Topic: Explore! is a desert exploration game in the spirit of classic games ....

[Software Santa]

Explore! is a desert exploration game in the spirit of the classic adventure games

http://iskub.sippan.se/explore/ Works on System 10.9.2   Software Santa LOVES his Copy! A Software Santa Pick!

(Universal binary, runs on Mac OS X 10.4 and later)
 
As you can tell, it is a desert game.
 
Explore! is a desert exploration game in the spirit of the classic adventure games of the olden days. It is a game by Durandal Brytting, of minor fame as connoisseur of old Mac games. Like most of my games (well, I’m Durandal, duh) it strives to return to the good old days when games lasted. Also, I’m pretty sure that it’s an educational game for your kids. If nothing else they might learn some long words and what a desert rose is.
 
Like most anything I create, Explore! is completely free. Don’t pay, just play!
 
Actually, if you think the game is immensely fun, and if you think you’re stinking rich, you could improve your karma and donate some modest amount of money to me. The reason that my stuff is free is not that I’m rich and don’t need money. I’m just behaving in accordance with the categorical imperative. It’s a much nicer system to pay what you’re able and willing to pay, don’t you think?

Explore! 1.0
A dramatic game by Durandal Brytting, who borrowed the "Unicode rebus" idea from ##n and stole one of the rebuses from chmod007. But I'm giving credit now though!

Okay, so here's the insignificant plot: You are an old desert trekker and you have reached the end of your life. Following the common tradition among desert trekkers, you must now go into the magical endless desert which does not have a city at the other end. When you are there, there will be no return.

The objective of this game is to explore the desert, survive for as long as possible, and find interesting things. When you find souvenirs and interesting things in the desert, things will appear on the game's title screen. They will remain there until the end of time or until you trash your preferences because you've unlocked everything and want to start over. (Trust me, though - you won't unlock everything any time soon.

HOW TO PLAY

Well, you've got a screen that shows what you're looking at, it's for decorative purposes only, this is not a point and click game, you can't click anything on this screen, nothing will happen. But you can click on the two buttons that say "Pace" and "Run!", and you can enter commands into the command field.

Pacing will move through the desert slowly. This is good because it's very kind to your friendly camel, but it's bad because it'll take longer to get anywhere.

Running will move through the desert quickly. This is good because you cover more distance at once, which also means that you're more likely to run into a special encounter. However, it is bad because it's not easy on your poor camel, which could trip and get hurt.

Drinking is a very good idea because if you don't drink, you die from thirst.

Healing your camel is also a very good idea because if your camel dies, you are screwed. Not that you have cannibals after you or anything, but moving through the desert on foot is not a winner.

Here are some basic commands you can enter into the command field. There are lots more, but they're not documented. Just experiment and see what happens.  The most common commands have short versions, too. Like P for Pace, R for Run, "inv" for inventory...

    Pace        -    Same as the "Pace" button
    Run        -    Same as the "Run!" button
    Drink    -    Drink water, if you have any
    Heal        -     Heal your camel, if you have first aid kits
    Search    -    Look for hidden things
    Inventory    -    See what you are carrying

Now go play!

And finally: The Developer's personal Explore! distance record (so far) because he just knows everyone wants to know:

[Explore!: 1515 distance travelled, 10 shoppes visited, solved the Raven's riddle, humoured the statue, solved the programmer's rebus - 8 major title screen accessories unlocked]

Durandal Brytting
http://www.sippan.se/

http://iskub.sippan.se/explore/