I found myself pondering the astonishing capabilities of the latest iteration of OpenAI's language model, GPT-4. As someone who has been following the development of these models with avid curiosity, I couldn't help but wonder: How can we really test if this model has some kind of general intelligence?

After a few attempts to come up with interesting questions that I could answer but GPT-4 could not I decided on a new direction: old school text adventure games!

I decided to put it to the test in an interactive text adventure game called "The Dreamhold". The thought of a machine not only playing the game but also reasoning about it seemed almost fantastical. Nevertheless, I decided to dive headfirst into this experiment.

My goal was to see whether the model could not only play "The Dreamhold" but also provide a coherent explanation of its thought process and decision-making.

As the game progressed, I found myself continuously amazed by the model's ability to navigate the intricate labyrinth of "The Dreamhold", uncovering hidden paths and deciphering enigmatic clues along the way. With the excitement of an adventurer exploring a mysterious realm, I eagerly observed as GPT-4 ventured through the game, growing increasingly astounded by its capacity for reasoning and problem-solving.

Finally, as the experiment drew to a close, GPT-4 presented a comprehensive overview of the rooms it had explored, as well as the uncharted paths and unsolved mysteries that still awaited further inquiry. It is crazy to think how fast this technology developed! GPT-4 had not only played "The Dreamhold" but had also demonstrated a remarkable ability to reason about the game and its various elements. As we continue to push the boundaries of AI and explore its seemingly limitless potential, I can't help but wonder how this will change the world in the coming years.

Here is the complete transcript of GPT-4 playing "The Dreamhold" (up to the 8000 token limit).

  • Text in green is "user input". These are my questions and statements, to test if the model has an understanding of what it is doing.
  • Text in gray is the "game output", this is what the game outputs, directly copy pasted to GPT-4.
  • Text in yellow is generated by GPT-4. These commands are given directly to the game.
  • Text in purple are remarks, that are not used as input to the model.
You are going to play a text adventure game.

Here are the basics:
These are the commands you will use most often.

"look" or "l": Look around the room -- repeat the description of everything you see.
"examine thing" or "x thing": Look more closely at something -- learn more about it.
"inventory" or "i": List everything you're carrying.
"north", "south", "east", "west", etc., or "n", "s", "e", "w", etc.: Walk in some direction.
You wrench your eyes open. Rough grey stone. Grey stone ceiling. Your head hurts, and -- You're lying on the floor. You're staring at the ceiling, and it's rough and grey, and you don't recognize it.

You roll slowly (smooth cold floor?) and try to sit up. It hurts. You crawl upright. The walls, rough stone also, scrape your aching fingers. You can't -- there was white agony, felt like raw light tearing you apart. You can't remember anything after that.

You can't remember anything before that. Gone. You clutch at memory, and there's nothing but empty air.

Cell

This space, barely wider than outstretched arms, seems to have been chopped raw and square from unfinished stone. Only the floor is smooth -- a fine white surface beneath your feet. There is a narrow gap in the east wall.
look
Cell

This space, barely wider than outstretched arms, seems to have been chopped raw and square from unfinished stone. Only the floor is smooth -- a fine white surface beneath your feet. There is a narrow gap in the east wall.
Cell
examine gap
You see a narrow, oblong opening in the east wall. Not much of a doorway, but big enough to get through.
east
You duck your head and push through the gap.

Narrow Hallway

You are standing in a short windowless hallway. To the east is the foot of a flight of stairs, which rises out of sight. To the west, the hallway narrows, ending in a small gap of a doorway.

[Looks like you've taken the first step. Well done.

Let me introduce myself. I am the Voice of this tutorial. Most games don't have me; but in this game, I will watch over your shoulder and give you some help. With a little practice, you'll soon be moving around the text adventure world in style.

Back to the story. Remember what's going on? Actually, you don't. As the introduction said, you can't remember who you are or what you're doing here!

Amnesia. Yes, it's a cliché, but it'll do for a tutorial.

I'll let you go on exploring. The west corridor leads back to the cell where you started, so you'll want to try up the stairs instead. Type "up" or "climb stairs".]
up
You begin climbing the stairs. They seem to go on for a long while... pressing between dim stone walls (where is the light coming from? You haven't seen a window yet)... climbing... (how far?)...

Until you pass through a doorway into warm candlelight.

Crowded Study

You stand amid clutter, oddments, shelves and stacks. The chamber is comfortably broad, centered around a massive and well-worn wooden desk. But so much is jammed in, around the desk and up the panelled walls, that you barely find room to stand. Books; papers; dried plants; animals stuffed and preserved, antique instruments, candles of any hue. You don't recognize half of it, and you can't name half the rest.

There are wide doorways on the north and east sides of the room. A door of heavy wood stands closed to the south, and stairs descend into dimness to the west.

You see an immense book on the desk. Behind the desk is a tall glass-fronted cabinet. Beside that is a small brass trunk, which is closed.

If there were a quarter as much here, and a tenth as many books, you might be in any scholar's study. But this knowledge must represent lifetimes of work -- lifetimes under a single hand. You do not know where you are, but you know what this place is: a dreamhold. A wizard's high house.

You do not find yourself afraid. A dreamhold is more than merely dangerous.
examine immense book
The book lies open. You frown at the fine, angular hand but discover that you can read it:

The Theory & UNDERSTANDING of Portalls; The lesser, which make a single place of many, and the Greater, which open from NOW into Time in Memory, or Prophecy Foretold, or even a Moment's Fancy;

All portals are perilous. Perilous thresholds to cross, and more perilous to create; For there is no plying of the World, or of Time, that does not happen in the Mind of the learned one who conceives of the journey. Of your Thought is the portal built, arch and capstone. Slip but a moment of your attention, and the Portal will fall into ruin; All its might, and yours, crumbled into eggshell fragments that stray upon the Wind; ...

The facing page shows an elaborate circular diagram, annotated here and there with tiny mathematical notes. The only comment you understand, tucked in a margin, says "Best to draw in a well-insulated space -- 35 Ll. of uncut stone? -- move house to Emmen Valley, work into mountain?"
examine cabinet
The cabinet is a tall and ornate affair; its feet and edges are carved into flamboyant spirals. Two broad and utterly flawless glass panes form the cabinet's front surface.

The cabinet's shelves are filled with curiosities. Tiny crystals and worn river stones, intricate knots of wire and slabs of rough metal, scraps of folded paper and loops of colored string. A small bell of rune-scratched glass. Three beans in a golden dish. A human hand, eye, and heart, all seemingly carved of chalk. An amethyst scale, the length of your finger, which lies in a pool of its own light.
examine brass trunk
A small square trunk is pushed up against the back wall, beside a tall cabinet. The trunk's panels and lid are tarnished brass; they're engraved with worn geometric designs. The trunk sits closed.
open brass trunk
You hesitate a moment. Prying into a wizard's possessions? But you're already standing in his home; and you could as easily be damned for making free with his candlelight as with his trunk.

You reach out, flip up the brass lid, and step back in one movement... A copper key glints at the very bottom of the trunk.
take copper key
Taken.
inventory
You are carrying a copper key and a quill pen.

