Yon Astounding Castle! of some sort

From IFWiki
Adventure
Adventure
Fantasy
Fantasy
Comedy
Comedy
Fort
Fort
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ADRIFT IntroComp 2009
8th place of 11
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IF Comp 2009
11th of 24
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InsideADRIFT Awards 2009
Best Implementation
Yon Astounding Castle!
of some sort
Yon Astounding Castle cover art.jpg
Author(s) Duncan Bowsman as "Tiberius Thingamus"
Publisher(s) n/a
Release date(s) Intro: 31-May-2009
Full: 01-Oct-2009
Authoring system ADRIFT 4
Platform(s) ADRIFT 4
Language(s) English
License(s) Freeware
Multimedia
Color effects none
Graphics none
Sound/Music optional
Ratings
Cruelty scale Cruelty to be determined

How It Begins

Ye are yeself. Ye hath grown tired o' ye work at Ye Olde Post Office, and therefore hath struck out to Yon Astounding Castle seeking to better ye place in ye world.

Therefore ye now standeth outside yon castle, hoping ye might filleth ye olde treasure sack with treasure-like things from within.

Notable Features

Note: Most of these features are only in the full game.

  • Faux Olde English. Lots of "ye" and "yon", etc. throughout the game. Some reviewers found this feature tiresome; others were amused or got used to it.
  • Synthesized speech, if played via the ADRIFT Runner, created with TextAloud and Audacity. Players don't need to hear the speech to be able to play the game, but it does add to the cheesiness factor. Some of the pronouncements are:
    • "Forsooth! Prepareth yeself, adventurer, for ye hath enter'd ... Yon Astounding ... Castle! ... of some sort." - said when the game begins.
    • "Huzzah!" - said when the PC obtains a treasure.
    • "What, ho!" - said when the PC obtains a silver key.
    • "Alas! Ye hath died." - said when the PC dies.
    • "Congratulations on yon stunning victory." - said when the player wins.
    • "Oh no!" - said when Goblin Bob steals from the player and when the player enters the maze.
    • Onomatopoeic sound effects for the sleeping powder ("poofth!"), teleportation device ("bweeeuuff!"), elven longbow ("blang!"), and the snake charming flute.
  • One object in the game operates as a Mad Lib, where the player can determine what the item is (with some limitations). However, the resulting item must be referred to as "Fred" in commands.
  • Some wordplay. One series of rooms are all "-akery" names, beginning with Ye Bakery, then Ye Cakery, and so on. Another room in the game is largely alliterative, using mostly all P words.
  • Footnotes in two varieties, regular and puzzle. At certain points in the game, the player may be directed to look at, for example, Footnote 2, or Puzzle Footnote 6. The player should type FOOTNOTE 2 or PUZZLE FOOTNOTE 6 respectively to read them.
  • Your score is the number of treasures that the PC has obtained, and each score has its own rank, beginning with "Yon Temporary Licker of Stamps" with zero treasures.
  • Extra commands:
    • TUTORIAL (or TUT). Lists most of the commands that the player will need to use to play the game.
    • WIN. Ends the game in victory at any time. The conclusion of the game, describing your return home and subsequent life, will be based on how many treasures that your character acquired during the game.
    • MELT.

Trivia and Comments

  • Fred can produce 13 different sound effects, including "Are you crazy!?", "You're no mannequin!", and "Tell me about yer problems."
  • Players who defeat the evil wizard and pick up the royal scepter receive a special victory message and image.
  • THE SPITEFUL CLUNGE will abduct foul-mouthed players and place them in Time-Out. It will then drop them back off outside the castle. (Cynlref pna hfr guvf gb rfpncr gur znmr vs arprffnel, nf gur FCVGRSHY PYHATR vf abg nssrpgrq ol nagv-gryrcbegngvba svryqf. --rot13'd to prevent spoilers)
  • The last scene in Yon Astounding Castle! of some sort can be beaten with the command "GUEBJ GUREZNY CBQ." (rot13'd to prevent spoilers)

Versions

ADRIFT IntroComp Release

IF Comp 2009 Release

Post-Comp Release

Links

General info

Reviews

See also: reviews at the Delron site.

Spoilers

IF Comp version spoilers