Renga in Blue   Interactive fiction and the All the Adventures project

Since last time I’ve walked around an island very confused, not just because of the still-horrendous mapping, but because of being entirely unclear what the game has turned into. There’s a reference to “Huggies” which suggests modern Earth …

You are in a secret nook beside the road.
Hidden from all but the most stalwart snoopers are some old clothes, empty beer cans and a trash baggie full of used Huggies and ordure. Lets get back to the road behind you.

… random battles …

There is a fierce woodsman here brandishing a heavy mallet.
>shoot woodsman
The Woodsman took a direct hit!
You have killed the Woodsman.

The road crosses the lagoon here.
Strange mists rising from the water engulf a rickety old enclosed bridge here. Spider webs catch our hair as we pass through its rotting timbers. I felt something drop on my neck. The road delves into the accursed forest ahead and behind you.

A dead woodsman has fallen here. He was savagely murdered.
A heavy wooden mallet lies nearby.

… a modern house …

This is the front lawn.
There is a small fountain here where the driveway meets the lawn. Across the driveway, right, is an ornate white house with and elegant woodworking. The bargeboards are carved with fylfots, the ancient symbols of luck. Even a bell tower has been built here. There is a road behind you which turns into the driveway.

… and finally, a place that led to an astonished/horrified revelation.

The natives are having a festive luau here. Beautiful dancers gyrate in the torchlight to the rhythm of wooden drums. A suckling pig is sizzling in a bed of coals and ti leaves are spread with poi and tropical fruits. Several natives have come over to you and want you to join in the festivities. There is a light burning in a bungalow left.

A kerosene lantern is burning luridly here.
An unctuous man in a white suit and a dwarf are standing here.
There are some ripe papayas here.
There is a ripe pineapple here.
There are some kiwi fruit here.
There is a ripe mango here.
A native girl is sitting here.

The “unctuous man in a white suit and a dwarf” in particular was the clue.

This is a Battlestar Galactica / Fantasy Island crossover game.

Via Critical Condition.

The basic premise of the TV show: guests can travel to the island to live out any fantasy they want (although the ramifications can be along the lines of “be careful what you wish for”). A sampling of the plot lines from the show:

The Boxer: A boxer named Billy Blake (Ben Murphy) wants to win a match despite the fact that it would kill him.

Ghostbreaker: A librarian named Elliot Fielding (Ken Berry) can’t get his ghost-busting guide published. To prove his skill, he lives out his fantasy where he must exorcize a real ghost.

The Over the Hill Caper: A blackmail victim named Spencer Randolph (Ray Bolger) and his aging buddies reunite their gang to defeat their blackmailer.

Aphrodite: Professor Alan Briar (George Maharis) is a picky man who wants the perfect woman. He ends up meeting Aphrodite: Goddess of Love (Britt Ekland).

I have still no idea what the goal might be, or even if this game has an ending. I’m going to call it and say — finished or not — next time will be my last post.