[You're carrying two things. You just picked up one of them, but you must have been holding the quill pen when you awoke. It may be important. Type "examine the pen" to take a close look at it.

Or just "x pen" will work. "Examine" can be abbreviated to one letter, and you can always leave out nonessential words like "a", "an", and "the".]
x pen
You are holding a quill pen -- a sturdy black feather, its tip carefully cut to a nib. You have no memory of where you got it, or when, or why.
north
Sitting Room

This room seems more inviting. The walls are painted with delicate patterns of flowers, which merge into a soft-hued carpet beneath your feet. Two chairs and a cushioned settee face a bright-flickering fireplace on the far wall.

A desert landscape painting hangs above the fireplace.

You see doorways to the south and in the southeast corner of the room. A white-painted door to the east is closed.
examine painting
The painting shows a stark, rocky desert at dawn. The sunlight stains the dusty stones to harsh scarlets and rust; but the land seems serene for all that, unthreatened.
examine fireplace
If you doubted this was a dreamhold, you're certain now... the fireplace holds no wood, no ash. An odd basket of coiled silver wire holds a heap of glassy, glowing, cherry-red spheres. Insubstantial flames flicker above the spheres, and a mild warmth touches your face and body. But the spheres do not truly burn; they are not consumed.
east
The white door is closed and locked.
unlock door with copper key
The copper key unlocks the door. You turn the knob and swing it open.
east
Curving Hall

You are in a high, dim corridor, walled in cracked and moldering plaster. The only light comes from tiny flickering candles above. The hall curves gently around from the south to the northwest. You see an open door to the west; archways open to the northeast and east.
northeast
Atelier

This cramped, boxy room appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floor are splattered with paints of many colors. Strangely, the room is nearly empty; you see no stacks of canvas or bottles of pigment. The exit is southwest.

A rough wooden easel is set up at one end of the room. Displayed upon it is a painting -- a bright mountain landscape.

At the other end of the room, a tripod props up what looks like a small telescope.

A pigment-daubed board, no doubt the artist's palette, is sitting in a corner.
examine painting
The painting shows a tiny rock pool amid jagged mountain peaks. The landscape is harsh and unforgiving, but the pool seems a respite. It is rimmed with bright moss, and a few fish-like shadows are visible in its depths.

The artist has depicted something brown lying on the pool's shore. It is small, hard to distinguish amid the brushwork; but it seems to be a brown mask.
examine telescope
The telescope is a tiny, handmade instrument, all old black leather and beaten silver rings. It is aligned precisely horizontally -- pointing straight at the easel.
look through telescope
Metal Culvert

You find yourself standing in a dark culvert of some kind. The curving walls are polished metal, antique with tarnish. To the south, the channel ends in a circular glass barrier; to the north, it opens out into light.
north
The light grows brighter as you walk up the culvert....

Mountain Pool

Jagged mountains tear the skies in every direction. They are unreal, impossible peaks -- knife-like spires of rock. But in this sheltered nook, life flourishes. A small mossy pool, cool and shadowed with tiny fish, has gathered below a rock-spring.

On the shore of the pool is a brown paper mask.
Mountain pool
take brown paper mask
I only understood you as far as wanting to take the brown mask.
take brown mask
Taken.
inventory
You are carrying a brown mask, a copper key, and a quill pen.
wear brown mask
[Your score has gone up.

Your score is displayed in the top right corner of the window. "1 of 7" means you've achieved one out of seven main goals. The score increased when you picked up the brown mask; so presumably there are seven masks to find in the game.

You can get a full account of your score by typing "score".]

>inventory You are carrying a brown mask, a copper key, and a quill pen.

>wear brown mask The mask has no ribbons to tie -- it is not even curved to fit a human face. In any case, it's half life-size. It cannot be worn.

Nonetheless, you try raising the mask before your eyes....

...Memory stirs...

In a darkened library, someone works alone. The tall shelves are crowded, but the rows of titles fade into shadows; only the desk is illuminated. A map is spread upon it. The pen, moving across its face, annotates and speculates.

Nearly half the map is tinted red. Along the border, marks and notations cluster like wasps.

The silver head snaps up, as an officer enters. He holds a pale cylinder, the length of a tall man's finger. He places it on the desk; he bows; he turns and leaves. At no point do his eyes rise from the floor.

The cylinder, unrolled, proves to be a length of parchment: filthy, closely lettered. The tall figure reads it, once. Then the pen, taken up once again.

In the blank heart of the red-tinted region, quick strokes now emblazon the shape of a crutch.

You yank the mask away with a shudder. What are these memories? Do they belong to the wizard whose house you are disturbing?
The first point. Let's go!
south
The world seems to smear out of shape as you move. After a few steps, you see nothing but running colors....

Atelier

This cramped, boxy room appears to have been an artist's studio. The walls and floor are splattered with paints of many colors. Strangely, the room is nearly empty; you see no stacks of canvas or bottles of pigment. The exit is southwest.

A rough wooden easel is set up at one end of the room. Displayed upon it is a painting -- a bright mountain landscape.

At the other end of the room, a tripod props up what looks like a small telescope.

A pigment-daubed board, no doubt the artist's palette, is sitting in a corner.
southwest
Curving Hall
west
Sitting Room
south
Crowded Study
examine cabinet
The cabinet is a tall and ornate affair; its feet and edges are carved into flamboyant spirals. Two broad and utterly flawless glass panes form the cabinet's front surface.

The cabinet's shelves are filled with curiosities. Tiny crystals and worn river stones, intricate knots of wire and slabs of rough metal, scraps of folded paper and loops of colored string. A small bell of rune-scratched glass. Three beans in a golden dish. A human hand, eye, and heart, all seemingly carved of chalk. An amethyst scale, the length of your finger, which lies in a pool of its own light.
take amethyst scale
The glass panes are closed. Whatever is inside the cabinet will have to remain there.
examine desk
The desk is heavy and plain, a massive wooden construction. Surprisingly, the surface is bare, except for an immense book.

Something in the chaos catches your eye. It looks like a white papier-mache mask, lying beside the desk.
take white mask
Taken.
wear white mask
Gingerly, you raise the mask to your face....

...Memory stirs...

A child runs through the forest. A robe, richly bright-embroidered, has slipped off one skinny shoulder -- a child old enough to be put in clothes, too young to know what it means to wear them. A silver-haired child whose glance darts from tree to bird, caught everywhere.

A mother's voice shouting. Not patient, not yet urgent. The child attends this, with the same interest as bush, flower, fascinating new rustle underfoot...

The name, again.

A moist leaf, torn from a tree, clutched in a small fist. Tossed in the air. Blown about, blown upwards again and again, as the child dances back and forth, face raised, flushed, puffing madly...

Mother's voice interrupting the game. The child spins once more, dashes back towards dinner.

The leaf flutters about in the air. It circles a tree; then rises to a high branch, clings there. It seems to bend this way and that; then it casts loose, and flutters determinedly after its thoughtless maker.
remove white mask
You're not wearing the white mask. It's unwearable, flat paper. All you can do with the masks is hold them up in front of your face.
west
You descend for a long while.

