Text Desert Bus

[if !$crashed && $lastAccelerate > 0] {embed passage: 'Time'} {embed passage: 'Lane'} {link to: 'Left', label: 'Turn the wheel to the left'}<br/> {link to: 'Right', label: 'Turn the wheel to the right'}<br/> {link to: 'Accelerate', label: 'Lean on the accelerator'}<br/> {link to: 'Seats', label: 'Check your rearview mirror'}<br/> {link to: 'Plaque', label: 'Double check your bus license'} Only {$miles} miles until {$destination}.

$driverName: 'JOCKO' $turn: 0 $point: 0 $destination: "Vegas" $ToD: "day" $firstTimeCycleComplete: false $roadPos: "right" $miles: 417 $turnGoal: 1920 $timeTransitionTurns: 1440 $milesPerTurn: 0 $lastAccelerate: 6 $lastDrift: 6 $crashed: false $timeout: 0 $driftWarning: false $stallWarning: false -- It's a long road from here to Vegas. You reach for your time card, just spotting the one labelled {cycling link for: '$driverName', choices: ["JOCKO","SMADE","CHAOS","PRIDE","TOCKO","SOCKO","SHADE","TEN HIL","CHILICHE","EGG","SVCKO","TEN MIL","BARBIE","ROLAND","KAMILE","JOCKOAAA","JOCKOAAB","OMEGARD"]} in the pile. [[Drive<-Better get started]], it's a long drive.

[if $ToD === "dawn"] The pink light of dawn seems to wash out the flat landscape around you. [if $ToD === "day"] The sun shines down on the desert around you. In the harsh light of day, the road seems to stretch on endlessly in front of you. [if $ToD === "dusk"] The setting sun gives you the hope of a cooler night ahead. [if $ToD === "night"] Stars glitter brightly in the dark sky above you. They seem much brighter this far from any light. It feels like your headlights on the road are all you can see.

$crashed ($roadPos === "shoulderLeft" || $roadPos === "shoulderRight"): true -- [if $roadPos === "shoulderLeft"] The hard gravel of the left shoulder shakes the whole bus. Red flashes in front of your vision. You hear something heavy and metallic fall onto the ground and suddenly the bus jerks to a stop. [if $roadPos === "left"] Some people might consider it to be dangerous to drive on the wrong side of the road, all the way in the left lane... but you haven't seen anyone else on this road since you started driving. And you really need something to keep you awake right now. [if $roadPos === "middle"] You can practically hear someone yelling "Pick a lane!" at you as you drive along over the dotted yellow line in the middle of the road. [if $roadPos === "right"] The bus chugs along comfortably in the right lane. [if $roadPos === "rightBuffer" && !$driftWarning] The hard gravel that serves as a rumble strip on this small highway starts to rattle under your tires. It seems this bus likes to drift to the right if you'll let it. [if $roadPos === "rightBuffer" && $driftWarning] The bus starts to drift a bit worryingly towards the edge of the road. [if $roadPos === "shoulderRight"] The hard gravel of the right shoulder of the road jostles you hard enough to rattle your teeth. You try to wrest the bus back to the left, but the steering wheel fights back against you. You press down harder on the gas... Until the engine makes a terrible screaming noise. Smoke billows out from under the hood.

$miles: $miles - $milesPerTurn $lastAccelerate: $lastAccelerate - 1 $lastDrift: $lastDrift-1 $timeTransitionTurns: $timeTransitionTurns - 1 $milesPerTurn: .1875 $turn: $turn + 1 -- [if $lastAccelerate <= 0 || $crashed] Your bus is stalled out. You feel a headache coming on as you dial the number to the company towing service... {link to: 'Clocking in', label: 'Try again?'} or {link to: 'Last', label: 'hang up your bus driving hat'}? [else] [if $timeTransitionTurns <= 0] {embed passage: 'Transitions'} [if $lastDrift < 3] {embed passage: 'Drift'} [if $turn >= $turnGoal] You can hardly believe it... finally, you're pulling into the bus station at {$destination}. {link to: 'Point', label: 'Park the bus.'} [else] {embed passage: 'The Road'} [JavaScript] this.timeoutID = window.setTimeout(() => go('Drive'), 15000);

Comfortingly, the plaque above your driver's seat still reads ~~Your Driver is {$driverName}~~.

