Ghost Train
| Ghost Train | |
|---|---|
| Game | |
| Main links | |
| Published | 2003 |
| Credits | |
| Author | Paul T. Johnson |
| Reception | |
| IFDB rating | 2 out of 5 (3 ratings) |
| Gameplay | |
| Interaction style |  Parser |
| Literary genre |  Horror |
| Language | English |
| Accessibility | Colour: none. Graphics: none. Sound: none. |
| Technical details | |
| Authoring system | Inform 6 |
| Format | Z-code 8 |
| License | Freeware |
| Browse the games database • Edit this page | |
How it begins
First, there is a title page featuring a Japanese proverb: Fear is only as deep as the mind allows. Then the player is briefly instructed on the MENU, SAVE, and RESTORE commands, which is followed by a short poem.
It is December 24th, 1935, 9:05 p.m. You are travelling in the first class carriage on the midnight express train, en route from London to your family home in Torquay for the Christmas holidays. Your closest friend, Ingrid, is travelling with you. You carry your ticket. About you are your fellow travellers and the features of your compartment (seating, oak tables, oil lamps, windows, etc.) A newspaper is on one table.
After ten turns, there is a horrible accident and the train derails. You regain consciousness amid the debris of the train and the burnt bodies of the passengers. Of Ingrid, there is no sign. You must get out of the cold and find help.
Notable features
- The MENU command offers information about the background of the game, how to contact the author, and general help on playing IF.
- The game contains an Interactive Fiction Freeware General Public License.
- Also included is a description about Blackpool's Ghost Train ride, and short essays about the ghosts of the London Underground. Furthermore, the complete text of "The Signal-Man" by Charles Dickens (1866), can be read here.
Trivia and Comments
- The game refers to itself as both Ghost Train and The Ghost Train interchangeably. The VERSION command prints Ghost Train, so perhaps that's the main version of the game's title.
Versions
Release 5
Date: 2003
- Ghost Train (Paul T. Johnson; Z-code 8).
- Release 5 / Serial number 080603 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10
Release 6
Date: Date unknown
- Ghost Train (Paul T. Johnson; Z-code 8).
- Download ghost.z8 from the IF Archive
Links
N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.
- Ghost Train (archived) - at Baf's Guide
Reviews
- Review - by Gemma Bristow for SPAG #45, July 2006.
- Review - by David Whyld for Reviews Exchange issue 8, April 2006.
Spoilers
- Download ghost_train.txt from the IF Archive - Walkthrough.
- Walkthrough and map by David Welbourn. For releases 5 and 7 of the game.
Date: 2003
Date: Date unknown