Lmst

I'd love to have something to share for Screenshot Saturday today, but all my recent progress has been rather spoilery.
#ScreenshotSaturday #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata

Bubble Gumshoe has a beloved mentor who's just two days from retirement. This cannot possibly end badly.
#ScreenshotSaturday #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata #InteractiveFiction #Inform

Factory Outskirts
A deeply depressing stretch of muddy industrial road dividing the abandoned taffy factory to the south from a row of abandoned stores to the north. The back door of one store in particular appears to have been kicked in: a burning trash can stands beside it. Just beyond that is the seedy part of town, which is to say the part that has any meaningful footfall.

You can see the Fudge Challenger, a Wine Gum Wino and Big Red here.

...wait. Big Red???

Your old mentor is standing by the car. He runs a finger along the bonnet, then tests the tackiness of the sugar-rain residue against his thumb.

"You ever think about getting this thing washed?" he asks.

"I thought you were retiring!" you say, too surprised to come up with a riposte to the dig about your ride.

"Still a couple of days left to go." Big Red shrugs. "I thought you might want to sit down and chat about this new case of yours." He tugs at the car door - locked, naturally. "Or we could just keep standing out here in the rain."

Smiling, you unlock the driver's side and squeeze inside. Reaching over, you pop the passenger door open for him.

Powerthirst references? In MY candy-coated film noir parody car chase? It's more likely than you think. #ScreenshotSaturday #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata #Powerthirst

>examine MAC-10
A 9mm machine pistol. The barrel is hot to the touch.

After turning a sudden corner, you drive down an alley, smashing into a bunch of wooden boxes.

>lick MAC-10
GUN FLAVOUR!

Struggling to keep the bike in view, you pass a green Volkswagenwheel that you're sure you've seen several times before.

One of my favourite things about writing Bubble Gumshoe games is finding opportunities to bung in sweets that I'd completely forgotten existed.
#ScreenshotSaturday #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata #Inform7

A screenshot of some text from Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata? It says:

Abandoned Store Upstairs
A former office space and storeroom, almost obliterated by water damage from the gaping hole in the ceiling. There's a rotten desk against one wall. Stairs to the shop floor run down the other.

>examine desk
A bog standard wooden office desk. Bog standard, of course, because it's incredibly soggy and it's got some gnarly mushrooms sprouting from it. There's a large drawer on the right-hand side.

>examine mushrooms
Pink and white foam mushrooms sprouting from the sodden office desk.

>taste mushrooms
They're sweet, but other than you can't quite identify what flavour they're actually supposed to be.

A close-up photograph of some foam mushroom sweets. They have white stalks and pink caps.

I'm gradually expanding the world of Sugar City. The Church of the Immaculate Confection was actually established in "Who Iced Mayor McFreeze?", but I'm not sure anybody ever encountered it. It would only be mentioned if you took long enough completing the game that it got into morning and the church bells started ringing in the distance (shortly before the abandoned taffy factory is scheduled for demolition). #ScreenshotSaturday #Inform7 #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata

$A screenshot from Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata?, a parser-based text adventure written using Inform. It says: Demerara and Maple An unassuming corner on an unassuming street. To the east is Demerara Street: it's much livelier. To the west is little more than a stretch of run-down private residences. An apartment building of much the same sort stands to the north. To the south is the Church of the Immaculate Confection, its whitewashed facade standing in sharp contrast to the crumbling row of abandoned storefronts surrounding it. You can see a phone booth (closed) (in which is a payphone) here. >south Church of the Immaculate Confection A small church lined with pews. A few faithful sit upon them, heads bowed in prayer. A homeless halva sits near the back, head bowed in sleep. At the far end of the church stands the great altar, and beyond that a portrait of Pope Pontefract on the back wall. You can see Father Wafer and a confessional (closed) here. >examine portrait A portrait in a gilded scrollwork frame. It shows a distinguished religious leader wearing a richly embroidered mitre.$

Possibly my favourite thing about writing these Bubble Gumshoe text adventures is coming up with the confectionery-based characters and little jokes about them.
#ScreenshotSaturday #gamedev #inform #inform7 #InteractiveFiction #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata

A screenshot of a parser-based text adventure. It says:

Candy Kane's Club
This place is... "seedy" is probably a little charitable. It's got some definite strip club vibes, despite the chique branding outside. Jelly babes jiggle on a large stage at the back of the room, while Candy Kane herself works the bar. Various customers sit at tables nearby in various stages of intoxication. A crowd of dancers bobs up and down enthusiastically on a dance floor closer to the stage.

The exit to Demerara Street lies to the south, a door marked "VIP Lounge" is to the west, and the washroom is to the north (in case you need to go). There's a small emergency exit leading to the alley to the east.

>x kat
A jittery security guard, apparently disinterested in everything going on nearby.

>ask kit kat about breaktime
"Please don't bother me right now," says Kit Kat, rolling her eyes. "If I don't get a cigarette soon, I'm gonna snap!"

One of the things I'm hoping to do with my latest Bubble Gumshoe mystery is to expand Sugar City and unite the environments from the previous games. Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata? will feature the crime scenes from both Who Shot Gum E. Bear? and Who Iced Mayor McFreeze? Also, as with those previous instalments, you'll be able to taste and smell way more of the setting than is probably sensible.
#ScreenshotSaturday #InteractiveFiction #Inform #IFComp #BubbleGumshoe #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata

A screenshot from Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata?, a parser-based text adventure written in Inform. It reads:

Alley
A dim, dank, narrow pathway between the adult bookstore and Candy Kane's Club. Some dumpsters stand against a wall. There is a distinctive sticky stain on the concrete here.

The alley is a dead end to the north, opening onto the street to the south: to the southwest is Demerara Street, and to the southeast is Demerara and Caster. Emergency exits from the club and bookstore open onto the alley from the west and east respectively.

>taste stain
You prostrate yourself on the filthy tarmac in the alley and lick at the stain on the ground with your tongue like a dog. Strawberry flavour - but you already knew that. Rest in peace, Gum E. Bear.

Not exactly a New Year's Resolution because I started at the tail end of 2024 and I'm definitely not going to keep it going all year, but I'm currently setting aside every Saturday to work on my IFComp entry for 2025: "Who Whacked Jimmy Piñata?"
#NewYearsResolution #IFComp #Inform #WhoWhackedJimmyPiñata

#WhoWhackedJimmyPi%C3%B1ata

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