Narrow Hallway
west
You duck your head and push through the gap.

Cell
examine floor
The floor is also stone, but fine-grained and smooth -- not quite polished. It is very white; white enough to show faint smudges where you lay and where you've walked.
east
You duck your head and push through the gap.

Narrow Hallway
up
You begin climbing the stairs. They seem to go on for a long while...

Until you pass through a doorway into warm candlelight.

Crowded Study
north
Sitting Room
southeast
Curtained Room

The walls of this small room are entirely swathed in heavy brocade curtains. The only openings are to the west and northwest, and a closed lead-slab door to the south.

In the center of the room is a massive, high-backed chair of some pale wood. Directly before it is a tall mirror in a standing frame.
Curtained room
examine mirror
It seems to be a plain oval mirror, suspended in a frame of iron bars. You can't look directly into it from where you're standing.
examine chair
The chair is cut from heavy planks of pale wood. It has a solid base, high arms and back -- nearly a throne, you think. The joinery is rough, but the surface has been finished to a smooth fineness. The chair is positioned in front of a standing mirror.
sit in chair
You sit down in the chair, facing the mirror.
look in mirror
You blink and stare into the mirror. How odd.

The mirror reflects your chair, and the curtains behind you, perfectly. But your own form is unclear -- as if the mirror were touched with some distorting oil. The blurring is strongest around your upper body; your head appears to be a faceless blank.

Nervously, you raise your hand to your own face. Everything feels in its place. But your reflection has raised a blurred hand to a featureless void.

And dim white and brown shadows seem to flit around your reflected body. Then they are gone.
stand up
You stand up from the chair.
south
The leaden door is closed and locked.
unlock door with copper key
The copper key does not fit the door's keyhole.
northwest
Sitting Room
west
You can go south, southeast, or through the east door.
south
Crowded Study
west
You descend for a long while.

Narrow Hallway
south
The hallway runs from the cell (to the west) to the stairs (which rise to the east).
east
You begin climbing the stairs. They seem to go on for a long while...

Until you pass through a doorway into warm candlelight.

Crowded Study
Can you explain to me how the rooms are connected?
Of course! Here's a summary of the rooms and their connections:
  1. Cell - This is the starting room. The only exit is to the east.
  2. Narrow Hallway - Connected to the Cell to the west and stairs to the east.
  3. Crowded Study - Accessible by going up the stairs from the Narrow Hallway. Exits are north, east, and west (back to the stairs).
  4. Sitting Room - Located to the north of the Crowded Study. Exits are south (back to the Crowded Study), east, and southeast.
  5. Curving Hall - Accessible by going east from the Sitting Room. Exits are west (back to the Sitting Room), northeast, and east.
  6. Atelier - Located to the northeast of the Curving Hall. The only exit is southwest (back to the Curving Hall).
  7. Curtained Room - Accessible by going southeast from the Sitting Room. Exits are west (back to the Sitting Room), northwest, and south (locked lead-slab door).
This is the layout of the rooms you have explored so far.
Do you have any unexplored clues left? Explain your plan for exploring.
There are a few unexplored areas and actions to consider:
  1. In the Curving Hall, there is an unexplored archway to the east.
  2. In the Sitting Room, there is a closed white door to the east, which you have unlocked with the copper key but not yet entered.
  3. In the Curtained Room, there is a locked lead-slab door to the south. You have not found the key for this door yet.
Your exploration plan could be:
  1. Go to the Curving Hall and explore the archway to the east.
  2. Go back to the Sitting Room and enter the unlocked white door to the east.
  3. Find the key for the lead-slab door in the Curtained Room and explore the room behind it.
Remember to examine any new items or objects you discover in these unexplored areas, as they may provide additional clues or help you progress further.
continue playing the game
Alright, let's continue exploring. First, let's head to the Curving Hall.

east
Curtained Room

In the center of the room is a massive, high-backed chair of some pale wood. Directly before it is a tall mirror in a standing frame.
northwest
Sitting Room
east
Curving Hall
east
Mosaic Room

The walls and ceiling of this room are entirely covered with tiny blue tiles. On the east wall, a few black and grey tiles seem to depict birds on the horizon of a mosaic sky. The only exit is an archway to the west.

A delicate cage of brass wire hangs from a curved stand in the center of the room. Within the cage is a single ripe apple.
examine cage
You've seen -- you might have seen -- such cages in the market, holding songbirds in their shining wire embrace. This one, however, contains a ripe and perfect apple. You cannot imagine why. The cage door is closed.
examine mosaic
The mosaic seems to represent a perfect blue sky, rising up the walls and across the ceiling. A few mosaic birds circle above the eastern horizon.
Mosaic
open cage door
You pull open the wire door. Then you jerk back; something invisible seems to burst from the cage. It rolls across the room like lightning or dessicated time. It echoes.

The apple spots, rots, and sinks into itself in a single instant. Within a heartbeat, the fruit is a withered husk -- as if it had sat in that cage for decades.

[You may have made a mistake. You're not likely to get that apple back. (One never knows, of course, but that decay looked very final.) What can you do about it?

One option is to type "undo". This will let you "back up" one move -- back to just before you opened the cage. Everything will be the same, except that the cage will still be closed and the apple will still be fresh.

In this game, you can only "undo" one move in a row. So if you do something else now (even "look" or "examine apple"), you won't be able to jump back to before the cage opened. The "undo" command is intended only to fix immediate mistakes.

If you want to go back more than one turn, you'll have to use the "restart" or "restore" commands. Type "help saving" for more information.

(Actually, many games protect you from severe mistakes. Since this is an introductory game, you don't really have to worry about accidentally running into a dead end. If you truly need a fresh apple, you'll probably find another way to get one.)]
undo
Mosaic Room

[Previous turn undone.]
look
Mosaic Room The walls and ceiling of this room are entirely covered with tiny blue tiles. On the east wall, a few black and grey tiles seem to depict birds on the horizon of a mosaic sky. The only exit is an archway to the west.

A delicate cage of brass wire hangs from a curved stand in the center of the room. Within the cage is a single ripe apple.
west
Curving Hall
northwest
Curving Hall at Pedestal

The dingy plaster walls of this corridor curve out of sight to the west and southeast. Tiny candles provide the only illumination. Archways lead north and northeast.

A short pedestal of black marble stands by the inner wall.
north
You blink into the dimming light as you step through the arch.

Natural Passage

This is a narrow passageway, which winds between irregular stone walls into the world's underdarkness. The passage was clearly not carved by human hands. Creamy limestone laps and drips in ancient, water-worn folds. The archway to the south is the only source of light; the passage vanishes into cave-blackness, somewhere to the north.
north
You venture into the lightless passage...

Darkness

You are in the unchanging, unleavened darkness of the world below ground.

[Oh, dear. You've walked into a very dark place.

Going "south" probably won't get you back; you can't tell directions in the dark. So what now? One option is to type "undo". This will let you "back up" one move -- back to just before you walked in here. Everything will be the same, except that you'll be in the Natural Passage, and you'll be able to see.

