Prolegomena

Example 343

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Replacing precise numbers with "some" or other quantifiers when too many objects are clustered together for the player to count at a glance.

Room descriptions often make the player character out to be a bit of a savant, able to count whole stacks of items at a glance: "You see 27 paper clips here."

We can adjust this behavior to our liking, though, with the printing a number… activity, as follows:

Play/modify in Borogove

Play in Quixe

"Prolegomena"

The Editor's Office is a room. The desk is a supporter in the Editor's Office.

A red pencil is a kind of thing. 12 red pencils are on the desk.

A letter is a kind of thing. 12 letters are on the desk. Understand "correspondence" as a letter.

Rule for printing the plural name of a letter:

if the listing group size is greater than 7, say "correspondence";

otherwise say "letters".

Rule for printing a number of something (called the target) when the listing group size is greater than 7:

say "[one of]some [or]various [or]an assortment of [at random]";

carry out the printing the plural name activity with the target.

This general rule can of course be overridden by more specific ones; for instance, if we want to take the opportunity to comment on the viewpoint character's appetite for instruments of correction:

Rule for printing a number of red pencils (called the target) when the listing group size is greater than 10:
   carry out the printing the plural name activity with the target;
   say " in nearly-sufficient quantity".
 
Test me with "get two letters / look / get a pencil / i / get pencil / g / g / look / i / get all / i".

Test me with "get two letters / look / get a pencil / i / get pencil / g / g / look / i / get all / i".

Editor's Office
You can see a desk (on which are red pencils in nearly-sufficient quantity and some correspondence) here.

>(Testing.)

>[1] get two letters
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.

>[2] look
Editor's Office
You can see a desk (on which are red pencils in nearly-sufficient quantity and various correspondence) here.

>[3] get a pencil
Taken.

>[4] i
You are carrying:
a red pencil
two letters

>[5] get pencil
Taken.

>[6] g
Taken.

>[7] g
Taken.

>[8] look
Editor's Office
You can see a desk (on which are an assortment of red pencils and some correspondence) here.

>[9] i
You are carrying:
four red pencils
two letters

>[10] get all
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
red pencil: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.
letter: Taken.

>[11] i
You are carrying:
various correspondence
red pencils in nearly-sufficient quantity