Scorpion's Tale

Moonmist: As told by Scorpia

Scorpia

WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!

That's it, step right in and close that door, quickly! Baby, it's cold outside. Of course, you wouldn't expect anything else in January. But I shouldn't keep you standing here like that; you look a bit frozen in that, ahhh, bronze, umm, costume of yours. Just sit here by the fire and warm up your body; Fred's already concocting something to take care of your insides (not too strong now, Fred!). Well, after all that jaunting around the solar system, it's time to get your feet back on the ground, and I have just the place for you. A nice, solid, castle in Cornwall.

Moonmist is an introductory-level game, so most folks shouldn't have too much trouble with it. Still, the game has some neat features, and takes the concept introduced in Cutthroats, namely, the replayable game, a step further. There are four separate games within Moonmist, each controlled by your choice of color at the beginning of the adventure: green, blue, yellow, and red.

Actually, you could pick other colors, but you'll still get one of the same four scenarios. You also get to decide if you're male or female; this has no real effect on the game, it just lends a little extra touch, and some people will react to you differently depending on whether you're male or female.

While there are four separate games, they are all based on the same functions: find the hidden treasure, and discover the secret of the ghost that is haunting Tresyllian Castle, and making a nervous wreck of your good friend Tamara. There is a different treasure and ghost in each scenario.

The one problem with all this is you have to play every scenario right from the very beginning; you choose the color when you first arrive at the castle. Thus you must to go through all the same motions four times, and considering the amount of disk access in this game, that can become a bit much. Only after dinner, when you begin the hunt for the treasure (and the ghost) do things change. So the opening is pretty much standard: you arrive at the castle, meet Tamara and all the guests, change into your dinner outfit, and go downstairs for the dinner party. Afterwards, a tape machine starts playing, setting off the hunt. The first clue is an indication of the treasure you're looking for, the second one begins the quest.

One of the really terrific features here is the ability to 'go to' a place. As long as you know the name of the room or area you want to visit, you can go there in a single command. For instance, if you're in the foyer, and you want to go to the library, you just say: Go to the library. And off you go!

Mapping is a breeze, too. A very nice map of most (although not all) of the castle is provided. It even shows the secret passages (of course, you'll have to figure out how to get into them on your own). I wouldn't want to sleep in this place, myself. Those passages are everywhere, and peepholes, too. The castle must have been designed by Big Brother.

Ok, let's take a look at the variations themselves, starting off with the green one, which is the easiest of the four. Dinner is over, the tape has played, and you have the first two clues. What you're looking for is pretty obvious, especially if you read the brochure (an absolute must!), paying careful attention to the description of the Old Great Hall.

The second clue may be a little harder, and you'll have to poke around in unmapped places. Remember to examine everything, like the good detective you are, and the third clue should be in hand before long. Let's look at it. Hmmm. Sounds like secret stuff to me. Which reminds me: you'll want a light source sooner or later, probably sooner in some cases. Might be a good idea to wander around and find one.

So now you have the fourth clue. Uh-huh, this one's not too hard; just look in the write place, and I'll bet you find the treasure. Nice going, Sherlock! All that's left is finding out about the ghost. Bet you know by now who it is, even if you have no evidence. You don't? Oh tch, breathes there a soul so dead, who doesn't know the most likely spot for a secret passage?

You're making progress now! All that's left is a little snooping in a certain room (keep that aerosol device handy!), and the case should be wrapped up in short order.

The blue variation is a bit tricky; there are only three clues, instead of four, to the treasure. That should make it easier, but you have to do a bit more running around with that second clue. As before, the first one is a hint to what the treasure is.

That second clue is a looong one. Three parts, in fact! Filling in the blanks is pretty easy, but figuring out where they point to could be another matter. Let's look at the first part. That one seems to have a musical air to it. But, what's this? No clue when you find the right place? That's ok, just keep going, and all will be clear shortly.

Now, the second part. Watch out here...this one is a trifle devious! No, don't go running off to the dungeon! Re-read that brochure! That's better. You probably have an idea now where you're headed, but let's look at the third part of the clue, just to be sure.

This one is simple, and now that you have all three parts worked out, you know where to go searching next. Hmmmm. This third clue is also a fill-in. I never figured out why, myself, because the parts to fill in don't spell out anything special. In any case, a few minutes of thought, and the clue should ring your chimes as to the location of the hidden goodie.

On to the ghost! Hold on there...you won't find anything where you did in the last version. Remember, each one is different. Of course, you have some ideas as to the identity of the spook; time for more nosing around someone's room. Gee, this is pretty easy, huh? Well, the next one is a trifle harder.

In the red variation, we are back to four clues again. And the ghost may surprise you. Do make sure you read the maid's note. In fact, it's a good idea to read it in all the scenarios, because it's a little different each time. Now to the treasure hunt.

The second and third clues here are pretty simple. The fourth one, tho, may give you pause for thought. What could it mean? Time for that invaluable brochure again (it must be getting dogeared by now!). Aha! Sneaky, sneaky! Imagine having to look in a place that doesn't show up in the room description.

So we come to the ghost. More tricks. You've searched the guilty party's room, right? And you didn't find what you were looking for, did you? Hehehe. What a surprise! Gee....you don't suppose this means that the ghost is (gasp!) real, do you? Well, there's only one way to find out. You'll have to wait for it to show up (yep, the Infocom hallmark - waiting - has finally reared its ugly head! Good thing it's only in this variation).

Of course, you're not going to wait in any place so mundane as a room. That wouldn't be any fun at all (not to mention, nothing would happen). So think about it: if you were a ghost, where would you likely be, especially if you didn't want to be seen?

Patience wins the day! At least, it should if you did everything right. And another case has been brought to a successful conclusion. Even tho it may not have been thrilling for one person.

And now, we come to the yellow variation, which may be a bit of a downer. You'll know why pretty soon into the game. This one is also the 'Edgar Allan Poe' hunt; all the clues are taken from his poems and stories. Those of you familiar with Poe's works will breeze through the clues. Even if you don't know them, all but the fourth clue can be figured out pretty easily with a little thought.

So we take a peek at the second clue. Yep, that one's easy. Up you go and grab the third clue. Hmmmm. Not so easy, at least in figuring out where to go. Look sharp, my girl, and you'll find the fourth clue. Now, if you know the story mentioned in the clue, you know where to go next. If you don't know the story, think about the legend of the White Lady, which may suggest something.

All right, we're almost done here. You have the treasure, only the ghost (sigh) is left. Time to do the usual snooping. Well, you found something, but perhaps, again, not quite what you were looking for, eh? No matter. Check the name on the paper. Bet you know where to look now. And so the last variation is finished, although the ending may not be so happy. Such is life.

I see by the invisible clock on the wall that time is almost up for this issue. Remember, if you need a hand with an adventure game, you can reach me in the following ways:

On Delphi: Stop by the GameSIG (under the Groups and Clubs menu). On GEnie: Visit the Games RoundTable (type: SCORPIA to get there). On the Source: Send SMail to ST1030.

By U.S. Mail (all correspondents in the U.S. must include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive a reply): Scorpia, P.O. Box 338, Gracie Station, New York, NY 10028.

Until next time, happy adventuring!

Copyright 1986 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.

---

---

These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.