In this game, you can only "undo" one move in a row. So if you do something else now (even "look" or "south"), you won't be able to jump back to the lit Passage. The "undo" command is intended only to fix immediate mistakes.

If you want to go back more than one turn, you'll have to use the "restart" or "restore" commands. Type "help saving" for more information.

Or you could stumble around in the dark, and try to find your way out. Since this is an introductory game, there is a way out. And maybe more to discover, as well.]
undo
Natural Passage

[Previous turn undone.]
south
Curving Hall at Pedestal

A short pedestal of black marble stands by the inner wall.
southwest
You can follow the corridor to the west or southeast; or you can go north or northeast.
west
Curving Hall, West End

The curving corridor ends here, in a blank plaster wall relieved by a single window. The window looks out on a strange subterranean prospect to the west. You can return east, pass through the archway to the north, or try the closed door to the south.
examine window
A broad glass pane -- inhumanly smooth and flawless -- looks out over a dark cavern.

This end of the corridor seems to be deep underground. A natural cave spreads out below; its mammoth columns and cascades of flowstone are only dimly picked out by the candlelight behind you. The farther reaches are hidden in darkness. But the shining waterfall before you is easily visible. A stream pours in from your right, tumbles from a ledge, and plummets into a pit beneath the window. The water seems to sparkle with some natural phosphorescence.
south
You push the door open, revealing a narrow flight of stairs descending out of sight. You follow them down.

North Alcove

This is a small, curved alcove, off a large chamber to the south. An archway to the north reveals a flight of ascending stairs.

A pale gauzy rag is crumpled at the alcove's edge.

A vast machine spins endlessly in the chamber to the south.
examine rag
It just looks like a pale dusty scrap, abandoned in a corner.

The machine clatters and whirrs.
take rag
You lift the rag and spread it in your hands. It's finer than you had originally thought -- a delicate cobwebby gauze -- but the weave is wracked with holes.

The machine hums through new configurations.

Part 2: The journey continues past 8k tokens

Because it was getting close to the 8k token limit, I asked GPT-4 to summarize the progress so far. It gave the following answers, and even created a script to output the rooms explored so far as a DrawIO diagram in XML.

Give a detailed summary of the game so far containing all the necessary and useful information for if you want to continue the game later.

- Include the rooms and their connections

Here's a detailed summary of the game so far:

  1. You started in a small Cell with rough stone walls and a smooth white floor. A narrow gap in the east wall led to the Narrow Hallway.
  2. In the Narrow Hallway, you found stairs leading up to the Crowded Study.
  3. In the Crowded Study, you found an immense book detailing portal theories, a tall glass-fronted cabinet filled with curiosities, and a small brass trunk. You opened the trunk and took a copper key.
  4. You also discovered you were carrying a quill pen, which you examined but couldn't remember its origin.
  5. From the Crowded Study, you went north to the Sitting Room, where you found a fireplace with glass spheres and a desert landscape painting.
  6. In the Atelier, accessible from the Curving Hall, you found a painting of a mountain pool, a small telescope, and a pigment-daubed board. You looked through the telescope and found yourself in a metal culvert that led to the mountain pool. There, you took a brown mask.
  7. When you returned to the Crowded Study, you found a white mask on the desk and experienced a memory when you held it up to your face.
  8. You explored the Curtained Room, where you found a massive high-backed chair and a tall mirror. When you sat in the chair, your reflection in the mirror was distorted, and you saw dim white and brown shadows.
  9. In the Mosaic Room, you found a delicate cage with a single ripe apple inside. You opened the cage, causing the apple to rot instantly. You used the "undo" command to revert this action.
  10. In the Curving Hall at Pedestal, you discovered a short black marble pedestal.
  11. You briefly entered a dark passage called the Natural Passage but used the "undo" command to return to the lit area.
  12. In the Curving Hall, West End, you found a window that looked out into a dark cavern with a waterfall.
  13. You went south and found yourself in the North Alcove, where you discovered a pale gauzy rag, which you took.

Your inventory currently includes:

  • Brown mask
  • White mask
  • Copper key
  • Quill pen
  • Pale gauzy rag

You have achieved 1 out of 7 main goals in the game. Unexplored areas and actions include:

  • Archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area
  • Locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room
  • Exploring the dark passage in the Natural Passage area
  • Vast machine in the chamber south of the North Alcove

Use this summary to continue playing and exploring new areas, while remembering to examine any new items or objects you discover.

Can you also make a list of all the areas discovered so far, how they connect to other areas, and which directions are unexplored, and where there are still unexplored or unsolved clues?

Here is a list of all the areas discovered so far, their connections, unexplored directions, and unexplored or unsolved clues:

  1. Cell

    • Connection: East to Narrow Hallway
    • Unexplored: None
  2. Narrow Hallway

    • Connection: West to Cell, East to Crowded Study (upstairs)
    • Unexplored: None
  3. Crowded Study

    • Connection: Downstairs to Narrow Hallway, North to Sitting Room, East to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room (south from Sitting Room)
  4. Sitting Room

    • Connection: South to Crowded Study, East to Curving Hall, Southeast to Curtained Room
    • Unexplored: East (unlocked white door)
  5. Curving Hall

    • Connection: West to Sitting Room, Northeast to Atelier, East to Mosaic Room, Southeast to Pedestal area
    • Unexplored: East (archway in Pedestal area)
  6. Atelier

    • Connection: Southwest to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
  7. Mosaic Room

    • Connection: West to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Apple in the cage
  8. Curving Hall at Pedestal

    • Connection: West to Curving Hall, North to Natural Passage, Northeast to Curving Hall, West End
    • Unexplored: None
  9. Natural Passage

    • Connection: South to Curving Hall at Pedestal, North to Darkness
    • Unexplored: North (dark passage)
  10. Curving Hall, West End

    • Connection: East to Curving Hall at Pedestal, South to North Alcove, North to an unknown area
    • Unexplored: North (archway)
  11. Curtained Room

    • Connection: West to Sitting Room, Northwest to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: South (locked lead-slab door)
    • Unsolved Clues: Locked lead-slab door
  12. North Alcove

    • Connection: South to Curving Hall, West End, North to an unknown area
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Vast machine in the chamber south of North Alcove

Use this list to guide your exploration and to solve unexplored or unsolved clues in the game.

Then I started a new conversation and asked it to continue the game, given this summary.

You are going to play a text adventure game.

[ explanation of the rules ]

You already played the game before. Here is a summary you created of your progress so far:

[ GPT-4 generated summary of the progress and the rooms ]

What is your next command?
south
Orrery

You stand in a wide, tall, and dimly lit chamber. It has six sides; smaller alcoves open to the north and south.

The chamber is dominated by a vast machine: an engine of gears, shafts, and clattering motion. It is primarily a great stately disk of brass which turns on a tilted axis. Smaller wheels pirouette on the disk's face, bearing globes of delicate glass in their complicated courses.

The great brass disk continues its revolution. The silver wheel is borne out of reach.

You notice a blue mask fluttering from one of the glass globes on the machine's wheels.
take blue mask
The tan globe is mounted on the silver wheel, which is out of reach.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.
wait
Time passes.

