To Find Treasure, Read an Enchanted Scroll

He recommended that I write my documentation in TeX (“tech”), a typesetting language developed by Donald Knuth. As a result, I was hired by a medical records firm deeply invested in TeX for documentation. As it happened, TeX was the basis for SGML, the Standard Generalized Markup Language. SGML became HTML. In the meantime, I served as the secretary of our local DECUS chapter and produced the quarterly newsletter in TeX. In addition to writing the system maintenance manual for a MicroVAX, I also documented the game of Moria on the VAX using TeX. When HTML was invented, it was pretty easy for me to figure out. — https://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/2013/08/claude-m-watson-1922-2013.html

"One of the major areas where TeX holds its own is as a “back end” to SGML and XML systems, where no human intervention is expected between data input (structured, not WYSIWYG) and removing the output from the printer or viewing it on a screen. Granted, this isn't “creative” in the sense most often discussed, but it's still important to the readability and usefulness of such documents that care is taken with the design and typography, and the flexibility and programmability of TeX makes that possible.

"In summary, TeX is a special-purpose programming language, and the program that interprets the language, that is the centerpiece of a typesetting system that produces publication quality mathematics (and surrounding text), available to and usable by individuals." — https://www.tug.org/whatis.html

CTAN: The Comprehensive TeX Archive Network 

- https://ctan.org/tex?lang=en

%This is written in Donald Knuth's  \TeX 

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\cl{A guide to {\nt{Rogue: The Dungeons of Doom}}}

\vskip.1in

The game of {\nt{Rogue}} was developed by Michael C. Toy, Kenneth C.R.C. Arnold, Jon Lane and Glenn Wichman.  Jon lane adapted the game for the IBM-PC.  It is marketed by Artificial Intelligence and Epyx.  This copy is pirated.

The object of the game is to fight your way down 26 levels to retrieve the {\sl{Amulet of Yendar},} then bring the Amulet up to the surface.

\vskip.1in

\ll{{\ty{\ub{Keyboard \& Keypad}}}}

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You move left, right, up down and diagonally by using the cursor control keys on the numeric keypad.  To strike a monster, move into it.  If the monster is to the left, use the left arrow key.  Some {\ty{qwerty}} keys will also move you.

Function key {\ty{F1}} is {\ty{Help}.}

Function key {\ty{F3}} is the {\ty{Repeat}.}  If you want to throw a bunch of darts, press numeric keypad $+$ {\ty{(plus)}}, then the direction key, then the {\ty{qwerty}} key that corresponds to your darts.  To repeat the throwing sequence, press {\ty{F3}.}

 

Function key {\ty{F9}} is programmable. If you press {\ty{F9}} you will see the version number.  You can then key in {\ty{ALT-F9}} to program it, for instance with 3s to search the same place 3 times.

Function key {\ty{F10}} is the {\ty{Boss Key}.}  Press it and the screen goes blank and shows the MS-DOS  {\ty{C>}} prompt.

The {\ty{Del}} key is for waiting.  The {\ty{Ins}} key takes you down a stair case.  {\ty{Scroll Lock}} turns on {\ty{Fast Play}.}  You will dash down hallways and across rooms.

Pay close attention to {\ty{CASE}.}  UPPER CASE `T' means `Take off Armor' while lower case `t' means `throw weapon'.

\settabs 4 \columns

\+&{\ty{Key}}&{\nt{Function}}\cr

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\+&{$+$}(plus)&throw weapon\cr

\+&{$-$}(minus)&zap with wand or staff\cr

\+&{$<$}&go UP stairs --- if you have the Amulet\cr

\+&{$>$}&go DOWN --- same as as {\ty{Ins}.}\cr

\+&e&eat\cr

\+&i&inventory\cr

\+&T&Take off armor\cr

\+&W&Wear armor\cr

\+&P&Put on ring\cr

\+&R&Remove ring\cr

\+&r&read a scroll\cr

\+&q&quaff a potion\cr

\+&w&wield a weapon\cr

\+&d&drop something\cr

\+&s&search\cr

\+&S&Save game\cr

\+&t&throw weapon\cr

\+&z&zap with wand or staff\cr

You can {\ub{repeat}} an action by keying in numbers.  10s means `search this spot 10 times' and 17{\ty{Del}} means `wait 17 turns'.

