> restart How Suzy Got Her Powers How Suzy Got Her Powersby David WhyldWritten with ADRIFT Version 4, Release 51Version 1 Released: June 2011 (1) Background. (2) About the game. (3) Game information. (0) Play How Suzy Got Her Powers. > 1 BackgroundYou're Suzy Loman: mild-mannered waitress by day, superheroine by night. Well… at the present time that's only 50% true. Which 50%? Currently, you're on your way to work at The Pig's Trough restaurant where you'll spend your time on duty (and boy, does it feel like duty!) having the customers shout at you, make rude comments under their breath that they know full well you can hear and pinch your bottom. That ought to give you some kind of indication. You're twenty-three and somewhat naïve. You're also a bit of an under achiever: a smart kid at school, but too long spent daydreaming with your head in the clouds and your thoughts turned to something more interesting has left you in a dead end job, rent payments through the roof, and a love life slightly less active than the goldfish you forgot to feed when you were a teenager stressing over a boy who didn't even notice you because he only had eyes for the class hottie. In short, your life isn't interesting, isn't going anywhere, and you wish - really, really wish - something would just come along and change it all for you. Today you get your wish. Of course, there's an old saying about things like that: be careful what you wish for because you just might get it…[MORE] (1) Background. (2) About the game. (3) Game information. (0) Play How Suzy Got Her Powers. > 2 About the GameHow Suzy Got Her Powers is the introductory part of a much larger work, a superhero (or superheroine actually) game called Scarlet. I've written a superhero game before - A Day in the Life of a Superhero (entered in the IFComp in 2004 where it came a lowly 23rd place) - but Scarlet is a more serious game. Which isn't to say it is a serious game, just that it won't feature the kind of seriously over the top and outlandish humour that Superhero did. Scarlet is more down to earth, the villains more villainous, and the setting not quite so silly. Think X-Men or Batman Begins as opposed to Superman wearing his underpants on the outside. Scarlet is intended to be a big game, perhaps the biggest I've ever written. At the time of writing this About the Game section, I'm not sure just how big the finished project will be, but don't expect to have it done in a couple of hours. The main plot will feature half a dozen supervillains, each with their own cronies and base, scattered across a city of perhaps three hundred locations. There'll be other areas as well - an island base, a cloud castle, maybe even somewhere deep underground - not to mention several extras thrown in to add background to the storyline. And a few Easter Egg areas of course. No game would be complete without them. How Suzy Got Her Powers is one such extra, detailing what happened one day when Suzy Loman - AKA Scarlet - crosses a parking lot on her way to work, has an encounter with something totally unexpected, and winds up with powers that she doesn't even want. But she has them all the same and as Peter Parker's uncle once told him “with great power comes great responsibility.” In a world inhabited by the likes of Krusher, the Vortex and Fyreball, great responsibility is going to be thrust upon little Suzy whether she wants it or not. After all, someone has to stop them…[MORE] (1) Background. (2) About the game. (3) Game information. (0) Play How Suzy Got Her Powers. > 3 Game InformationHow Suzy Got Her Powers {version 1} was written with ADRIFT 4, Release 51 and was completed on 24th June 2011. Size: 40Kb; Locations 5 {8 as per the ADRIFT Generator but only 5 are accessible during the game); Objects 84; Tasks 380; Events 11; Characters 2.[MORE] (1) Background. (2) About the game. (3) Game information. (0) Play How Suzy Got Her Powers. > 0 “La-dddyyyyyyyy!” You blink. Jeez, that was loud! Does the kid have a pair of loudspeakers in his lungs or something? “Lady, he-llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp!” the kids screeches. You're more inclined to cover your ears to block him out, but instead find yourself (cursing your ever helpful nature as you do) saying to him, “What's the problem, kiddo?” The kid - is it a boy? A girl? (Something else?) - points towards a building at one end of the parking lot. Smoke is rising in thick clouds from it (how come you didn't notice that before?) and there are what look like flames licking at one of the upper windows. The kid - apparently not one for keeping his/her voice down when he/she has the opportunity to screech instead - wails “My mummeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” and points to the building. “She's insiddddddddddddde!” Your usual response at this point would be to shrug your shoulders, say, “Yes? And?” but this time you stop yourself. There's someone trapped in there. In a burning building. There's you and the kid here. And, as sheer bad luck would have it, the rest of the parking lot is empty. “Hellllllllppppppp!!!” wails the kid, tugging at your hand and trying to pull you towards the burning building when every instinct is prompting you to run in the other direction.West to the burning building, east to the rest of the world. > wear Sorry. That isn't recognised. If you're stuck for general commands, type COMMANDS. > west You start towards the burning building, the kid running alongside you then falling behind. Thank heavens for that! The last thing you felt like doing was dragging a wailing kid into a burning building- Actually, the last thing you feel like doing is going into a burning building full stop, but you're resigned to it now. You're determined, cool, calm and confident - and, above all, terrified. Well done, Suzy Loman. You're about to become a hero after all. Ignoring your shaking legs, you open the door to the building and hurry inside...