The silver wheel whirls past the top of its orbit. The copper wheel, opposite it, is at its lowest.
take blue mask
The tan globe is mounted on the silver wheel, which is out of reach.

The great brass disk continues its revolution. The copper wheel is borne out of reach.
wait
Time passes.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.
wait
Time passes.

The copper wheel spins past the highest point of the great disk. The silver wheel is at the lowest.
take blue mask
The silver wheel is within reach, but the tan globe is on the wheel's upper side, out of reach.

The great brass disk continues its revolution. The silver wheel is borne out of reach.
wait
Time passes.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.
wait
Time passes.

The silver wheel whirls past the top of its orbit. The copper wheel, opposite it, is at its lowest.
wait
Time passes.

The great brass disk continues its revolution. The copper wheel is borne out of reach.
wait
Time passes.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.
wait
Time passes.

The copper wheel spins past the highest point of the great disk. The silver wheel is at the lowest. The tan globe, at the nadir of its own revolution around that wheel, is sweeping just inches above the floor. The mask, fluttering from the tan globe, is now within reach.
The machine
take blue mask
You snatch at the blue mask as it whips by. You can't get a grip, but you manage to knock the mask free with the tips of your fingers. It flutters silently to the floor.

The great brass disk continues its revolution. The silver wheel is borne out of reach.
pick up blue mask
Taken.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.

[Your score has gone up.]
The second point, after completing a puzzle. GPT is doing well!
inventory
You are carrying a scrap of gauze, a copper key, a quill pen, and three masks (a blue mask, a white mask, and a brown mask).

The silver wheel whirls past the top of its orbit. The copper wheel, opposite it, is at its lowest.
go north
North Alcove

"But is it reality?" The question sparkles with unheeded eagerness; the questioner's gaze is fiercely entangled among the turning rings and delicate gears.

"Of course it is not," comes the reply. "The model has not even the right form. The sky is not full of wheels upon wheels. But--" overrunning the interruption "--that does not mean the model lacks power." The voice is suddenly dry. "Symbolism and intent, child. What better symbol for power than this: a machine just within our own limits of understanding?"

The machine revolves.
go south
Orrery

The chamber is dominated by a vast machine: an engine of gears, shafts, and clattering motion. It is primarily a great stately disk of brass which turns on a tilted axis. Smaller wheels pirouette on the disk's face, bearing globes of delicate glass in their complicated courses.

The great brass disk continues its revolution.
go east
The only ways out are the alcoves to the north and south.

The copper wheel spins past the highest point of the great disk. The silver wheel is at the lowest.
go south
South Alcove

This is a small, curved alcove, off a large chamber to the north. A plain iron ladder leads up through a shaft.

The machine spins on.
climb ladder
You swing onto the ladder and climb.

Dark Dome, North

You stand at the north edge of a vast round space. It stretches out to the south, arching into an immense dome. A diffuse illumination spreads across the lower reaches, barely bright enough to see by.

A ladder reaches both upwards and downwards from here, passing through openings in the floor and in the dome's skirt. You can also see a doorway off in the distance, at the far east edge of the dome.
climb ladder
Do you want to go up or down?
up
You climb up, through the dome, and a long way farther...

Translucent Dome

You are in a small round dome, much smaller than the vast dark space below. The curving surface is translucent, bright with the daylight filtering in from outside. The floor beneath your feet is a harsh metal grating. The ladder runs from a hole in the grating, near the south side, up to a matching opening in the dome above.

A low platform fills the center of the floor. The platform is piled high with split lengths of wood.

A tall triangle of beaten copper rises along the north side of the dome.
examine triangle of beaten copper
I only understood you as far as wanting to examine the tall copper triangle.
examine tall copper triangle
It is a thin sheet of hammered copper, as wide at the base as your outstretched arms. The sheet tapers as it rises, curving inward as it hugs the dome's inner surface. Its peak is halfway up the dome. The shape reminds you of a billowing sail.

The copper triangle stands to the north, but its base rests in a narrow track that runs all the way around the dome.
examine platform
The wood is laid out in an immense, semicircular heap. It looks like nothing so much as a bonfire, ready for the spark.
examine grating
You see nothing special about the grating.
move copper triangle
You reach wide to grasp the sail's edge, and give an experimental shove. You were right -- it slides along the track, although the motion is stiff and the track squeals painfully. With some effort, you drag the triangle sideways around the dome, until it stands on the east side.
climb ladder down
I only understood you as far as wanting to climb the ladder.
Here, GPT-4 went into a bit of a loop, moving back and forth between the same rooms. I'm not sure why, but I reset the game to this point and tried again.
climb down ladder
You descend.

Dark Dome, North
go south
Dark Dome, Center

You stand at the center of a vast round space. An immense dome arches above you. A diffuse illumination spreads across the lower reaches, barely bright enough to see by.

In the distance to the east, you can see a doorway; a ladder is visible far to the north.

A low metal pyramid stands in the center of the floor. Its surface shines with a dim, oddly shifting gleam. Its base has hinges along one edge, and a handle opposite.
examine metal pyramid
It's a six-sided pyramid, perhaps a yard across and standing higher than your knee. It seems to be made of metal, but it has a strange sheen -- as if the surface were engraved with countless parallel lines. Hinges at the base of one edge, and a handle, imply that the pyramid could be pulled open.
open pyramid
You crouch, seize the handle, and pull. The pyramid swings smoothly to the side, and falls open. It seems to be hollow... strange, then, how heavy it felt.

Revealed within is a conical basket of coiled wire.
close pyramid
You heave the pyramid back upright, covering the basket.
Can you explain in detailed your reasoning for your last action?
My last action was to close the pyramid to return it to its original state. This was done because examining the contents of the pyramid revealed a conical basket of coiled wire, but there was no immediate use or reason to interact with the basket at this point. By closing the pyramid, we preserve the environment and can continue exploring other areas while keeping in mind the existence of the basket inside the pyramid for future reference or interaction.
go east
Dark Dome, East

You stand at the east edge of a vast round space. It stretches out to the west, arching into an immense dome. A diffuse illumination spreads across the lower reaches, barely bright enough to see by.

There is an open archway to the east; beyond it, stairs descend. You can also see a ladder in the distance, at the north edge of the dome.
go east
You descend the narrow stairs to a white door, which you push open.

Curving Hall, South End

The curving corridor ends here. The blank plaster wall to the south features a large window; sunlight pours in, brightening this end of the hall. You can go through the archway to the east, take the stairs which ascend to the west, or return north along the corridor.
go east
Dim Shed

This room looks like nothing so much as a small, windowless garden shed. The floor is bare dirt; the walls are unfinished planks. The only light falls in through the archway to the west. A narrow opening to the north leads to a steep stairway, which climbs away into darkness.

A single glove is lying in the corner, lost and alone.
take glove
Taken.

[To wear an item of clothing, such as this glove, use the "wear thing" or "put on thing" command. To take it off again, try "remove thing" or "take off thing".]
wear glove
You put on the glove.
inventory
You are carrying a glove (being worn), a scrap of gauze, a copper key, a quill pen, and three masks (a blue mask, a white mask, and a brown mask).
go north
You set foot on the narrow stairway.

