Some hints for Jason Nicholl's Deadly Silence.
This is an unusual game, in that it's a PAWed text adventure meant
for two players. Each gets 30 moves in turn; first player 1 gets 30
turns, and when he's used these, player 2 gets 30 turns. Presumably
it is intended that the players don't look at one another's turns, or
the results. Both player characters live in the same world, you can
encounter the other player's PC, and in fact it seems to be the aim
of the game to kill the other player.
Seems to be, because as far as I can tell the documentation for
Deadly Silence doesn't survive. It's impossible, now, to tell how
much information the original players would have had. For example,
did you originally get told the name of the other player's character?
Player 2's is pretty obvious, but when he is active, player 1's PC
looks just like any other NPC in the game. After all, it can't ask
for commands from its player while player 2 is at the keyboard...
Given this lack of original information, the game can now be played
in at least two ways. One is to play with no information, or nearly
none, except what the game gives you. This turns the game into one of
exploration and discovery. You will have to discover for yourself
which of the other characters are friendly, what objects have a use,
and in fact what your own capabilities are. This, of course, only
works until both of you work out how the game works.
The other way is to give both players all information about the
entire game: names, uses of objects, secret locations, strengths and
weaknesses, and so forth. This turns the game into a puzzle, into a
game of trying to outmanoeuvre the other player.
In the same place where you find these notes, you will probably
also find two PDF maps. One is a spoiler map, with the positions and
connections of all rooms, all objects and all characters, which is
good for the second kind of game. The other is a feelie map, which
only discloses what is obvious and part of the main building; this is
designed (except for the title, of course) to look like a map meant
for a pupil at the school, and could be used by both players in the
first kind of game.
Because this is a game of player versus player, not player versus
programmer, it is not possible to write a walkthrough. However, it is
possible to give some hints about strategy and the use of objects.
These are only suitable for the second type of game, and since it
would be unfair to have only one player read them by accident, I've
encoded these using ROT-13:
Nf sbe gur bowrpgf, zbfg bs gurz ner hfryrff. Gur jrncbaf znxr ab
qvssrerapr gb gur fhpprff be fgeratgu bs lbhe oybjf; guvf vf rdhnyyl
gehr sbe obgu cynlref. Cynlre 2, Cflpub, pna hfr na bowrpg gb svaq n
frperg cnffntr, ohg ng gur raq bs gung cnffntr vf bayl nabgure,
hfryrff jrncba. Gur bayl rkprcgvba ner gur urnqonaqf, sbhaq va gur
Gryrivfvba Ebbz. Gurfr pna or hfrq gb pbzzhavpngr jvgu ACPf, rira va
nabgure ebbz, ohg guvf bcgvba vf bayl bcra gb Cynlre 1, Wnfba. Ur
jvyy arrq gur xrl sebz gur Urnq'f Fghql gb trg ng gurz.
Cynlre 1, Wnfba, jvyy unir gb jbex hfvat uvf oenva. Ur uvzfrys vf
jrnxre guna Cynlre 2, nf ner nyy bgure punenpgref rkprcg Uny. Ur jvyy
gurersber unir gb sbphf ba pbbcrengvba. Ur pna erpehvg nyy bgure
punenpgref, naq jvyy cebonoyl unir gb erpehvg frireny bs gurz gb
fhpprrq. Ur pna gura hfr gur urnqonaqf gb cbfvgvba gurz guebhtubhg
gur ohvyqvat, ercbegf onpx, naq nggnpx Cflpub rira jura ur uvzfrys vf
ryfrjurer. Ubj hfrshy guvf vf, pbzcnerq gb gur zrgubq bs tngurevat
nyy punenpgref nebhaq uvzfrys naq univat gurz nggnpx Cflpub va ghea,
pna bayl or nafjrerq ol gelvat obgu.
Cflpub, ol pbagenfg, Cynlre 2'f punenpgre, pna qb ab fhpu guvat,
naq cebonoyl qbrfa'g unir gb. Ur pna'g erpehvg nal bgure punenpgref,
be rira pbzzhavpngr jvgu gurz. Ur fubhyqa'g obgure jvgu nal bowrpgf
ng nyy; uvf bayl tbny vf gb svaq naq xvyy Wnfba. Ur fubhyqa'g rira
obgure gb nggnpx nal ACPf ur pbzrf npebff. Ur pna bayl ybfr fgeratgu
guvf jnl, naq vg'f abg rira thnenagrrq gung Wnfba jvyy yngre gel gb
znxr hfr bs guvf ACP. Cflpub fubhyq, gurersber, sbphf ba oehgr sbepr
naq gur qverpg nggnpx ba Wnfba.
