The Answers!
This game was written by Jason Bloomberg in early February, 1996. Netscape 2.0 was still in beta, so JavaScript was not finalized. I did find some inconsistencies between the two Macintosh Navigators--in fact, it would not work at all on the Power Mac native version of Navigator beta 6a.
About MISSED
I developed the story behind this game in 1995, when I was learning HTML. I came up with an HTML 1.0-compliant version, which you can play here. When I wanted to try my hand at JavaScript, I decided to reuse the content for The Mysterious World of MISSED!
In order to win, you need to find all six keys and then enter the fireplace in the library. There are three ways to lose: entering the fireplace without all six keys, or visiting Slip or PPP with the JavaScript page you found in the lighthouse.
You can find the six keys:
- behind the lever in the Mechanical Age
- in the dentist's chair
- up the rope ladder in the Channelwood Age
- in the lighthouse
- in the telescope in the Stoneship Age
- in the note on the path.
As you probably noticed, however, you need to do things first, like visiting PPP, Slip, or various ages.
One more trick that might have you stumped: to get out of the Channelwood Age, you need to click on a GO! button that isn't next to any text!
About the Programming
The aspect of JavaScript that is essential to this sort of project is the use of frames and "global" variables. You stay on the same page, missed.html, throughout the entire game--until the very end. Therefore, I can declare variables on the home page and keep track of their values as you play. Hence I can remember the state of the game, as long as you don't leave or reload the home page!
I didn't name the home page "index.html" intentionally, so that you can view the entire directory here. You can also email me at wizard@rhodes.com with your comments.
One word of warning: the component pages to MISSED will give you uninitialized variable errors if you load them in Netscape at the top level; i.e., other than in the MISSED home page frame. You will need to do this to view the source, however, so turn off JavaScript if you want to do this.
Would you like to play again?