Quest for Tintin: A text-based adventure
Whatever comics I have bought in the past several years have been exclusively online. Apparently I'm out of practice buying them in person, because what follows pretty much mirrors my comics-buying excursions from high school and early college. Ugh, I really need to learn to be less awkward about this sort of thing. Alas, while most of Tintin's adventures seem to contain fistfights, guns, and treasure-hunting, my normal adventuring style involves sitting behind a keyboard and playing something with either "King's Quest" or "Monkey Island" in the title :3
Case in point...
You stand in front of the door of your local bookstore, a mom-and-pop sort of place with antiquated charm. In your inventory are: KEYS, CELL PHONE, WALLET, MONEY.
> USE DOOR
You open the door. You smile and hold it for the woman coming in behind you, at the same time wondering if she could possibly suspect you are there to buy comic books, of all things. You shake off the thought, entertained by your own ridiculousness.
> USE STAIRS
You know that the graphic novels section is on the second floor, so you head that direction. With each step, you wonder if this excursion will end in success or failure. You round the corner and take a left in the direction of graphic novels, heart pumping faster in anticipation for what you might find there.
> LOOK CASUAL
You take a cursory look around, scoping out your surroundings. Amazingly, this part of the floor isn't as crowded as usual, although there are two people perusing the shelves right next to the ones you had been hoping to approach. You are slightly mollified by the fact that the one browsing sci-fi/horror books is a woman, although the uninterested manner in which she acknowledges the DC anthology her boyfriend is showing her doesn't give you much hope. You hesitate, and end up deciding to walk past graphic novels completely. In order to gather your courage (or stall for time, you're not sure which), you browse random bookshelves until you complete one lap around the floor.
When you return, the couple is gone, and the graphic novels section is now as uninhabited as it's ever going to get.
> LOOK FOR TINTIN
Your rake your eyes across the various brightly-colored spines and covers, looking for a key word or image that would indicate success. Your gaze hovers briefly over both volumes of Princess Knight, and you are momentarily distracted by searching for vol. 4 of Sailor Moon, but now is not the time. Then, all of a sudden, you see something, your heart skips a beat, you've done it!-- but wait, no, it's some sort of Herge biography with a cover that closely mimics his style. Although it's probably a fine book, it's is not at all what you're looking for.
> DAMMIT
I don't understand DAMMIT.
> USE STAIRS
You walk downstairs, a feeling of disappointment washing over you. Seriously, what the heck? You thought for sure this place would come through. How could they have a Herge biography but no freaking Tintin??
> WALK TO JUVENILE BOOKS
All right, one last shot. You peruse the teenage section, bewildered at the sheer quantity of books that look like they're about vampires. Then something catches your eye-- could it be? YES! Several volumes of Tintin, sitting unassumingly on a shelf across the aisle.
> GET TINTIN
You slide "The Blue Lotus" off the shelf with something akin to reverence. You are amused to note that the section you now find yourself in is labeled "Juvenile Classics."
> USE STAIRS
You make your way back upstairs again, the book clutched in your slightly sweaty nerd-girl hand.
> USE CHAIR
You settle into a comfortable upholstered armchair in a quiet corner of the bookstore. It's in the metaphysics section, but at this point, you're beyond caring.
> READ THE BLUE LOTUS
You read the shit outta that thing.
> PFFFFFT
I know, right? It's basically everything you thought it would be and more.
> GET MORE TINTIN
You hurry back downstairs and look for other volumes you had thought about trying. You lament the fact that there don't seem to be any copies of "Cigars of the Pharaoh," "The Red Sea Sharks," or "The Crab With the Golden Claws," but they definitely have "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure," so that's something.
> PROCEED TO CHECKOUT
You walk around to the checkout counter, the sweet feeling of success obliterating any lingering sense of embarrassment.
> USE MONEY ON CLERK
He rings up your order and hands you your bag. In your inventory are now: KEYS, CELL PHONE, WALLET, TINTIN.
> I AM AWESOME
You head for the door with a triumphant sense of accomplishment, but before you can leave, you are eaten by a grue.
The End.