\par\vfill\eject

\ll{\nt{Statistics}}

\vskip.1in

At the bottom of the screen, you will see what Physical Level you are on, how many Hits you can take, how much Strength you have, how much Gold you have accumulated, the strength of your Armor and what your Experience Level is.

Also, hidden in the software are other stats typical of D-and-D games: such as your dexterity and luck. 

Your Experience Level increases with the doubling of experience points.  You get, say, 1 point for killing a Bat and 20 or so points for killing an Aquator.  At the start of the game you have 10 Experience Points.  At 20 points, you increase your Experience Level and Hit Points.  Also at 40, 80, ..., 2560,... 

When you die, your rank is determined by 90\% of the Gold you have found.

\vskip.1in

\ll{\nt{Hademetry}}

\vskip.1in

Generally, each level is layed out as a 3-by-3 array of rooms.  As you move lower and lower, this is mutated.  Rooms are replaced by mazes or hallways.  At any level, one or more room will be missing.  You will develop a sense of rightness, a feel for whether or not there should be a room or a passage.  A wall of a room will look solid until you {\ty{s = search}} along it.

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\ll{\it{Scrolls}}

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Scrolls are made up of random syllable that change with each game. {\it{Glows\ blue}} means enchant weapon or armor. {\it{Red \ hands}} is confuse monster (after you hit it).  {\it{Maniacal \ laughter}} is scare monster and the laughing means you wasted the scroll.  You have to stand on this scroll.  When facing a tough guy, like a Troll or a Jaberwocky, {\ty{d = drop}} this scroll and the monster will not harm you.  Try to pick it up again and it crumbles to dust.  {\it{High \ pitched \ humming}} is aggravate monsters: they come looking for you.  {\it{Someone \ watching \ over \ you}} is remove curse and you can deal with cursed armor or weapon.  There are also Teleport, Identify and Create Monster.  If a scroll seems to do nothing, it is probably Hold Monster and you must have a monster in the room or hallway with you.  The blank scroll does nothing. 

\vskip.1in 

\ll{\nt{Potions}}

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Potions come in colors (including plaid!) that change with each game.  They can restore your strength ({\nt{`warm all over'}}), heal you, poison you and blind you, increase your Experience Level, and allow you to see monsters, magic, and food in other rooms. {\nt{Mango juice}} is  `see invisible' which allows you to perceive otherwise invisible Phantoms and will also cure blindess.  (Healing and Extra Healing will also cure blindess.) 

\par\vfill\eject

\ll{\nt{Rings}}

Alas, there is no ring to rule them all -- which is probably just as well: it would only corrupt you.  Rings use up food.  Cursed rings include {\nt{Aggravate Monster, Teleportation, Negative strength, Negative damage, and Negative dexterity}.}  Good rings include {\nt{Stealth}} (for sneaking up on otherwise awake monsters), {\nt{Slow digestion,}} and {\nt{Positive strength, dexterity, etc}.} A scroll of {\it{Remove \ curse}} will allow you to Remove a cursed ring.

\vskip.1in

\ll{\sl{Wands and Staffs}}

\vskip.1in

Wands and staffs are made of various metals and woods.  They work the same kinds of magic.  In one game a Mercury Wand will be Haste Monster; in another game Haste Monster will be and Oak Staff.  There are also lightning, cold, Hold Monster, teleport to, teleport away, slow monster, light, striking and magic missile. 

\vskip.1in 

\ll{\nt{Weapons and Armor}}

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Dagger, spear, bows and arrows, bolts, mace, long sword and two handed sword.  Clearly, the larger the weapon the better it is. If you wield a bow, it will increase the effectiveness of an arrow you throw (unless the bow is cursed, of course).

