Rexx-Adventure

Rexx-Adventure
Authoring system
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Link
Developer	Mike DeSanto
Format	Other
Interaction style	Parser-choice hybrid
System	Other
System details	OS/2 with Presentation Manager
Latest version
Status	Unmaintained
Uses interpreter
Multimedia support
License
Notes
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Rexx-Adventure is an authoring system for text adventures. It was created by Mike DeSanto in 1995 and written in VX-REXX from Watcom Inc. The Rexx-Adventure player uses a point-and-click interface to interact with the game. The player first chooses the object to manipulate from a menu, and then chooses the action to perform from a second menu. Each object gets its own verb list. This design is meant to completely eliminate all guess-the-verb problems as might be encountered in games that use standard IF systems, and its presentation was inspired by games by Magnetic Scrolls and Legend Entertainment.

The task of authoring is also simple, where everything is based on objects.

Unfortunately, Rexx-Adventure only runs on OS/2, and requires the OS/2 Presentation Manager. The one Rexx-Adventure game that was entered in the annual IF Comp managed not to place because of insufficient votes, suggesting that very few players have access to machines that run OS/2.

Rexx-Adventure games

To date, only two games were written in Rexx-Adventure:

• The Resident (Mike DeSanto; 1995). Included as a sample game with the Rexx-Adventure programming materials.
• Promoted (Mike DeSanto; 1996). IF Comp 1996: Did not place due to insufficient votes.

Both games have been ported to the Z-code platform by Johannes Steingraeber and are also available from the IF Archive. The Z-code versions use a scrolling menu in the upper portion of the window display. The cursor is kept in the menu area; there is no ">" prompt as in standard IF games. (Also, at least in Windows Frotz 2002, you must take care not to resize your window; play with a full screen window.)

Links

• Download RADF100.zip from the IF Archive. REXX Adventure version 1.0, by Mike DeSanto. Contains the OS/2 executable and the source code for The Resident.
• Porting from OS/2? Rexx-Adventure Steps Up to the Plate (archive) by Mike DeSanto for XYZZYnews #7. Mike discusses his system, Rexx-Adventure.