Westfront PC Explained: The Author Speaks Out

[pap3@dana.ucc.nau.edu (Paul Allen Panks)]

Dear Interactive Fiction Enthusiasts,

I wish to discuss with you the nature of my game "Westfront PC: The
Trials of Guilder". It has been called a cross between Zork,
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Star Wars and several online MUDs
(Multi-User Dungeons). I am very humbled by such a mixture and am
warmed to the heart by the kind praise and words of encouragement.

Westfront PC (or simply, "WFPC") is not meant to be a traditional text
adventure game. It was inspired by a host of adventure games, from
Zork to The Pawn to online MUDs and even some Graphical Adventure
games. It is an odd mixture to say the least. But the truth of the
matter is this: Westfront PC is half adventure  game, half an inside
joke and the rest eccentrically fun nonsense.

The game itself has 1,728 "rooms" spread across four different
continents. But the fun of the game is not so much exploring the rooms
as it is discovering new items and solving the various puzzles and
quests around the game.

Strange events such as a "mysterious voice" that bellows odd phrases
to the now infamous "Inspector Funkydog" spice up the gameplay. The
pleasant use of color in the text allows for easier reading and better
sense making.

Gameplay is straight forward: Solve 25 quests and defeat Salin's Evil
Army. Sounds easy, right? Along the way, make new friends (Faldor,
Wolf, Warrior, Zombie, Barbarian and Leopard) and discover new worlds
(Burton Mansion, Hambley Abbey) in your quest to restore order to the
mythical land of Guilder.

I coded Westfront PC on the Commodore 64 in 1994, which isn't saying
much, other than that I tried to limit myself to the capabilities of
the system. Soon after that, I ported the game over to the IBM
PC-compatible line of microcomputers. And the rest, as they say, is
history.

I am currently working on a whole new text adventure in the more
traditional lineage, similar to Zork and Castle Adventure. My goal
isn't to surpass Westfront PC...it is to create a whole new adventure
game with different worlds to explore and much better room
descriptions. If I receive even one positive feedback, I believe I
will have succeeded in my goal of publishing an adventure game others
find enjoyable.

Thank you for listening. :) Have a nice day!

Regards,

Paul Panks
dunric@yahoo.com
http://www.geocities.com/dunric/westfront.html
http://members.tripod.com/~panks/westfront.html