games/competition2002/zcode/bofh/readme.1st

      !!! WELCOME TO THE BASTARD OPERATOR FROM HELL: IF EDITION !!!

What is a Bastard Operator From Hell?

The BOFH is the creation of Simon Travaglia (http://bofh.ntk.net) that
showed up in the Information Technology world circa 1995.  The BOFH
is not a man to be taken lightly and certainly not one you toy with.
The BOFH has become the hero of the harried IT worker and just makes for
plain-old good, fun reading.  Simon's humor has created a following of
incalculable numbers spanning the globe.  The BOFH has recently hit the
small screen via an Internet-based serial and is now in print with three
books so far and certainly more on the way.  One can also purchase neat
BOFH kit such as coffee mugs, T-shirts and other items at
http://www.theregister.co.uk.

To get the fullest experience of BOFH I recommend a little background
reading.  Please visit Simon's personal site at http://bofh.ntk.net
and click the banner for BOFH.  The entire archive of seven years can
be found there.  Even long after IF Competition 2002 is over, there
is a lot of good reading waiting for you.

While background reading is not required to play, enjoy or win BOFH it
will almost certainly add some extra dimension to your play experience
and give you some additional insight as to what is expected from a
Bastard Operator From Hell.

In ten words or less - you are a complete and utter bastard and you should
act accordingly!

Don't be nice to your co-workers, don't kiss your boss's tush and don't
be civil to the service technicians that have come to your office to rob
you and your company blind!

Think like a Bastard - think strategy.  WHEN is the best time to perform
a certain action? WHO is the best person (victim?) to perform this action
on and WHAT do you stand to gain by it? 

A BOFH loves liquor and women and goes for a good joke at a moment's notice.
(Sorry to the lady players of this game but the BOFH is what he is...)


You might find a good game of BOFH very therapeutic after a rough day
at work!

                           G A M E  N O T E S
                           ------------------

It is entirely possible to win the game on roughly half the maximum score but
doing so does not demonstrate your Bastardly powers.

I'm a very big fan of the Venetian.  The layout and the areas coded have been
faithfully reproduced from memory; I've visited them personally on two or
three different occasions.  One of my philosophies on game design is to fully
immerse the player into the story and I believe that location is an important
element of that.  My most recent stay at the Venetian was August, 2002 so
most of the Venetian is very fresh in my mind.  I really do encourage you to
visit if you get the chance.

For the record I *am* an MCSE and I am quite proud of it.  However, I don't
train a spotlight on my certificate and I don't wear the lapel pin.  I do
find it quite useful in the performance of my duties.  My humor played upon
the MCSE is a reflection of Simon's humor (and perhaps opinion) on the
subject.

Special commands: pinch, upgrade, cancel.  MCSE is a magic word (ala Simon)
                  A very special, classical magic word is present and is
                  VERY useful in one location and quite entertaining in
                  another.



                              C R E D I T S
                              -------------

Thanks to Simon Travaglia for creating the BOFH and giving me permission
to use his copyright in the making of this game! YOU ROCK, SIMON! :)

Special thanks to Graham Nelson for making Inform possible and to
David Cornelson for making the fourth edition of the Inform Designer's
Manual a physical reality.  (For the record I have two copies - one to
work with and one to keep in pristine condition.)

Thanks to my beta testers - Quintin Stone, John Menichelli and Peter Seebach.
You guys really were thorough and helped me correct a lot of mistakes big
and small!

Thanks to my wife Nadia for putting up with me during all the extra hours
at the keyboard. :)