-programmer's to create very professional text
adventures similar to those from firms like Infocom.  Versions of the Classic
Edition are available for IBM, Macintosh, Atari ST and Amiga computers and
games created on any of these computers can be re-compiled and played on any
of the other computers.  The Classic Edition is still supported and available
from Softworks as Shareware for only $20 (or $40 including a 223 page printed
manual with lots and lots of detailed examples).
 
Anyone who orders the Classic Edition will get two disks filled with a number
of "goodies" that are NOT included with the "unregistered" versions of AGT --
specifically, you will get a number of great games (in AGT source code
format):
 
      QUEST     Recover your magic spells and amulets from Blackwing's Pit.
 
      SQUYNCH   Challenge the evils and mysteries of the Land of Squynch.
                Very clever!  As good as Infocom!
 
      PARANOIA  An adaptation of a classic fantasy role-playing game from
                "SpaceGamer/FantasyGamer" magazine.
 
      ELF       Help Santa make it a merry, merry Christmas by discovering
                how to make Rudolph's nose shine bright enough to fly the
                sleigh through the fog covering the North Pole.
 
      UNDERGND  A game of survival after World War III.  Uses all of the
                tricks of the original GAGS (Standard Level) adventures.
 
      DEENA     A woman warrior's struggle to escape from the lecherous
                Gendi tribe.  (R-rated)
 
      DRAGONS   An adventure in the Sultan's palace with side trips to his
                dungeon, the torture chamber and the harem.  (R-rated)
 
      BIGDATE   Get ready for your big date.  An adventure told from a
                woman's point of view.
 
      CTA       "Cristian Text Adventure" is an allegorical adventure where
                you battle figures like "Unbelief", "Greed" and "Lust" using
                such weapons as the "Sword of the Spirit" and the "Staff of
                Righteousness".
 
      FABLE     An allegorical quest for meaning and understanding in life.
 
      LOTTERY   An adventure in San Francisco with emphasize on the "red
                light" district.  (R-rated)
 
      NMR       "Adventures in NMR" is an example of how one might use an AGT
                game format to explain/describe something like a complex
                product or how to diagnois a problem with equipment, etc.
                Specifically, in NMR, the object is to purchase an NMR
                spectrometer and measure a spectrum without killing yourself
                in the process.
 
      EASTER    A game aimed at and suitable for children from 7-12.  Hunt for
                Easter Eggs around the house.  Truly charming!
 
      VANPELT   An orientation to the Van Pelt library at the University of
                Pennsylvania.  Used to teach new students how to find their
                way around the library and how to undertake basic library
                research.
 
Plus, anyone who orders the Classic Edition will get several great game
creation utilities:
 
      AA        "Adventure Author" -- a utility to create Standard Level games
                by "filling-in-the-blanks" using a form.  The form is then
                turned into the basic data file that AGT needs.
 
      AGTMACRO  A TSR that creates "templates" for ROOMs, NOUNs, etc. from
                within your text editor or word processor -- saving you both
                time, errors and typing.
 
      AGTNUM    A utility than enables you to use meaningful "labels" rather
                than numbers, e.g., NOUN 233 can be expressed as NOUN [Big Ax],
                and MESSAGE 41 can become MESSAGE [Don't go near the dragon!].
 
 
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CLASSIC EDITION AND THE MASTER'S EDITION OF AGT
 
The "Master's Edition" is the long-awaited and long-promised version 2.0 of
AGT and represents the response to over seven years of AGT user's requests for
improvements and additional capabilities and features.
 
The MASTER'S EDITION of ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT is designed to allow a game
designer/writer to create and play his/her own high-quality text adventure
games with optional graphic illustrations, sound effects and music.  Once
created, these adventure games can be shared with and enjoyed by others --
even if they do not have a copy of the Adventure Game Toolkit themselves.
 