[MORE] SSS Ground Floor SSS [Turns: 4] [Locations visited: 1/5]The fire hasn't got down to this part of the building yet (you're guessing it must have started at the top), but it's still fiercely hot and the smoke is so bad you feel like you're damaging your lungs permanently just by being here. This part of the building looks to be some kind of reception area judging from the desk and whatnot, but the smoke is making it hard to see. A staircase against the north wall leads up to the first floor of the building; next to it yawns the mouth of an open elevator. EXITS: East, Up. With a clang!!! the door swings shut. Ouch! Don't they oil the hinges in this place? Anyway, the reception area appears to be deserted. Is the building closed? Has everyone already abandoned ship? Either way, the only one here is you (and you're really wishing you weren't here). > x reception SSS Ground Floor SSS [Turns: 5] [Locations visited: 2/5]The fire hasn't got down to this part of the building yet (you're guessing it must have started at the top), but it's still fiercely hot and the smoke is so bad you feel like you're damaging your lungs permanently just by being here. This part of the building looks to be some kind of reception area judging from the desk and whatnot, but the smoke is making it hard to see. A staircase against the north wall leads up to the first floor of the building; next to it yawns the mouth of an open elevator. EXITS: East, Up. > x desk A receptionist's desk, complete with computer (currently off), telephone, a very uncomfortable looking chair and a cluttered mess of files. Attached to the wall behind it is a small fire extinguisher. > get extinguisher You take it from behind the desk.[Your score has just increased by 1 point.] > x files This is little like the desks you tend to see on TV shows set in offices which have a couple of files neatly placed upon them. Here you have an unsightly mess of files which appear to have been thrown haphazardly on the desk many months ago and not touched since. > search files This is little like the desks you tend to see on TV shows set in offices which have a couple of files neatly placed upon them. Here you have an unsightly mess of files which appear to have been thrown haphazardly on the desk many months ago and not touched since. > turn on computer You press the power button but nothing seems to happen. The computer must have been wrecked by the fire. > get telephone It's not the kind of telephone that can be moved anywhere, at least not without unplugging it from the wall first. > unplug telephone At a time like this, you really need to be focused on more important things: like saving the trapped woman above. > up SSS First Floor SSS [Score: 1/22] [Turns: 13] [Locations visited: 2/5]The far end of this floor (some kind of large, open storage room by the look of things) is burning fiercely. Smoke and fire fight it out, unimpeded by the dismal spray of water coming from the overhead sprinklers. To one side, several boxes and sheets of papers are aflame. The stairs to the next floor look to be at the far end and you'll need to pass through the flames to reach them.EXITS: North, Down. No one here? From the general look of disuse, you're guessing no one has worked in this place for quite some time. Maybe years. Which begs the question: why is the kid's mother in here? > n The flames are in your way. > x extinguisher It's one of those ancient models that looks like it was probably taken on the Ark with Moses and his animals. A label on the side indicates the correct usage for it isuse extinguisher on {name}and recommends this is adhered to in order to achieve the best results. Certainly a handy thing to have with you in a burning building. It also has a picture on it of someone throwing a fire extinguisher at a fire in order to put out a particularly fierce blaze. > use extinguisher on fire You aim the fire extinguisher at the flames, press the button and shoot a jet of foam from it. The foam hits the flames and extinguishes a good number of them, but the extinguisher starts making a sad little spluttering sound before it's put them all out. The foam stops shooting and begins to dribble out, until in the end it's barely even dribbling. But at least you've put some of the flames out.