====================
About Shadowgate  ||
====================

This game is an unauthorized reimplementation of Shadowgate Classic as
it appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) presented by ICOM
in 1989. No source code to Shadowgate was used (I've never seen it), nor
was any decompilation done. The NES version was repeatedly played and
referred to in the process of creating the Inform code that creates this
reimplementation. Every effort has been made to make sure this version
remains faithful to the NES version. Hints and walkthroughs prepared for
the NES version will, for the most part, work on this one. Hints and
walkthroughs for other versions may work, but are untested. No
Invisiclues-style hints are included in this version.

This game was written in Inform (http://www.inform-fiction.org/)
compiled from the package (version 6.21.4) created by Glenn Hutchings.
That package is available from the Interactive Fiction Archive
(http://www.ifarchive.org/). The primary development machine was an x86
machine with an AMD Athlon 1.2GHz and 768 megabytes of main memory
running NetBSD 1.6.1. Development began in July of 2002.

Here is a list of how this version of Shadowgate differs from the NES
version.

1) Descriptions have been expanded and/or completely rewritten to
compensate for lack of graphics.

2) Grammatical errors such as "It's a hemp of rope." have been
corrected.

3) Some room exits have been moved around to make it easier for the
player to visualize and for the author to describe in words.

4) The exact solutions to some puzzles have been randomized.

5) The NES version prints a hint if the SELECT button is pressed. Type
"HINT" for the same function here.


======================
Playing Shadowgate  ||
======================

Assuming that you already know how to play Interactive Fiction, there
really isn't anything more you need to know. Just make sure you examine
EVERYTHING. The solutions to puzzles are usually hidden in the scenery.
If you get stuck, any of the assorted walkthroughs for Shadowgate one
can find on the Internet will work as long as you keep in mind that some
directions have changed and that some solutions have been randomized.
That, however, will not detract from the game. Spells are implemented as
the Enchanter-style spellbook, that is, you first "gnusto" a scroll into
your book, then learn the spell in order to cast it.



===================
Release History  ||
===================

Release 1 / Serial number 030707
Initial beta release.
     
Release 2 / Serial Number 030808
Second beta release.
     
Release 3 / Serial Number 030821
First public release.

Release 4 / Serial Number 030826
Minor bug fixes.

Release 5 / Serial Number 030828
More bug fixes.

Release 6 / Serial number 040131
Minor bug fixes.
Efficiency tweaks.
Final release (hopefully).

Release 7 / Serial Number 040207
Fixed bug in "burn" command.

Release 8 / Serial Number 040716
Minor bug fixes.
Spelling and grammar errors fixed.
SPAG review added to source distribution.
Assorted changes to satisfy Inform 6.30's complaints.
Absolutely final release.



===========
Credits  ||
===========

The Inform version of Shadowgate was created by David Griffith
(dgriffi@cs.csubak.edu). Please visit http://www.cs.csubak.edu/~dgriffi
for more of my stuff, including the world-famous Frotz, which you may be
using right now to play this game. Portions of code used are from the
4th Edition of the Inform Designer's Manual and are cited where they
appear in the source code.
     
Copyright is claimed on the source code, but not the name "Shadowgate"
nor the game content. The latter two rest with Infinite Ventures, which
is the company that currently owns the old ICOM games like Shadowgate,
Deja Vu, Uninvited, and many others. You can visit their website at
http://www.infiniteventures.com/.


===========
License  ||
===========

This reimplementation of Shadowgate is licensed under the Artistic 
License 2.0.  See the file ARTISTIC in this archive.


========================
Compiling Shadowgate  ||
========================

A Unix-style Makefile is provided. This was done mainly as a
convenience for myself while writing the game. If, for whatever reason,
you can't use it or don't want to, simply invoke the Inform compiler on
src/sgate.inf. Type "make" to build Shadowgate with the debug code
included. Type "make nodebug" to build without the debug code.


=========
Files  ||
=========

Makefile	For compiling the game.
README		You're reading it.
TODO		Stuff that I would have liked to have implemented.
src/		Inform source code of Shadowgate.
text/		Notes used in creating the games, a walthrough, and
		 playtesting transcripts.

===============================
Notes on Writing Shadowgate  ||
===============================

In order to keep things organized, I gave each room a seperate source
file. These files are tied together with rooms.inf which does an
"include" of all the room source files. There are also seperate files
for verbs, spells, spell grammar, the help files, and objects.  At the
top of this is sgate.inf, which contains the usual beginnings and
headers of an Inform program as well as the Initialize() function.

The code implementing torches (unlit, burning, and dead) is quite
complex and may still have undetected bugs in it. Keep this in mind if
you decide to put it in your own game.


========
URLs  ||
========

http://661.org/					(My homepage)
https://github.com/DavidGriffith/frotz/wiki	(Frotz stuff)
https://github.com/DavidGriffith/sgate		(Shadowgate stuff)


David Griffith
dave@661.org
Sunday January 25, 2004