 
FEATURES OF MASTER'S EDITION OF THE ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT
 
In addition to ALL the features and capabilities of the Classic Edition, the
Master's Edition of AGT has a number of additional features, including:
 
   *     Bigger games; approximately twice as large as "Classic" games, e.g.,
         up to 300 rooms, 200 nouns, 900 messages, etc., and a typical game
         can have a vocabulary of 1000 words or more.
 
   *     An OOPS feature that allows you to edit/correct your input commands.
 
   *     Optional graphic illustrations using PCX formatted pictures for
         display on CGA, EGA or VGA screens.  The PCX format is the most
         widely available of any picture format and is supported by most PAINT
         and/or DRAW programs.  Plus -- a great deal of PCX "clip-art" is
         available.
 
   *     Optional animation using FLI files (produced by Autodesk Animator,
         Animator Pro, 3D-Studio, PC-Animate, StrataVision 3D and other
         animation packages) that can be displayed on VGA screens (only).  The
         FLI format is the most widely used animation format.  Plus -- a great
         deal of FLI animation "clip-art" is available.
 
   *     Optional music and sound effects that can be played in the
         "background" during the game.  These sound effects can either use the
         PC's internal speaker or use an AdLib or SoundBlaster (or compatible)
         "sound card" (if one is available).
 
   *     Optional user-definable "look-and-feel" interface including a
         menu-driven player input option that displays feasible commands for
         the player to pick from.
 
   *     Optional "pop-up" hints available when the <Alt> and <h> keys are
         pressed at the same time.
 
   *     Optional fonts (EGA and VGA monitors only) that can be changed to
         suit the needs of the game.  The Master's Edition comes with over
         30 sample fonts including Old English, Scrawl, Computereze.  Plus, a
         Font Editor is provided that allows you to create your own unique
         fonts.
 
The Master's Edition is totally compatible with the Classic Edition and
games originally developed for the Classic Edition can be easily converted
to (using a provided conversion utility) and used with the Master's Edition.
The Master's Edition is available only for IBM (or compatible) computers.
 
However, be warned: The Master's Edition is aimed at the more sophisticated
and experienced programmer/game designer!
 
The Master's Edition is available from Softworks for only $50.  This price
includes the cost of six ZIPped disks with over 5 megabytes of goodies
including complete documentation on disk, a bunch of game creation utilities,
several brand new sample games including the complete AGT source code to:
 
    *    HUMONGOUS CAVE (believed to be the largest text adventure game
         available on any microcomputer).  Based on the "Colassal Cave"
         adventure, but expanded to 1000 points, 300 locations, hundreds of
         objects, elves and other creatures, treasures and puzzles.
 
    *    HURRY! HURRY! HURRY! -- an illustrated, musical text adventure about
         a mystery in a traveling circus with all of the game's related font,
         music, sound effects and pictures files.
 
    *    SHERLOCK HOLMES -- a very unusual, menu-driven adventure where you
         play the famous detective and try to solve a total of 18 separate
         cases.  This adventure illustrates the Master's Edition's vastly
         improved capability to handle questions and answers.
 
    *    BRAINSCAPE -- an adventure that takes place inside the brain similar
         to the novels (and movie) by Isaac Asimov "Fantastic Voyage" and
         "Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain".
 
    *    SQUYNCH -- a classic adventure in-the-style-of-Infocom in which you
         challenge the evils and mysteries of the Land of Squynch. Very clever!
 
    *    PORK -- a parody of the Infocom ZORK series of adventures.  If
         you were frustrated by ZORK, play PORK and enjoy the sweet fruits of
         revenge.
 
    *    ADVENTURELAND and PIRATE'S ADVENTURE -- two true classic games by
         Scott Adams converted to AGT.  See how a real master of the genre
         does his magic!
 
 
WHICH VERSION IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
 
If you are a "power" gamer/programmer and know that you can use (or need) the
full power of the Master's Edition, then by all means -- get the Master's
Edition.  If you have less experience with programming or game design, then
you should probably start with the Classic Edition.  If you select the Classic
Edition, you can always upgrade later when you need the full power of the
Master's Edition -- for a special "registered AGT user" upgrade price of only
$35.
 
