First of all, let me say I am LOVING this series! Loving it. So wonderful to hear the back story of many of my favorite games.
In fact, this article specifically inspired me to create an Interactive Fiction game called "Stab the Assassin" which you can play for free at the link below (no ads either). The gameplay is a lot different (more akin to Werewolves/Among Us) but the layout and shape of the ship are exactly based on Hunt the Wumpus (dodecahedron) in tribute to that pioneering game.
Yes, I read your amazing code for Hollywood Visionary. Woah! Way, way, way beyond any coding I'm capable of doing at the moment. Very impressive, as was your wonderful graduate thesis on IF, which I'm sure other readers of this Substack would appreciate as well.
Hunt the Wumpus is one of my favourite games from the 80s, but I met only the graphical version for TI 99/4. Good to know the original is a text game. :D
I remember playing Hunt the Wumpus in the "Teletype Age."
My cousin had a stack of copies of Creative Computing, and I recall reading the article and listing for Wumpus 2. I typed in the listing when I got my first PC in 1983; there were a lot fancier games available at the time, but I knew BASIC and used published games as a way of learning design.
I subscribed to PCC in the late 80s, when I thought my career path might include educational software design. It was still a newsprint "zine" with clip-art illustrations!
I didn't know the PCC newsletter kept up their unique style so long! That's amazing. I had one of David Ahl's BASIC books as a kid, and typed quite a few of those into our Tandy 1000. You were definitely incentivized to get the maximum possible entertainment value out of each of those programs after going to all that effort!
I was confused by this too-- a dodecahedron (d12) has 12 faces (sides) but 20 vertices (corresponding to Wumpus rooms). For years I pictured a d20 in my head for Wumpus, but a d20 (regular icosahedron) actually has only 12 vertices and would thus make for a smaller map!
Just gonna nerd out here for a second and clarify that either a d12 or d20 works depending on your perspective. :)
If you want to use a d20, each face corresponds to a room, and you move to other rooms by crossing the edges of the icosahedron. If you want to use a d10, each vertex corresponds to a room, and you move to other rooms along the edges of the dodecahedron.
The map you get each time is the same, because the dodecahedron and the icosahedron are "duals" of each other.
But wait, there's more! Many (not all) "spindown d20" are Wumpus-correct. Spindown Dice are used as counters - it's easy to find the next higher or lower numbered face, as it's always adjacent to the current value shown on the die.
So, you can print or buy a 3d physical Wumpus map! I won't post commercial links here, but a quick search for "wumpus map" and a keen eye on product photos should be all that's required. You can also reference Thingiverse model #569230.
Be advised that opinions are generally negative about using spindown dice for randomness though. Imperfections in manufacture are likely to bring out tendencies in the die, toward higher or lower values.
Thanks for this! I love the opening and this is exactly what I wanted from this series. Personally, I remember 'Hunt the Wumpus'. It was a hot summer day in a frigid computer lab with ti-49 computers and honestly I remember it with the spirit of Alan Kay wandering the aisles checking on us. Beautify and inspiring - thank you.
First of all, let me say I am LOVING this series! Loving it. So wonderful to hear the back story of many of my favorite games.
In fact, this article specifically inspired me to create an Interactive Fiction game called "Stab the Assassin" which you can play for free at the link below (no ads either). The gameplay is a lot different (more akin to Werewolves/Among Us) but the layout and shape of the ship are exactly based on Hunt the Wumpus (dodecahedron) in tribute to that pioneering game.
https://dashingdon.com/play/samursu/stab-the-assassin/mygame/
Very cool, Sam! Thanks for sharing here! ChoiceScript is great. =)
Yes, I read your amazing code for Hollywood Visionary. Woah! Way, way, way beyond any coding I'm capable of doing at the moment. Very impressive, as was your wonderful graduate thesis on IF, which I'm sure other readers of this Substack would appreciate as well.
You can play the teletype version at the Computer History Museum in Seattle!
Hunt the Wumpus is one of my favourite games from the 80s, but I met only the graphical version for TI 99/4. Good to know the original is a text game. :D
I remember playing Hunt the Wumpus in the "Teletype Age."
My cousin had a stack of copies of Creative Computing, and I recall reading the article and listing for Wumpus 2. I typed in the listing when I got my first PC in 1983; there were a lot fancier games available at the time, but I knew BASIC and used published games as a way of learning design.
I subscribed to PCC in the late 80s, when I thought my career path might include educational software design. It was still a newsprint "zine" with clip-art illustrations!
I didn't know the PCC newsletter kept up their unique style so long! That's amazing. I had one of David Ahl's BASIC books as a kid, and typed quite a few of those into our Tandy 1000. You were definitely incentivized to get the maximum possible entertainment value out of each of those programs after going to all that effort!
Fascinating stuff! One point, if Wumpus replicated a 20 sided shape that would be an icosahedron or a d20 to roleplayers.
I was confused by this too-- a dodecahedron (d12) has 12 faces (sides) but 20 vertices (corresponding to Wumpus rooms). For years I pictured a d20 in my head for Wumpus, but a d20 (regular icosahedron) actually has only 12 vertices and would thus make for a smaller map!
Just gonna nerd out here for a second and clarify that either a d12 or d20 works depending on your perspective. :)
If you want to use a d20, each face corresponds to a room, and you move to other rooms by crossing the edges of the icosahedron. If you want to use a d10, each vertex corresponds to a room, and you move to other rooms along the edges of the dodecahedron.
The map you get each time is the same, because the dodecahedron and the icosahedron are "duals" of each other.
But wait, there's more! Many (not all) "spindown d20" are Wumpus-correct. Spindown Dice are used as counters - it's easy to find the next higher or lower numbered face, as it's always adjacent to the current value shown on the die.
So, you can print or buy a 3d physical Wumpus map! I won't post commercial links here, but a quick search for "wumpus map" and a keen eye on product photos should be all that's required. You can also reference Thingiverse model #569230.
Be advised that opinions are generally negative about using spindown dice for randomness though. Imperfections in manufacture are likely to bring out tendencies in the die, toward higher or lower values.
Thanks for this! I love the opening and this is exactly what I wanted from this series. Personally, I remember 'Hunt the Wumpus'. It was a hot summer day in a frigid computer lab with ti-49 computers and honestly I remember it with the spirit of Alan Kay wandering the aisles checking on us. Beautify and inspiring - thank you.
So glad you're enjoying it! =)