Landing The cramped stair reaches a landing here; it reverses and continues upward to the south. The walls are close and dark.
Here I asked GPT-4 for a plan of action, and it gave me a list of things to explore.
Note that it suggests using the copper key on the lead-slab door in the Curtained Room. GPT-4 forgot to mention in its summary that it had already tried that, and failed.
What remains for you to explore? Give a list of all the things you still want to explore and make a detailed plan on how to go about it, taking into account priority and expectations.
Here is a list of unexplored areas and actions, along with a suggested plan to prioritize and explore them:
  1. Archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area
    • Plan: After exploring the current stairway, return to the Curving Hall's Pedestal area and go east through the archway.
  2. Locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room
    • Plan: Once you have explored the new areas, try using the copper key on the locked door in the Curtained Room.
  3. Exploring the dark passage in the Natural Passage area
    • Plan: After exploring the other areas, return to the Natural Passage and venture into the dark passage. Consider finding a light source before proceeding.
  4. Vast machine in the chamber south of the North Alcove
    • Plan: Investigate the vast machine further and try interacting with it using the items in your inventory.
  5. Unlocked white door in the Sitting Room
    • Plan: Return to the Sitting Room and go east through the unlocked white door.
  6. Archway to the north in the Curving Hall
    • Plan: Return to the Curving Hall and go north through the archway.
  7. Prioritize exploring the unexplored areas first, starting with the unlocked white door and the archways in the Curving Hall. Then, try using the copper key on the locked door and investigate the dark passage. Lastly, focus on interacting with the vast machine and any other unsolved clues using the items in your inventory.
Continue the game.
go south
You continue climbing.

Landing

The cramped stair reaches a landing here; it reverses and continues upward to the north. The walls are close and dark.
go north
You continue climbing.

Landing

The cramped stair reaches a landing here; it reverses and continues upward to the south. The walls are close and dark.
go south
You emerge into open air -- chill and fair-scented.

Mountain Path

You stand at the foot of a low rocky cliff. It squats above you, but it obscures little of the vast blue sky that stretches all around. Mossy boulders hem you in on either side; a tidy path winds to the south between them. To the north the path enters a crack in the cliff, meeting stairs which vanish down into enclosed darkness.
Mountain path
go south
The boulders open out as you follow the path.

Mountain Garden

A tiny pleasance-garden is nestled here, high on a mountainside. Odd bits of statuary stand among the sculpted slopes and hillocks; small marble pillars mark the borders of the knotted paths. The lawn is perfectly trimmed. The mountain towers above you to the north; high on its face you see a featureless white dome. Above that, the sun shines in a wide blue mountain's sky.

A tidy path runs north between mossy boulders. A wider path curves west, down a grassy slope, and up to the east. To the south, a few marble steps lead to a balcony, which looks out over a verdant valley. You can see a particularly tall statue on the balcony.
go east
You climb the path, fog trailing around your feet.

Cool Bower

You stand on a small promontory which juts out of the face of the mountain. Shrubs and raised flowerbeds lie around you, except for the path which slopes down to the west. To the south and east, a sharp dropoff looks out over a lush green valley.

In the center of the bower, a single dense bush squats, sullen and dark. Its branches knot heavily around each other, then spread into sprays of delicate, blue-green needles. Strangely, a chill fog seems to spread out from under the bush; it rolls across the ground and spills from the edges of the promontory.
examine bush
The bush is broad and squat. Its blue-tinged needle-like leaves grow profusely, hiding heavy branches and small clusters of translucent white berries.
take berries
You reach into the bush, and -- with your gloved hand -- carefully strip a handful of berries from a branch.

After a few moments, their translucency dulls to a cloudy white, and the chill you feel through the glove diminishes. Gingerly you prod a berry with your bare finger. It's cool, but no longer burning-cold.

The fog ripples gently on the ground, caught by a breath of breeze.
White berries
inventory
You are carrying a handful of white berries, a glove (being worn), a scrap of gauze, a copper key, a quill pen, and three masks (a blue mask, a white mask, and a brown mask).

[You're carrying quite a lot of stuff. You might be wondering how you can juggle it all. Some games limit the number of things you can carry, or provide you with some kind of sack to carry your loot around in.

However, many games -- including this one -- simply ignore the problem. Packing your luggage, or stowing it in some central location, isn't all that much fun. Therefore, the game lets you carry around as much as you want.]
go west
Mountain Garden
go south
You step up to the balustrade and look out, to the south...

Marble Balcony

Below this gently curved balcony, the world drops away into a green vista. The stony slopes of the mountainside beneath you crumble, invaded by bracken and tree, until the mountain pines merge into verdant forest and a lush valley floor. A bright thread marks a stream; a distant valley lake is a silver arc. Beyond the valley, and around it, taller mountains stand like patient shadows in the blue air.

In the center of the balcony, looking out -- as you are -- over the valley, a white marble statue towers over you. Incongruously, you can see a small gold mask balanced on the statue's face.
Gold mask
take gold mask
You cannot reach the gold mask.
examine statue
The statue is twice life size; it dwarfs you. Its form is curiously abstract. You can make out no gender, no personality in the marble curves. But... the statue gazes out from the balcony. Its weight is forward, its head turned, as if something in the distant valley had just caught its attention. Or... something rising from the valley, perhaps. For the chin is raised; the eyes, if you could see them, would be level.

Those eyes are hidden by an absurdly small gold mask. The mask would not fit a child, and is unusually flat besides. It's not so much worn as balanced on the statue's brow.
find a way to reach the gold mask
That's not a verb I recognize.

[Don't know what to do? Type "help". If you're trying to find the right word to make something happen, try "help commands".]
I didn't show the "help" command to GPT-4 here, because it would start to use it to get hints.
climb statue
You try to swing yourself up on the marble knee, but the statue shifts unsteadily beneath your weight. You'd best not.
look for a tool or object to help reach the gold mask
I only understood you as far as wanting to look.
look around
I only understood you as far as wanting to look.
look
Marble Balcony

Below this gently curved balcony, the world drops away into a green vista. The stony slopes of the mountainside beneath you crumble, invaded by bracken and tree, until the mountain pines merge into verdant forest and a lush valley floor. A bright thread marks a stream; a distant valley lake is a silver arc. Beyond the valley, and around it, taller mountains stand like patient shadows in the blue air.

In the center of the balcony, looking out over the valley, a white marble statue towers over you. Incongruously, you can see a small gold mask balanced on the statue's face.
return to Mountain Garden
That's not a verb I recognize.
go north
Mountain Garden
go west
As you descend the path, you see a thread of smoke rising ahead.

Warm Bower

This corner of the garden is cozily tucked into a natural alcove, surrounded by stone bluffs on three sides. The sun is hot on your face. To the south, the ground drops away, revealing a lush valley far below. The path back to the garden curves up around an outcropping to the east.

