La Seine
by Derek Sutcliffe (2009)

Visit Paris, France in 1884 and explore a large park on the bank of the river Seine.

action: %
response: Thanks for playing!

You feel as though you've been staring hard at something for a long time, yet have suddenly gotten lost.

Your eyes are weary, and your legs are stiff.

Not remembering how you arrived here, near a large park on the river Seine, you nevertheless decide to take in the scenery and explore a bit.

Pr?s du parc
You're standing on a gently sloping hill near a popular Parisian park. To the north you can see lots of people enjoying the summer day. Those without parasols sit in the shade of beautiful green trees, and in light of the way you're feeling, you might want to follow their lead. It's slightly after noon and the sun is beating down on you.

A discarded newspaper lies at your feet.
action: About you
response: You're you. Just an innocent tourist trying to broaden your horizons.
action: You take the newspaper
response: Taken.
action: You examine it
response: Your French isn't great, but even you notice that something is strange about the paper. Aha, there it is. "La Presse - dimanche 20 juillet 1884." Yeah, it's pretty old. From the various headings, you can tell there are articles on neo-impressionism, champagne, and optometry. Unfortunately, your grammar doesn't match your stunning ability to recognize simple cognates, so you're unable to read the articles themselves.
action: You read newspaper
response: It's all Greek to you. Er, French.
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You are carrying:
a newspaper
action: You go north
response: It's nice and shady here. An upper-class Frenchwoman and her male companion (complete with monocle, top hat, and riding crop) are standing here, staring off to the west. The river does look nice, but the persistence of their gaze is unnerving. You can see a woman knitting to the west and a girl holding a bouquet to the north.

A small brown dog is here, terrorizing a skinny little monkey on a leash. The monkey's owners don't seem to notice.
action: You examine the monkey
response: The monkey's arching his back and hissing as a brown dog yips and nips at it. Someone should teach that dog a lesson.
action: You examine the dog
response: A speckled brown dog wearing a pink bow. Its owner doesn't seem to be around.
action: You look at woman
response: She has a parasol and a pet monkey on a leash. Also, she has a big, round butt. It can't be real. She must be using... Uh, what's it called... A bustle? Anyway, her dress has wiring in it that makes her butt look huge.
action: You kill the dog
response: PETA wouldn't be happy with you. Try punishing it a little less severely.
action: You examine man
response: The guy looks really stuck-up.
action: You hit the dog with the newspaper
response: You give it a swift whack with the newspaper. It's looking pretty obedient now.
action: You feed the monkey to the dog
response: (first taking the small monkey)
I don't suppose the small monkey would care for that.
action: You talk to the woman
response: Hm. Doesn't seem interested in talking to you.
action: You go west
response: A woman sits here knitting a delicate white garment. She appears to be accompanied by a mustached man with a top hat and cane who looks across the river. Nearby a boatman smokes a pipe and stares out into the Seine as well. An unoccupied grassy patch of land lies to the north, and to the east you spot an aristocratic couple with a monkey.

The woman continues to knit here.

A black dog is here, behind the knitting woman, chewing something.
action: You examine the dog
response: You peer closely at the spotty black dog. A pink hat is in his mouth. He looks like a rather docile breed, and the knitting woman seems to be its owner.
action: You hit the dog with the newspaper
response: Is that really necessary?
action: You take the hat
response: You play a little tug-of-war with the dog before it gives up the hat. The dog returns to sniffing grass around the park. Probably looking for a place to wee.
action: You look at the hat
response: The hat's made of a light pink or lavender fabric, and has two poof balls strung to it on either side. It looks like the same material the woman nearby was knitting with, albeit a different color.
action: You wear the hat
response: You put on the hat.
action: You remove it
response: You take off the hat.
action: You give the hat to the woman
response: The knitting woman looks up from her current task and smiles at you, piecing together what must have transpired. "Merci beaucoup. Ce chien..." She wags a finger at the dog and returns her hat to its proper position at her side.
action: You go north
response: There's not much here besides grass. A nice view of the Seine lies to your west. There's an obnoxious bugler to the north, and you don't like the idea of hearing his warbling tune at a higher volume. Thus, you can only go east or south from here.