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Leather, studded leather, ring, chain, banded, and plate.  The heavier it is, the better it will protect you.  There is some leeway in this.  Obviously, ring mail with a rating of {$+3$ \ 7}  is better than plate mail of {0\ 4.} Cursed armor is always a drag.  Wearing (or carrying around) heavy armor uses is food but is generally worth it.  Interestingly enough, if you Win the Game and cash in at the Thieves' Guild, they pay well for armor because it doesn't do you any good while you are fighting your way ``there and back again''.  That is, carrying around five suits of plate mail won't do you as much good as a couple of staves of Lightning, a Scare Monster and a couple of Extra healings.  If you get the Amulet of Yendar, you can load up on armor on your way back up the stairs.

Aquators rust armor.  Aquators cannot rust Leather.

\vskip.1in

\ll{\nt{Monsters}}

There are 26 of them, from Aquator to Zombie.  The lower you go, the uglier they get.  Leprechauns steal your gold and Nymphs steal anything in your inventory. Get across the room and shoot them with arrows.)  Vampires make you weak and Wraiths drain away your Experience.  Rattlesnakes take your Strength.  (There is a wand of {\it{Cancellation} } which will negate those powers.)

\ll{\nt{Summary}}

\vskip.1in

There is more to the game.  The above should get you started.  There have been some interesting theories about the design philosophy.  For instance, the game knows the {\ty{ROGUE.SRC}} scoreboard file and will set the environment accordingly.  Do not expect to find the Amulet of Yendar on the first try: you have to establish a track record.  Some believe that it is the number of steps you can take before you die, or the level you will die on, is fixed when the program starts. Other believe that there exists a maximum allocation of your magic you can win the first time you play.  Indeed, those who have played Dungeons and Dragons tend to do better at Rogue than those who do not.  

Good luck. 

\bye 

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Hermann Zapf on Alphabets

Hermann Zapf's legacy remains today in the typefaces offered by Microsoft Word: Optima, Palatino, and Zapfino. Other platforms deliver Melior and Linotype Aldus. Searching Google for Hallmark Jeannette will not take you to the font he designed for the greeting card company. The Blogspot platform is woefully underpowered for typography. We make do with what we have.

The whole duty of Typography, as of Calligraphy, is to communicate to the imagination, without loss by the way, the thought or image intended to be communicated by the Author. – Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson. (Frontispiece.) 

[Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson (né Sanderson; 2 December 1840 – 7 September 1922) was an English artist and bookbinder associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. ... He was the godfather of Bertrand Russell. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._J._Cobden-Sanderson]

“While visiting the United States in 1954 and 1957, I often talked with friends about printing types and modern industrial design. It seemed odd to find ultra-modern folk there for whom a plane that needed nineteen hours to fly from Frankfurt to New York was already a hobbling vehicle, but who in their own printed works preferred the most old-fashioned types of the 19th century. How one wished to ask these fanatics of ‘progress’ whether they still drive cars built in 1900, or furnish home or office in turn-of-the-century style. […]

The type of today and of tomorrow will hardly be a faithful recutting of a 16th century roman of the Renaissance, nor the original cutting of a classical face of Bodoni’s time—but neither will it be a sans-serif of the 19th century. It will surely be said that most book printers and their customers demand the historical forms. But on the other hand most of the public, too, demands cheap imitations of Chippendale furniture, Renaissance writing tables and romantic reproductions. Nor is it always the little people for whom the modern forms lack appeal, since taste only too often fails to keep pace with the growth of the bank account. Progress always demands courage; and as the powers of conservatism were and are always in the majority, they will not stop the entire development, they can only retard it. But where do we stand today? There is much talk of modern design, but if we study the catalogues and promotional printing we often find late 19th century printing types used to promote these ‘modern forms’. Just to which point in the 19th century do our lives and endeavors seek to return? Can the second half of the 19th century, the time of stylistic confusion and historicism, offer any basis for a future development? One has only to think of railway stations with Doric columns of iron, and of neo-gothic churches, or simply the ample beards of our great-grandfathers.” – pg. 36-37.