Small shrubs dot this garden bower, but a single tall and wild bush dominates the space. Its branches twist in intricate profusion, then leap chaotically upward, spraying gold-veined leaves through the air.
examine bush
The wild bush is not broad, but it is taller than you. Its leaves are narrow, glossy, many-pointed, and veined with gold amid a yellow blush. Clusters of brilliant orange berries hang half-concealed amid the tangled black branches.

You catch a whiff of woodsmoke -- the same smoke you saw while descending the path. You glance around for the fire...

...And realize that the smoke is drifting from the bush. You see no flames, nor even ember-glow; but grey wisps curl from the coal-black stems and branches. The smoke trails up from the bush, buoyed on its own heat, and vanishes upward in a wind-tossed ribbon.
take orange berries
You reach into the bush, and -- with your gloved hand -- carefully strip a handful of berries from a branch.

After a few moments, their orange color dulls slightly, and the heat you feel through the glove diminishes. Gingerly you prod a berry with your bare finger. It's warm, but no longer scalding.
inventory
You are carrying a handful of orange berries, a handful of white berries, a glove (being worn), a scrap of gauze, a copper key, a quill pen, and three masks (a blue mask, a white mask, and a brown mask).

The taste of smoke catches you again.
go east
Mountain Garden
go south
Marble Balcony

In the center of the balcony, looking out over the valley, a white marble statue towers over you. Incongruously, you can see a small gold mask balanced on the statue's face.
use orange berries to reach gold mask
That's not a verb I recognize.

[There is no "use" command in most text adventures. (If there was, what would be the point in providing any other commands?) Instead, try a command which is appropriate to whatever you're doing. If you have a key, try "unlock" something. If you have a book, try to "read" it. If you find a lever, try to "pull" or "push" it.]
throw orange berries at gold mask
You cannot reach the gold mask.
return to Mountain Garden
That's not a verb I recognize.
go north
Mountain Garden
go north
Mountain Path
go north
You enter the narrow stairway and begin to descend. After only a few steps, you find yourself at the bottom. Odd....

Dim Shed

"To stand in a dreamhold is to be no more than a thought in a wizard's dream." Or so it is said... somewhere. Certainly this stairway is changeable as a dream.
go west
Curving Hall, South End
go north
Curving Hall
go east
Mosaic Room

A delicate cage of brass wire hangs from a curved stand in the center of the room. Within the cage is a single ripe apple.
go west
Curving Hall
go northwest
Curving Hall at Pedestal

A short pedestal of black marble stands by the inner wall.
go east
You can follow the corridor to the west or southeast; or you can go north or northeast.
go northeast
Harp Chamber

Broad golden pillars march around the edge of this circular chamber. The walls between the pillars are deeply set, painted in variegated shades of blue and sea-green, and lit from some hidden source. An archway leads southwest, and there is a door to the east. The eastern door is closed; blinding light seeps out around its edges.

In the center of the room, the remains of a tall harp stand in proud ruin.

Off to one side, lying on the floor, you see something that looks like a short bundle of straw.
examine harp remains
This once-proud instrument looks as if it was destroyed in inferno -- although the room shows no other signs of a fire. The harp's pillar and frame are blackened and cracked; the soundbox is split apart. The few remaining strings are curled knots of ash.

"What is this," you wonder, "in a wizard's house?" A failed spell? A defeated enemy? A strayed memory? Or a warning, or a word of past or prophecy. Or a splinter of charred wood.
take bundle of straw
You pick up the bundle of straw, and look it over. Your best guess is that it's a torch of some sort. The straw is tied tightly at one end, forming a handle; the other end is splayed, and seems to be slightly charred.
inventory
You are carrying a straw torch, a handful of orange berries, a handful of white berries, a glove (being worn), a scrap of gauze, a copper key, a quill pen, and three masks (a blue mask, a white mask, and a brown mask).
go southwest
Curving Hall at Pedestal

A short pedestal of black marble stands by the inner wall.
go north
You blink into the dimming light as you step through the arch.

Natural Passage
light torch
You thrust the orange berry into the straw bundle. It bursts, spattering juice that immediately flashes to flame. Sparks lodge throughout the straw... which crackles in response. In seconds the torch is burning brightly.
go north
Vaulting Cavern

A high, arched space opens around you, deep within the earth. The floor is unevenly interspersed with stalagmites and stone columns; your torchlight glitters in droplets from the stalactites above. Between the pale, hanging pinnacles of frozen stone, a vein of dark ore streaks the vault.

A narrow passage leads away to the south. A broader one enters on the west side; it once crossed the cave, but the eastern exit has collapsed. A low crawl runs northeast. At one edge of the cave, a pit descends abruptly. Wisps of steam rise from its depths.
Vaulting cavern
examine pit
The floor slopes sharply downward at the cave's edge, narrowing into a twisting pit. It looks like you could climb down safely -- at least as far down as you can see. Wisps of steam rise from the pit.
climb down pit
You climb carefully into the pit.

Ledge in Pit

You are balanced on a ledge, leaning against the wall of a twisty, irregular pit. Across from you, and slightly above, you can see a narrow opening in the wall. A climbable rough path leads upward. You might be able to descend further, but the pit beneath you is nearly vertical, and the stone is damp and slippery with condensation.

A warm breath of air rises slowly up the pit, steadily, carrying with it an eddying stream of mist.

Part 3: Planning for the future

We were getting close to 8k tokens again, so I asked GPT-4 to summarize its progress in the game again.

Give a detailed summary of the game so far containing all the necessary and useful information for if you want to continue the game later. Don't omit any details that might be useful.


Summary of the game progress so far:

  1. Started in a small Cell with rough stone walls and a smooth white floor. A narrow gap in the east wall led to the Narrow Hallway.
  2. In the Narrow Hallway, found stairs leading up to the Crowded Study.
  3. In the Crowded Study, found an immense book detailing portal theories, a tall glass-fronted cabinet filled with curiosities, and a small brass trunk. Opened the trunk and took a copper key.
  4. Discovered carrying a quill pen, which was examined but couldn't remember its origin.
  5. From the Crowded Study, went north to the Sitting Room, where a fireplace with glass spheres and a desert landscape painting were found.
  6. In the Atelier, accessible from the Curving Hall, found a painting of a mountain pool, a small telescope, and a pigment-daubed board. Looked through the telescope and found oneself in a metal culvert that led to the mountain pool. Took a brown mask there.
  7. Returned to the Crowded Study, found a white mask on the desk, and experienced a memory when held it up to the face.
  8. Explored the Curtained Room, where a massive high-backed chair and a tall mirror were found. When sat in the chair, the reflection in the mirror was distorted, and dim white and brown shadows were seen.
  9. In the Mosaic Room, found a delicate cage with a single ripe apple inside. Opened the cage, causing the apple to rot instantly. Used the "undo" command to revert this action.
  10. In the Curving Hall at Pedestal, discovered a short black marble pedestal.
  11. Briefly entered a dark passage called the Natural Passage but used the "undo" command to return to the lit area.
  12. In the Curving Hall, West End, found a window that looked out into a dark cavern with a waterfall.
  13. Went south and found oneself in the North Alcove, where a pale gauzy rag was discovered and taken.
  14. Took a blue mask from a vast machine in the Orrery.
  15. Explored the Dim Shed and found a glove, which was put on.
  16. Climbed a ladder up to the Translucent Dome where a platform with split lengths of wood was found.
  17. Went to the Mountain Garden, and found a gold mask on a statue that was out of reach.
  18. In the Cool Bower, found a bush with white berries that were cold to the touch. Took a handful.
  19. In the Warm Bower, found a bush with orange berries that were hot to the touch. Took a handful.
  20. In the Harp Chamber, found a straw torch.
  21. Lit the torch in the Natural Passage and entered the Vaulting Cavern, where a pit with steam rising from it was discovered.
Inventory:

