View source for Refusal message

A situation-specific explanation of why the [[player]]'s [[command]] was unsuccessful. Such messages often drop [[hint]]s, develop the [[backstory]], or sustain a tone.  For instance, when the player tries to take inventory in ''[[Galatea]]'' ([[Emily Short]]; 2000; [[Z-code]]), the refusal message is "What you're carrying isn't important," thus discouraging the player from trying to collect and manipulate objects.  When a [[PC]] in ''[[Fine Tuned]]'' ([[Dennis Jerz]]; 2001; [[Z-code]]) tries to attack an [[NPC]], the refusal message helps to establish character: "You hit Aloysius affectionately on the shoulder. 'Aw, cut it out,' he says, embarassed."

A generic, plain-vanilla message printed when the player tries to misuse an object is part of the object's [[default behavior]] and thus not really a refusal message.  For example, if the player tries to ENTER a grate that is closed, the computer would give a standard reply: "But the steel grate is in the way."  

A designer might personalize all of these plain-vanilla messages, in order to sustain a particular mood or tone: "The thick titanium alloy composition of your hulking robot skull protects you from damage as you lumber headlong into the closed grate."

==Links==
* [http://jacl.game-host.org:8080/dfisher/ifgems/gems_10.html#10.6 Disallowed Actions] in the ''IF Gems'' review quotes collection (also available from the [http://mirror.ifarchive.org/if-archive/programming/general-discussion/IFGems.zip IF Archive]).

[[Category:Glossary]]