I am looking for open source code for parser based games that I could use to test existing systems and/or write my own.
Cloak of Darkness seems too small for this purpose and Colossal Cave Adventure is likely too large to type into multiple systems.
Does anyone know of any open source games that would work for this and fit into the Goldilocks zone between those two extremes? I would prefer something popular enough to have maps, hints etc. available and with readable code.
The “source available” tag on IFDB will show you a whole lot of options (and note that there are sub-tags like “I7 source available” and “TADS3 source available” if there’s a particular language you’re looking for).
Within that list, Craverly Heights might be a good option? It’s a small-to-medium game, and it’s got source available in the original Inform 7 as well as Inform 6/Punyinform, Dialog, and ZIL.
Thanks. I didn’t know about the tag system on IFDB as it wasn’t there last time I visited.
There isn’t a particular language I’m looking for, but I would prefer a general programming language to a specialised IF one. For learning purposes and fairer system comparison, I’d like at least some translation to be necessary.
I’d suggest going ahead with Colossal Cave Adventure despite the size.
It’s already been ported to several languages, some of which will likely resemble your target language, so you can get a lot of the map done with cut & paste, search & replace.
If you want a test case to use while writing your own system, it’s also just big enough to exercise a wide range of features: containers, NPCs (with orders and pronouns), random/computed exits, timers, hint system, similarly named objects, combining commands on one line (it’s a long walkthrough!), etc. ZILF’s library evolved a lot in the course of porting Advent, even after it was already “complete enough” for Cloak of Darkness.
Recently, I have been leaning towards doing just that, but am unsure which version to use.
Open Adventure is based on Adventure 2.5 and has been approved for open source release by the original authors, but is larger than previous versions.
I guess it would make for a better test though.
My game Bigfoot Bluff is open source. It is about 1500 lines of Inform 7 code if you remove the blank lines. A map is included.
You can also condense it down to far less than that. It is a sandbox game (not all puzzles are required to complete the game) so if there is something that doesn’t translate well, you can abandon that part.
On the other hand it is a little unconventional. I think the code is organized pretty well but if you haven’t played through the game it’s not immediately clear what’s required and what’s not.