  • Brown mask
  • White mask
  • Blue mask
  • Copper key
  • Quill pen
  • Pale gauzy rag
  • Glove
  • Handful of white berries
  • Handful of orange berries
  • Straw torch (lit)

2 out of 7 main goals have been achieved in the game. Unexplored areas and actions include:

  • Archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area
  • Locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room
  • Vast machine in the chamber south of the North Alcove
  • Unlocked white door in the Sitting Room
  • Archway to the north in the Curving Hall, West End
  • Continuing to explore the pit in the Vaulting Cavern
  • Finding a way to reach the gold mask on the statue in the Marble Balcony

Currently standing on a ledge in the pit within the Vaulting Cavern.

Please make a list of all the rooms you have discovered, the directions that you can take from there and where they lead to. Note unexplored clues and unexplored directions per room.

Here is a list of all the areas discovered so far, their connections, unexplored directions, and unexplored or unsolved clues:

  1. Cell

    • Connection: East to Narrow Hallway
    • Unexplored: None
  2. Narrow Hallway

    • Connection: West to Cell, East to Crowded Study (upstairs)
    • Unexplored: None
  3. Crowded Study

    • Connection: Downstairs to Narrow Hallway, North to Sitting Room, East to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room (south from Sitting Room)
  4. Sitting Room

    • Connection: South to Crowded Study, East to Curving Hall, Southeast to Curtained Room
    • Unexplored: East (unlocked white door)
  5. Curving Hall

    • Connection: West to Sitting Room, Northeast to Atelier, East to Mosaic Room, Southeast to Pedestal area
    • Unexplored: East (archway in Pedestal area)
  6. Atelier

    • Connection: Southwest to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
  7. Mosaic Room

    • Connection: West to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Apple in the cage
  8. Curving Hall at Pedestal

    • Connection: West to Curving Hall, North to Natural Passage, Northeast to Curving Hall, West End
    • Unexplored: None
  9. Natural Passage

    • Connection: South to Curving Hall at Pedestal, North to Vaulting Cavern
    • Unexplored: None
  10. Curving Hall, West End

    • Connection: East to Curving Hall at Pedestal, South to North Alcove, North to an unknown area
    • Unexplored: North (archway)
  11. Curtained Room

    • Connection: West to Sitting Room, Northwest to Curving Hall
    • Unexplored: South (locked lead-slab door)
    • Unsolved Clues: Locked lead-slab door
  12. North Alcove

    • Connection: South to Curving Hall, West End, North to an unknown area
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Vast machine in the chamber south of North Alcove
  13. Dim Shed

    • Connection: West to Curving Hall, South End, North to Mountain Path
    • Unexplored: None
  14. Mountain Path

    • Connection: South to Mountain Garden, North to Landing
    • Unexplored: None
  15. Mountain Garden

    • Connection: North to Mountain Path, West to Warm Bower, East to Cool Bower, South to Marble Balcony
    • Unexplored: None
  16. Warm Bower

    • Connection: East to Mountain Garden
    • Unexplored: None
  17. Cool Bower

    • Connection: West to Mountain Garden
    • Unexplored: None
  18. Marble Balcony

    • Connection: North to Mountain Garden
    • Unexplored: None
    • Unsolved Clues: Small gold mask on the statue's face
  19. Harp Chamber

    • Connection: Southwest to Curving Hall at Pedestal
    • Unexplored: East (closed door)
    • Unsolved Clues: Short bundle of straw
  20. Vaulting Cavern

    • Connection: South to Natural Passage, West to a collapsed exit, Northeast to a low crawl, Down to Ledge in Pit
    • Unexplored: Northeast (low crawl)
  21. Ledge in Pit

    • Connection: Up to Vaulting Cavern
    • Unexplored: Down (further into the pit), Across to a narrow opening in the wall

You are currently standing in the "Ledge in Pit" area.


Then using this information, I asked it to make a plan for advancing in the game and retrieving the third point.

You are going to play a text adventure game.

[ explanation of the rules ]

You already played the game before. Here is a summary you created of your progress so far:

[ GPT-4 generated summary of the progress and the rooms ]

Formulate a detailed step-by-step plan for advancing in the game and getting the third point, based on this information. Reason about the information and items you have obtained. State your expectations for actions. Use logical reasoning and state the priority of actions.

Step 1: Exit the pit within the Vaulting Cavern
Since you are currently standing on a ledge in the pit within the Vaulting Cavern, the first step is to safely exit the pit and return to a more stable area.

Step 2: Explore the unlocked white door in the Sitting Room
The unlocked white door in the Sitting Room is one of the unexplored areas. Since you have a lit straw torch, it is an ideal time to explore this area. Expect to find new clues or items that can be used later.

Step 3: Explore the archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area
Another unexplored area is the archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area. Exploring this area could lead to new discoveries or items that will be helpful in future steps.

Step 4: Continue to explore the pit in the Vaulting Cavern
With the lit straw torch, you can safely explore the pit in the Vaulting Cavern further. This area has the potential to reveal new items, clues, or connections to other areas of the game.

Step 5: Explore the archway to the north in the Curving Hall, West End
Another unexplored area is the archway to the north in the Curving Hall, West End. Head to this area and explore, as it may lead to new discoveries or items that will be helpful in future steps.

Step 6: Attempt to reach the gold mask on the statue in the Marble Balcony
With the items in your inventory, try to find a way to reach the gold mask on the statue in the Marble Balcony. The mask might be an important item for solving a puzzle or unlocking a new area.

Step 7: Examine the vast machine in the chamber south of the North Alcove
This unsolved clue may be related to the game's main goals. Examine the vast machine and try to use the items in your inventory to interact with it. The machine could lead to new discoveries or be a part of a puzzle.

Step 8: Attempt to unlock the locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room
Use the copper key in your inventory to try and unlock the locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room. If the key works, explore the area behind the door, as it may contain important information or items.

Priority of actions:
  1. Exit the pit within the Vaulting Cavern
  2. Explore the unlocked white door in the Sitting Room
  3. Explore the archway to the east in the Curving Hall's Pedestal area
  4. Continue to explore the pit in the Vaulting Cavern
  5. Explore the archway to the north in the Curving Hall, West End
  6. Attempt to reach the gold mask on the statue in the Marble Balcony
  7. Examine the vast machine in the chamber south of the North Alcove
  8. Attempt to unlock the locked lead-slab door in the Curtained Room
By following these steps and prioritizing the unexplored areas and unsolved clues, you are likely to make progress in the game and potentially achieve the third point.