Back in 1987 GAMES Magazine printed an article titled They Take the High-Tech Road to Adventure profiling the company Infocom. I remember as a child reading the article many (many) times and dreaming of working there.
Because GAMES was (technically, still is) a puzzle magazine, they felt obligated to include a bonus; specifically, a transcript from Leather Goddesses of Phobos which included enough information to solve the puzzle from the game.
This is not a puzzle genre that ever took off, but I did find a perfect moment in Acheton for an experiment. Read this transcript and figure out how to get past the large sheet of glass.
There is a turquoise amulet here!
There is a bunch of keys here.
There is a lump of lead on the floor near you.
There is a small box of matches nearby.
There is a mink coat with bulging pockets lying in a heap nearby!
There is a large glass palantir here!
There is an antique porcelain plate here with a small pile of salt
on it!
There is a small earthenware pot here, labelled “London Dry” on one side.
There are some magnificent quartz crystals on the ground here.
There is a three foot black rod with a rusty star on the end nearby.
There is a small pair of scissors here.
There is a large old-fashioned mercury thermometer here.
There is a pair of dull brass tongs here.
There is a beautifully fashioned Stradivarius violin here!
> n
You are in a spacious room which has a large sheet of glass blocking
an exit to the east. Etched into the glass are the words “Find the
right key, though no lock there be”. Passages lead to the north and
south. An icy breeze comes from the north.
> u
You are in a small chamber above the slab room. An icy draught blows
in from a passage to the north.
> n
You are in a spacious room which has a large sheet of glass blocking
an exit to the east. Etched into the glass are the words “Find the
right key, though no lock there be”. Passages lead to the north and
south. An icy breeze comes from the north.
>
Renga in Blue 
Jryy, V thrff lbh unir gb cynl gur ivbyva naq znxr gur evtug abgr gung jvyy funggre gur tynff–vf cynl ivbyva rabhtu gb fbyir vg be vf gurer fbzrguvat gb svaqvat gur xrl?
My thought was the same as matt w’s, but I’d still try kicking the glass first, even though that action doesn’t match the clue.
Yes, my first thought was that we’re looking for the sort of key that “matt w” mentioned. But I’m very bad at these puzzles, so I’m very confused, about several things. For instance, is it significant that in your transcript, Jason, the violin seems to move and possibly disappear? Or are there actually *two* violins, one in the first room (the Junk Room which seems to be littered with objects), and the other in the Spacious Room north of the Junk Room? Is the second Spacious Room in your transcript actually the same Spacious Room as the one that’s north of the Junk Room — i.e. is there actually only one Spacious Room? If so, then why isn’t the violin there any more? And is it significant that there’s a circular route from the Spacious Room up to the Small Chamber and north back to the Spacious Room again? Or is the second Spacious Room in fact a *different* Spacious Room than the first, with a different glass sheet?
The double violin thing is either a typo or a bug (I can’t recreate it but I can’t guarantee it didn’t happen, either).
KICK, ATTACK, etc are not understood. I guess Acheton is meant to have a kinder, gentler adventurer.
In any case:
> play violin
You play a slow waltz in B minor.
As you begin to play the violin the glass sheet resonates vigorously and
you hear an astounding mixture of high-pitched frequencies. Eventually
it gives way under the strain and shatters into a myriad of tiny fragments
which disperse in the icy breeze.
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