And is it not an anachronism when Albert Einstein’s relativity theory, or works by Bertrand Russell, Pasternak, and other such are printed with types of historic design? Pg. 59-60

 

 

See also Hunt Roman: The Birth of a Type,
George H. M. Lawrence, ed., Pittsburgh Bibliophiles, 1965.
Zapf designed this face for the Hunt Botanical Library.
(See also https://typographica.org/typeface-reviews/hunt-roman/)

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Goudy by Bernard Lewis and Goudy in His Own Words

Twice Frederic W. Goudy lost his life work to fires that destroyed his offices and workshops. Disheartening as they must have been, we have not much in his own words about the affects. He regained his equilibrium by focusing on the immediate work and then continuing with the projects that had been interrupted. 

Much of Behind the Type: The Life Story of Frederic W. Goudy 

Behind the Type:
The Life Story of Frederic W. Goudy 
by Bernard Lewis . 
Issued by the Department of Printing,
Carnegie Institute of Technology,
Pittsburgh, 1941.

by Bernard Lewis would be considered creative non-fiction today. It was the style of the times for biographers to add dimension and color to the recorded facts. Born on March 8, 1865, Goudy’s early life lessons came in small towns in Illinois and the Dakota Territory. Even before he left home, he was a salesman, an impresario, an entrepreneur. So, some of this story came from contemporary newspaper accounts written by Goudy or about him but there is little of that in the opening scenes that introduce us to the child and the teenager.

 

“The year before [when he was seventeen], he had exhibited a copy of a wood engraving from one of the current magazines in the Shelbyville County Fair and had won first prize, earning an award of three dollars and a blue ribbon. To any who congratulated him he observed that there was little competition, but he admitted that he had a good eye and copied well. And to prove it he repeated another prize performance at the next annual fair.” (p. 14-15).

 

He often worked as a bookkeeper typically for real estate companies that were transient themselves, even when he was not. He had little patience for ineptitude or idleness and until he discovered typography, he let his natural curiosity take him to an array of ventures, such as the Anglo-Dakota Loan and Trust Company when he was 23. All of those experiences eventually served him well when he matured into the career that made him famous to us. Even so, his path in printing and typography was halting with changes in direction at each station. His sense of personal purpose complemented his artistic sentiments and Goudy continued to develop the aesthetic motives that defined his commercial projects.

 

“In printing the Chapbook Goudy engineered a simple stunt that amazed printers and made him the subject of much discussion. He at first could find no type suitable for printing the Chapbook because of its small size, but after taking measurements he ordered nine point “Original Old Style” cast on an eight point body, achieving admirably close fitting type.” (p. 36-37). 

The Alphabet and Elements of Lettering
by Frederic W. Goudy.
University of California Press, 1942.

That success changed the name of his firm from Booklet Press to Camelot Press when he moved to the center of the printing district in Chicago. 

 

Goudy is remembered for adapting the line weights, curves, stems, and serifs of Renaissance hand lettering to modern printing. That is shallow and wrong. He was not a copyist. Goudy studied the best of the previous designs in order to understand why they worked. In his essay, “The Ethics and Aesthetics of Type and Typography: An address delivered at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, February 12, 1938,” he said: 

“There was a time in the golden age of type design when a page decoration, a head-piece, a fleuron, a new type face might have proved a key to typographic distinction because it was recognized as the work of a master and respected accordingly. But by this I do not intend to imply that deference must necessarily be given to old types or old work of little merit because they are old. Many, unfortunately, possess shortcomings even as those of later vintage. Yet even the best of the old types should not be revived, imitated, adapted, reproduced, or copied for present day use with camera-like fidelity—prima facie evidence of modern poverty of invention (or mental laziness). The originals had matchless charm because they were stamped with the personality of their makers. The reproductions invariably lack the spirit of idealism of the originators and cannot fail to betray the fact that the faker can never do entire justice to the distinctive qualities that made the original designs great.”

Goudy could have been speaking for his contemporary, Ayn Rand's Howard Roark, when he complained of typographers who produce copies of copies of copies (The Alphabet, page 50n.) 

 

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