[Your score has just increased by 1 point.] > n The flames are in your way. > throw extinguisher at fire Sorry. That isn't recognised. If you're stuck for general commands, type COMMANDS. > throw extinguisher There's no need to throw that right now. > look SSS First Floor SSS [Score: 2/22] [Turns: 19] [Locations visited: 3/5]The far end of this floor (some kind of large, open storage room by the look of things) is burning fiercely. Smoke and fire fight it out, unimpeded by the dismal spray of water coming from the overhead sprinklers. To one side, several boxes and sheets of papers are aflame. The stairs to the next floor look to be at the far end and you'll need to pass through the flames to reach them.EXITS: North, Down. > x boxes What the boxes contain is largely irrelevant right now. They are on fire after all. > run Sorry. That isn't recognised. If you're stuck for general commands, type COMMANDS. > command Sorry. That isn't recognised. If you're stuck for general commands, type COMMANDS. > commands In an effort to (hopefully) avoid guess-the-verb issues, here are a list of commands you can type in How Suzy Got Her Powers. You can adjust the font size up a point with inc font and down a point with dec font. To have more control over it and the general look of the ADRIFT Runner, see the Options menu at the top of the Runner and the Display & Media option. If this is the first time you've played an ADRIFT game, you'll find the font colour set to an eye-watering green. Feel free to change it to something a little less gaudy. Certain commands that are not necessary to finish the game but which are there for the sake of completeness or because they're part of the ADRIFT system by default - SMELL, WHISTLE, DANCE, etc - aren't included in this list. Other commands that aren't listed here are ones used to solve certain puzzles. These are included in the game's text so pay careful attention to them. Directional commands: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, SOUTHWEST, UP, DOWN - can all be abbreviated to N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, SW, U, D. IN and OUT can also be used where appropriate. In certain locations, it might be possible to CLIMB various things or ENTER them. Conversation is handled in the TALK TO {NAME OF CHARACTER} format. (This can be abbreviated to T {NAME OF CHARACTER} if you like.) This applies to all conversation commands, so ASK JOHN ABOUT CAR or TELL JOHN TO LEAVE would be processed the same as TALK TO JOHN. Items can be taken with the GET or TAKE command and left behind with the DROP command. You can see what you're carrying with the INVENTORY (I) command. Some items can be SMASHed (BREAK works the same as SMASH) and others can be CUT. You might even be able to ROLL, PUSH, MOVE or LIFT items depending on the circumstances and the item in question. Some items can be TOUCHed, others can be SMELLed. Others can be PUT inside other items or on top of them. Some can be WORN and then REMOVEd. Some items can be GIVEn to other characters. If you have a shovel or something similar, you might even be able to DIG with it. THROW items if you feel the need or maybe try to ROLL or MOVE or PUSH them around. Some items - vases, buckets, etc. - can be FILLed and then you can EMPTY them. Things can be OPEN and CLOSEd. For ease of use, OPEN will work the same as UNLOCK and CLOSE will work the same as LOCK and SHUT. If you're curious about something, trying EXAMINING it (X for short). Maybe LISTEN to it as well. LOOKing at an item works the same as EXAMINING it but, in the case of items like mirrors, you might be able to LOOK INTO them as well. Windows can be LOOKed OUT of and LOOKed THROUGH. You can fight with the KILL [NAME OF CHARACTER] command. Every combat action will be interpreted in the same way so KILL is the only command actually needed. If you're tired, you can try SLEEPing. Some locations have beds that you can LIE ON. You can EAT and DRINK if there is sustenance around. Your current game position can be SAVEd and then LOADed (or RESTOREd) later on. UNDO will move you back one move - handy if you make a mistake! RESTART will begin the game again. By default, the screen does not clear when you enter a new location. However, if you prefer this to happen, CON will turn screen clearing on. COFF or COF will turn it off again. > look SSS First Floor SSS [Score: 2/22] [Turns: 22] [Locations visited: 3/5]The far end of this floor (some kind of large, open storage room by the look of things) is burning fiercely. Smoke and fire fight it out, unimpeded by the dismal spray of water coming from the overhead sprinklers. To one side, several boxes and sheets of papers are aflame. The stairs to the next floor look to be at the far end and you'll need to pass through the flames to reach them.EXITS: North, Down. > x fire While not burning quite as fiercely as before, the fire is still hot enough to make you really wish you weren't here. It's way, way too hot to approach. > i You have with you: l a fire extinguisher (It's one of those ancient models that just has a button to press on top and, hopefully, shoots out a jet of foam which ought to douse any fire. A handy thing to have with you in a burning building. It's got a picture on the side of it of someone throwing a fire extinguisher at a fire in order to put out a particularly fierce blaze.) l some mints (They're small, white, hard and, in your humble opinion, not particularly tasty. You probably bought them as an impulse purchase or something because you're not really a minty person.) l a cellphone (You really need to get yourself a better one. This is half the size of a brick, weighs a tonne (you're sure it's broken the strap of your handbag a time or two), and one of the buttons hardly even works. Your friends are all up with the latest crazes of phoning on the go, but you're more comfortable with the non-mobile ones.) l a tissue (A tissue. Not a used one, thankfully, but it is looking rather on the crumpled side. You generally have a tissue with you because you have the unfortunate habit of getting a cold at the worst possible times and you still have nightmares about the time you sneezed during a job interview and ended up using your sleeve to wipe away the offending... um... stuff...)