A butterfly flaps its spotted wings silently in the air several feet off the ground.

A small bunch of white-flecked flowers grows here.
action: You get the butterfly
response: Darn. Though it barely seems to move, it flutters swiftly away each time you reach out for it.
action: You get all
response: butterfly: Darn. Though it barely seems to move, it flutters swiftly away each time you reach out for it.
bunch of flowers: Taken.
Parisians: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
parasols: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
sun: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
beautiful trees: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
park: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
Seine: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
bugler: I don't suppose the bugler would care for that.
ladies: I don't suppose the ladies would care for that.
action: You look at the trees
response: They're very tall and slender, with speckled green leaves.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a bunch of flowers
a newspaper
action: You look at the butterfly
response: Remarkably still, you could probably grab it right out of the air.
action: You examine the flowers
response: This bunch would add to a bouquet nicely, though the flowers look rather like plain white dots on their own.
action: You show the flowers to the butterfly
response: The butterfly is unimpressed.
action: You look
response: There's not much here besides grass. A nice view of the Seine lies to your west. There's an obnoxious bugler to the north, and you don't like the idea of hearing his warbling tune at a higher volume. Thus, you can only go east or south from here.

A butterfly flaps its spotted wings silently in the air several feet off the ground.
action: Go east
response: There's a girl here, about thirteen years old, arranging flowers. There's a finished bouquet next to her, and her mother (or aunt, or whatever) sits nearby, gazing at the Seine. Exits are north, toward a little girl and her mother, south, where an aristocratic couple walk a pet monkey, and west, toward an open field.
action: You look at the girl
response: The girl looks at her tiny clump of flowers, arranging and rearranging the stems. She doesn't seem to like it much, and it certainly doesn't live up to the one by her side.
action: You get all
response: Parisians: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
parasols: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
sun: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
beautiful trees: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
park: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
Seine: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
flower girl: I don't suppose the flower girl would care for that. finished bouquet: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
girl's mother: You'd like to bring this piece of art back with you, but it'd probably be missed.
action: You examine the bouquet
response: There's a pretty bouquet of flowers laid here by the girl, but some of the buds seem faded. They look fresh-picked, but certain colors just have a dingy hue.
action: You show the flowers to girl
response: The flower girl is unimpressed.
action: You give the flowers to girl
response: She takes the flowers and adds them to her current bunch, smiling. "Zank you. Ze yellow..." She pauses, glancing at both her bouquet and the grass in the park. "Ze yellow is, how you say, fading..." The girl looks appreciatively at the white adornments to her project.
action: You go north
response: There's a little girl here, holding her mother's hand. Other people are to the north, but there's nothing interesting in that direction, so you can only return south from here.
action: You examine girl
response: About five years old, wearing a white hat and white dress. The little girl in white stares at you intently, as if she wants to talk to you.
action: You talk to girl
response: You begin to speak to the little girl. "Um..."

She looks up at you with a blank stare. "Hello. We are grateful for your help."

"Oh," you stammer, "you speak English."

"Yes," she says, without changing expression.

"You're just a little kid, though. Don't you live here in Paris? Is one of your parents from England or America?"

"I have learned English from the passers-by who stop to discuss and comment amongst themselves. I am always watching. Some others here are not so motivated."

You look around a little. "What do you mean, passers-by? That doesn't make any sense. Here in the park, you mean? You learned English from tourists? That's impres-"

"No, in the gallery. Chicago."

The name of the city sounds familiar. "You mean you live in Chicago?"

"In America for eighty-four years. In Chicago for seventy-six of them."

"Whaaat? You've got some imagination, kid." You start walking away.

"Wait," she says. "I am telling you the truth. All you see is merely a scene painted one hundred and twenty-five years ago, by a great artist. This place is La Grande Jatte, as seen over a century ago by Georges Seurat."

You begin to protest, but now that the thought has been planted into your brain, you can't shake it off. Everything's seemed so restricted, so static. Things barely move, and everything's got the same texture to it. Speckled, spotted, dotted. It's all pointillism. Then you turn and stare at the girl's face.

There's no definition to it. It's just a splotch of color. Her two blue eyes are blobs of oil paint. How could you not see this before?

