A retro horror text adventure for ZX Spectrum Next, Sinclair QL and more by Alan Pemberton
The Demon Jar; or, Fosdyke's Folly
This is a retro-style illustrated text adventure game in the format of a horror short story. You play the part of a young gentleman, Oswald Stanley, travelling to visit an old college friend on a fine summer's evening at the height of the Victorian era. As the night progresses, events take a sinister turn with the emergence of a murderous evil spirit. What follows will chill Oswald to the very marrow, but will you be able to guide him safely through the night?
WARNING: this game is not suitable for children or persons of a nervous disposition.
HOW TO PLAY
It is recommended that you download the instruction booklet, which contains background information about the plot. Or you could just dive straight in...
Having loaded the game on your device of choice, it will display an introduction and then leave you free to decide how to proceed. You will issue commands at the prompt (>) in the form of short phrases, in the traditional manner.
If you need an introduction to playing adventure games, you could try this videoby Chris Ainsley.
There are a number of characters who you will meet in the game. The ways you can interact are limited to:
> EXAMINE PERSON (this will describe the character and list what they are carrying)
> GIVE SOMETHING TO PERSON
> TAKE SOMETHING (from person)
> TALK TO PERSON
Save your progress using SAVE, then load back with LOAD. The exact method will depend on your device of choice. Be sure to remember the file name! Of course, you can also use a snapshot facility if that is available on your computer / emulator.
TIP: You will need to follow people around and ideally talk to them in the first part of the game to let events take their course.
TIP: There is more than one type of key in the game. To avoid confusion, it helps to use the appropriate adjective to make sure you use the correct one (e.g. GET SMALL KEY).
SEEMINGLY RANDOM TIP: For non-British players, you may find it helpful to know that in traditional British houses, shutters are usually located on the inside of a window rather than the outside.
NOTE: At various points throughout the game, the action will pause with three dots (ellipsis) "..." at the bottom of the screen, while the computer waits for you to press a key. Please note that the ellipsis is not visible in the HTML version. If you are playing this version, please remember that as long as you don't see the prompt (>_), the game is waiting for a keypress before continuing.
HELP!
You will find yourself facing various life-threatening predicaments as you progress through the game. Therefore, it helps to save your progress often, and treat dying as a learning opportunity. You can also ask for HELP, but that is limited to letting you know whether or not you have found yourself in an unwinnable position.
If When you get killed, you will be offered a chance to "Undo" the mistake that led to your demise, and be taken back to a safe position just before that happened, or else you may choose to quit the game at this point. "Undo" allows you to try multiple approaches to solving the problem without wasting a whole lot of time.
General tips are to EXAMINE everything, and as always, SAVE regularly!
Download, here
Source: https://qladventures.itch.io/the-demon-jar