Seriously, Tintin is giving me a lot of feelings right now. "The Blue Lotus" wasn't perfect, but it was still really enjoyable. Completely over-the-top, mind you, but in a (mostly) good way. Now, I'm looking forward to meeting Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus in "Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure!"
Case in point...
You stand in front of the door of your local bookstore, a mom-and-pop sort of place with antiquated charm. In your inventory are: KEYS, CELL PHONE, WALLET, MONEY.
> USE DOOR
You open the door. You smile and hold it for the woman coming in behind you, at the same time wondering if she could possibly suspect you are there to buy comic books, of all things. You shake off the thought, entertained by your own ridiculousness.
> USE STAIRS
You know that the graphic novels section is on the second floor, so you head that direction. With each step, you wonder if this excursion will end in success or failure. You round the corner and take a left in the direction of graphic novels, heart pumping faster in anticipation for what you might find there.
> LOOK CASUAL
You take a cursory look around, scoping out your surroundings. Amazingly, this part of the floor isn't as crowded as usual, although there are two people perusing the shelves right next to the ones you had been hoping to approach. You are slightly mollified by the fact that the one browsing sci-fi/horror books is a woman, although the uninterested manner in which she acknowledges the DC anthology her boyfriend is showing her doesn't give you much hope. You hesitate, and end up deciding to walk past graphic novels completely. In order to gather your courage (or stall for time, you're not sure which), you browse random bookshelves until you complete one lap around the floor.
When you return, the couple is gone, and the graphic novels section is now as uninhabited as it's ever going to get.
> LOOK FOR TINTIN
Your rake your eyes across the various brightly-colored spines and covers, looking for a key word or image that would indicate success. Your gaze hovers briefly over both volumes of Princess Knight, and you are momentarily distracted by searching for vol. 4 of Sailor Moon, but now is not the time. Then, all of a sudden, you see something, your heart skips a beat, you've done it!-- but wait, no, it's some sort of Herge biography with a cover that closely mimics his style. Although it's probably a fine book, it's is not at all what you're looking for.
> DAMMIT
I don't understand DAMMIT.
> USE STAIRS
You walk downstairs, a feeling of disappointment washing over you. Seriously, what the heck? You thought for sure this place would come through. How could they have a Herge biography but no freaking Tintin??
> WALK TO JUVENILE BOOKS
All right, one last shot. You peruse the teenage section, bewildered at the sheer quantity of books that look like they're about vampires. Then something catches your eye-- could it be? YES! Several volumes of Tintin, sitting unassumingly on a shelf across the aisle.
> GET TINTIN
You slide "The Blue Lotus" off the shelf with something akin to reverence. You are amused to note that the section you now find yourself in is labeled "Juvenile Classics."
> USE STAIRS
You make your way back upstairs again, the book clutched in your slightly sweaty nerd-girl hand.
> USE CHAIR
You settle into a comfortable upholstered armchair in a quiet corner of the bookstore. It's in the metaphysics section, but at this point, you're beyond caring.
> READ THE BLUE LOTUS
You read the shit outta that thing.
> PFFFFFT
I know, right? It's basically everything you thought it would be and more.
> GET MORE TINTIN
You hurry back downstairs and look for other volumes you had thought about trying. You lament the fact that there don't seem to be any copies of "Cigars of the Pharaoh," "The Red Sea Sharks," or "The Crab With the Golden Claws," but they definitely have "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure," so that's something.
> PROCEED TO CHECKOUT
You walk around to the checkout counter, the sweet feeling of success obliterating any lingering sense of embarrassment.
> USE MONEY ON CLERK
He rings up your order and hands you your bag. In your inventory are now: KEYS, CELL PHONE, WALLET, TINTIN.
> I AM AWESOME
You head for the door with a triumphant sense of accomplishment, but before you can leave, you are eaten by a grue.
The End.
Seriously, Tintin is giving me a lot of feelings right now. "The Blue Lotus" wasn't perfect, but it was still really enjoyable. Completely over-the-top, mind you, but in a (mostly) good way. Now, I'm looking forward to meeting Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus in "Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure!"