You have to get out of here.
action: You get out
response: You're not in anything though... or are you?
action: Yes
response: That was a rhetorical question.
action: You wake up
response: But you're not sleeping... or are you?
action: Look around
response: There's a little girl here, holding her mother's hand. Other people are to the north, but there's nothing interesting in that direction, so you can only return south from here.
action: Go south
response: There's a girl here, about thirteen years old, arranging flowers. There's a finished bouquet next to her, and her mother (or aunt, or whatever) sits nearby, gazing at the Seine. Exits are north, toward a little girl and her mother, south, where an aristocratic couple walk a pet monkey, and west, toward an open field.
action: Go south
response: It's nice and shady here. An upper-class Frenchwoman and her male companion (complete with monocle, top hat, and riding crop) are standing here, staring off to the west. The river does look nice, but the persistence of their gaze is unnerving. You can see a woman knitting to the west and a girl holding a bouquet to the north.

A small brown dog is here sitting and scratching behind one ear. It cowers as you approach.
action: You go south
response: Pr?s du parc
You're standing on a gently sloping hill near a popular Parisian park. To the north you can see lots of people enjoying the summer day. Those without parasols sit in the shade of beautiful green trees, and in light of the way you're feeling, you might want to follow their lead. It's slightly after noon and the sun is beating down on you.
action: You jump
response: You jump on the spot, fruitlessly.
action: Go outside
response: You're not in anything though... or are you?
action: You wake up
response: But you're not sleeping... or are you?
action: You think
response: What a good idea.
action: You talk to girl
response: She stares at you with her featureless, oily paint-blob face. "Well, are you going to leave  leave La Grande Jatte?
action: You leave
response: You'll have to say which compass direction to go in.
action: You leave la grande jatte
response: You're standing in a long hallway with a brown tile floor and white walls. Your eyes are weary, and your legs are stiff.

A white-framed painting adorns the north wall. There's a white porcelain plaque on its right.

You can also see a crumpled note here.
action: You examine the plaque
response: Georges Seurat, 1884-1886

207.6 cm x 308 cm (81.7 in x 121.25 in)
action: You examine the painting
response: A pet monkey on a leash watches a brown dog at his owner's side. A black dog sniffs the grass near a knitting woman, who is busily working her needles. A girl clasps a small bouquet of flowers with an expression both cheerful and forlorn. And a little girl in white stares back at you from the very center of the painting.

Yes. At this distance, all seems to be in order.
action: You get the note
response: Taken.
action: You read it
response: When I decided to enter EnvComp, I had no idea what setting I was going to use. But I thought about it for a while, and knew I wanted a slightly deceptive one. A setting the player wouldn't identify correctly right away. It was hard to think of a situation like that, and eventually I settled on the player being stuck in a painting. It seemed like a unique, exciting setting.

I'm not actually a huge art lover or anything. I determined which painting I was going to use by searching the internet for "famous paintings," and then picking the first one I recognized. I remembered seeing a reproduction of Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in my dentist's office when I was a kid. Anyway, I had to research its name, author, and history to write the game, because I knew very little about it at first.

I tried to drop as many hints in the painting world as possible, hoping that someone familiar with some aspect of the work (its characters, its pointillism, its setting, its author, etc.) may think to try escaping from it without having to solve any puzzles at all. Which is very possible, although the commands available for doing so vary depending how many points you have.

The puzzles were simple to make. The plot, however, was difficult to flesh out. Some cultures think that being photographed steals part of your soul. Who's to say that the subject of a portrait or landscape isn't somehow imbued in the canvas? Somehow, the player character enters the dreamlike territory of the painting itself (Maybe it's a special ability?) either without realizing it or without remembering it. He then wanders about, setting things right in the painting, until the little girl in white, the most knowledgeable 'soul' there, tells him where he is. It's up to the player to attempt commands like >LEAVE PAINTING or >EXIT LA GRANDE JATTE after some prodding and hinting from this character.

The npcs aren't very fleshed out, but my convenient excuse is that most of them are literally two-dimensional painting characters, ones who have no wish to interact with an outsider anyway. The animals, and the few people that do respond to the character, are simply special cases.

Thanks for playing my first game.