Ad Verbum
From IFWiki
| Ad Verbum | |
|---|---|
| Game | |
| Main links | |
| Published | 2000 |
| Credits | |
| Author | Nick Montfort |
| Reception | |
| Events | |
| IFDB rating | 4 out of 5 (138 ratings) |
| Gameplay | |
| Interaction style |  Parser |
| Literary genre |  Wordplay |
| Language | English |
| Accessibility | Colour: none. Graphics: none. Sound: none. |
| Technical details | |
| Authoring system | Inform 6 |
| Format | Z-code 5 |
| License | Freeware |
| IFID | ZCODE-1-000925-2BAE, ZCODE-11-060905-93BD, GLULX-7-120817-E758C1A1 |
| Browse the games database • Edit this page | |
How it begins
You are a seasoned adventurer, hired to aid in the demolition of the Wizard of Wordplay's mansion. You are in the mansion's foyer. The demolition contractor tells you to pick up everything that's not bolted down and throw it into the dumpster, then leaves. You are carrying nothing.
Notable features
- Most puzzles are solved by wordplay of various kinds, often playing on parser IF conventions.
- Best known for the alliterative rooms, in which every word printed (including parser responses and objects) begins with a single letter. Within the rooms, the parser only accepts commands beginning with that letter; the puzzle lies in thinking up appropriate synonyms for simple actions.
Versions
Competition release
Date: 2000
- Ad Verbum (Nick Montfort; 2000; Z-code 5).
- Release 1 / Serial number 000925 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10
- IFID: ZCODE-1-000925-2BAE
IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover. - IF Comp 2000: 4th place of 53 entries.
- XYZZY Awards 2000: Winner of Best Puzzles. Finalist for Best Individual Puzzle (the letter rooms) and Best Use of Medium.
- Download adverbum.z5 from the IF Archive.
Release 11
Date: 2006
- Ad Verbum (Nick Montfort; 2006; Z-code).
- Release 11 / Serial number 060905 / Inform v6.30 Library 6/10
- IFID: ZCODE-11-060905-93BD
IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover. - Download adverbum.z5 from the IF Archive.
Online Versions
Date: Date unknown
- [1] Release 11 on-line on Nick Montfort's site
- [2] Release 4 on Digital Eel (Java)
- [3] Release 1 on-line at iFiction.org
Spanish translation
Date: 2008
- Venenarius Verborum (Jarel; 2008; Glulx; Spanish).
- IFID: GLULX-7-120817-E758C1A1
IFID links: IFDB, IFDB cover. - Video preview at YouTube.
- Download.
- IFID: GLULX-7-120817-E758C1A1
Links
N.B. IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.
General Info
- Official Site.
- Ad Verbum (archived) - at Baf's Guide.
- Ad Verbum - at IFDB.
- Ad Verbum - at Home of the Underdogs.
Reviews
See also the IF Comp 2000 Reviews.
- Review by James Marshall.
- Review by Eric Mayer.
- Review by Rob Menke.
- Review at SPAG and personal review by Mark Musante.
- Review by Paul O'Brian.
- Review by Andrew Plotkin.
- Review by Dan Shiovitz.
- Review (archive) by Duncan Stevens.
Spoilers
- ClubFloyd transcript.
- Words Matter: Nick Montfort's Ad Verbum, A Very Close Reading, by Edmond Y. Chang, 2004.
Date: 2000
Date: 2006
Date: Date unknown
Date: 2008