 
REMEMBER:  Softworks is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals
           -- your guarantee of quality in shareware software.
 
 
           ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT (AGT) REGISTRATION/ORDER FORM
 
Remit to:
    Softworks
    43064 Via Moraga
    Mission San Jose, California  94539-5748
 
You can also order by phone using your Mastercard or VISA by dialing
(510) 659-0533, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM., PST ONLY, Monday to Thursday
                9:00 AM to 5:00 PM., PST ONLY, Saturday and Sunday
 
AGT Registration (Classic Edition)........................ $ 20.00     $ ______
    includes: (1) Notice of future AGT upgrades, new AGT Adventures and
    related AGT products.  (2) Latest version of the programs, sample
    Adventure game source files (CAVE, CRUSADE, UNDERGND, ALICE and others),
    and summary documentation on disk.  Over one and half megabyte of program
    and data files -- ZIPped on two disks.  (3) Telephone support from 7 PM to
    9 PM PST (M-Th) plus Weekends.  (4) The option to upgrade to the Master's
    Edition of AGT at any time for only $ 35.
 
Above with printed AGT manual (Classic Edition)........... $ 40.00     $ ______
    includes: Above items plus printed manual (223 pages) with numerous
    detailed examples on how to use the Adventure Game Toolkit to create very
    professional and very clever Adventure games.  The printed AGT manual has
    approximately 300% the amount of information as contained in the summary
    disk documentation.
 
Printed "Classic Edition" AGT manual (Only) .............. $ 25.00     $ ______
 
Master's Edition AGT Purchase ............................ $ 50.00     $ ______
    The Master's Edition of AGT is for the IBM only and is aimed at
    more sophisticated programmers/game designers.  The package includes:
    (1) Notice of future AGT upgrades, new AGT Adventures and related AGT
    products.  (2) Latest version of the Master's Edition programs and
    utilities, sample Adventure game source files (HUMONGOUS CAVE, HURRY,
    PORK, SQUYNCH, PIRATE and others), and complete documentation on disk.
    Over three megabyte of program and data files -- ZIPped on six disks.
    (3) Telephone support from 7 PM to 9 PM PST (M-Th) plus Weekends.
 
    Orders are normally shipped by US mail at no additional charge.
    For UPS ground shipment, please add $5.00............. $ 5.00      $ ______
 
    Shipments outside the United States are sent via Air Mail:
      For shipments to Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand
         or Australia add ................................ $ 14.00     $ ______
      For shipments to Canada or Mexico add............... $  6.00     $ ______
      For shipments to Great Britain and Europe add....... $ 10.00     $ ______
      For shipments elsewhere outside the USA add......... $ 12.00     $ ______
 
                                                    Subtotal           $ ______
 
    (California residents please add 8.25% sales tax)          Tax     $ ______
 
               ******** U.S. Dollars ONLY!!! -------------->>> Total   $ ______
 
Payment by:    ( ) Check    ( ) MasterCard    ( ) VISA    ( ) Cash
       ADVENTURE GAME TOOLKIT (AGT) REGISTRATION/ORDER FORM -- PAGE 2
 
 
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AGT Version/Disk Size desired: ______ Macintosh  ______ Atari ST  ______ Amiga
 
                               ______ IBM 5 1/4  ______ IBM 3 1/2
 
 
 
Look for: AGT135.ZIP on BBSs (multiple files) (call 606-271-0558
  to download it at no charge); AGT135.ZIP on CompuServe in
  CIS:GAMERS forum LIBrary 2 (multiple files) (or contact userID
  73435,1277 for assistance); AGT135.ZIP on GEnie in IBM forum
  LIBrary 7 (multiple files) (or contact userID D.MALMBERG for
  assistance).
 
Download size: 90k (about seven minutes with a 2400 baud modem)
 
 