$point: $point + 1 $miles: 417 $milesPerTurn: .0125 $turn: 0 $roadPos: "right" $lastAccelerate: 6 $lastDrift: 6 lastDestination: $destination $destination (lastDestination === 'Tucson'): "Vegas" $destination (lastDestination === "Vegas"): "Tucson" -- You finally made it after 8 hours of driving. The bus station in {lastDestination} looks shockingly similar to the one in {$destination}. This time you already have your time card, though. {link to: 'Punch', label: 'Punch it!'} [JavaScript] clearTimeout(this.timeoutID);

You insert your time card into the machine. With a marked lack of fanfare (or any acknowledgement, really), the machine updates your card: `driver: {$driverName}` `--------------------------` `points: {$point}` A small post-it near the time machine entices you with the possibility of earning some {link to: 'Drive', label: 'overtime'}...

$timeTransitionTurns: 2160 _prevTime: $ToD $ToD (_prevTime === "dawn" && $firstTimeCycleComplete): "night" $ToD (_prevTime === "night" && $firstTimeCycleComplete): "dawn" $ToD (_prevTime === "day" && !$firstTimeCycleComplete): "dusk" $ToD (_prevTime === "dusk" && !$firstTimeCycleComplete): "night" $ToD (_prevTime === "night" && !$firstTimeCycleComplete): "dawn" $firstTimeCycleComplete (!$firstTimeCycleComplete && _prevTime === "night"): true --

$lastDrift: 6 _lastPos: $roadPos $roadPos (_lastPos === "shoulderLeft"): "shoulderLeft" $roadPos (_lastPos === "left"): "shoulderLeft" $roadPos (_lastPos === "middle"): "left" $roadPos (_lastPos === "right"): "middle" $roadPos (_lastPos === "rightBuffer"): "right" $roadPos (_lastPos === "shoulderRight"): "rightBuffer" -- The wheel seems to resist turning left, but the bus still moves along with it. {embed passage: 'Lane'} [JavaScript] clearTimeout(this.timeoutID); this.timeoutID = window.setTimeout(() => go('Drive'), 10000);

$lastDrift: 6 _lastPos: $roadPos $roadPos (_lastPos === "shoulderLeft"): "left" $roadPos (_lastPos === "left"): "middle" $roadPos (_lastPos === "middle"): "right" $roadPos (_lastPos === "right"): "rightBuffer" $roadPos (_lastPos === "rightBuffer"): "shoulderRight" -- You turn the wheel to the right. {embed passage: 'Lane'} [JavaScript] clearTimeout(this.timeoutID); this.timeoutID = window.setTimeout(() => go('Drive'), 10000);

_savedAccelerate: $lastAccelerate $lastAccelerate: 6 -- [if _savedAccelerate > 4] You make sure to keep your foot on the gas. This bus doesn't seem capable of going over 45mph and you don't need to delay your journey. [else] You remember to hit the accelerator again. [if !$stallWarning && _savedAccelerate < 4] Your well-honed bus driver senses are telling you that if this bus slows down too much it might stall out again. {embed passage: 'Slow'} [if random.d20 === 13] A bug splatters against your windshield. [if random.d20 === 16] A tumbleweed rolls past. Wait, actually it was just a boring normal bush. [if random.d20 === 8] A tumble weed rolls past. You consider that it might be having more fun than you are right now. [JavaScript] clearTimeout(this.timeoutID); this.timeoutID = window.setTimeout(() => go('Drive'), 10000);

[align center] **Thank you for playing!** [continue] This game was made as a part of the {link to: 'https://itch.io/jam/2023', label: '2023 Desert Bus Game Jam'} by {link to: 'https://woolewekindly.itch.io/', label: 'a small wooloo'}. Don't forget to take your timecard with you! `driver: {$driverName}` `--------------------------` `points: {$point}` [JavaScript] clearTimeout(this.timeoutID);

$stallWarning: true --

The empty red seats stare back at you. [if random.d20 === 19] Somehow, despite the bus being empty, you feel as if thousands of people are watching you drive this bus. [if random.d20 === 19] [after 3s; append] It's a ridiculous thought, though.