Bedlam is another new adventure from Radio Shack. There are no hidden treasures to find, no wealth to amass, no score to beat. There is only one goal - get out, if you can. Your success depends totally upon your resourcefulness, and your ability to think clearly. There is only one way out, but be warned - the exit changes each time you load the game.
Your computer and the instructions you give are the keys to your escape. Bedlam recognises commands like GO WEST or GET THE KEY. You can shorten direction commands to WEST or NORTH (or even W or N if you prefer). You don't have to limit yourself to two-word commands. You can HIT THE DOOR WITH THE DUMB KEY, or EXAMINE THE GREEN DOOR. (If there are two doors or two keys present, the computer might ask WHICH DOOR? or WHICH KEY?) Add the missing word (including a space at the end of the word).
You may end a game at anytime by typing QUIT or STOP.
You can erase anything you type by pressing the CLEAR key or using the ← and → keys. If you are in the middle of a sentence, the computer will simply make room for any new text. To make the computer respond to your request, you must press ENTER after you type your instruction.
To help you escape, you can try enlisting the aid of some of the people you meet. Their ability to help also changes each time you play the game. Depending on the active escape route, you will either be able to escape without help from anyone, or you will need the help of one or more people you meet. The people that can help in one game may be ineffective in another game.
If you get lost during the game, type: LOOK and press ENTER to see where you are. To take an inventory of what you have acquired during the course of the game, type: INVENT (short for Inventory), and press ENTER.
Good Luck. I really hope you make it. You may even be lucky the first couple of times and get out easily. Who knows? You may not be quite so lucky the next time you try.
To enter Bedlam, you will need a TRS-80 16K or 32K Colour Computer, a colour television set, a Radio Shack cassette recorded, and connecting cables.
Make sure that the Colour Computer is properly connected to the television. Connect the tape recorder to the Colour Computer. Insert the Bedlam tape into the recorder and press the "Rewind" button on the recorder. Press "Stop" when the tape is finished rewinding. Turn on the Colour Computer and television. Tune the television to channel 3 or 4. Press the "Play" button on your tape recorder. Type CLOADM and press ENTER. The program will load. When the OK appears on the screen, type EXEC and press ENTER. Now you can begin your strange journey.
This questionnaire is not an official psychological test and is not endorsed by any reputable doctor. Only the doctor that you'll find in Bedlam endorses this crazy test. Although the test is mostly for fun, it does have a purpose. Concealed within the questions and score evaluations are clues which should help you escape Bedlam. You may not recognise the clues in the questionnaire until you try to escape from Bedlam.
| 1. Have you ever felt that people were following you? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 2. Do you think you are smarter than most people? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 3. Are most of your friends "weird" in one way or another? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 4. Have you ever thought about writing the story of your life? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 5. Do you get depressed easily or often over "games"? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 6. Do computers seem to be almost "alive" or "evil" at times? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 7. Do you enjoy games that get more frustrating as you go? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 8. Have you ever considered programming as a career? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 9. Would you take advice from someone you thought was crazy? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 10. Does a long, isolated vacation sound good to you right now? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 11. Would you like to know someone with X-ray vision? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 12. Can a door painted on a wall ever be opened? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 13. Do you think that some people in mental hospitals are sane? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 14. Would you accept help from someone who said he was "Napoleon Boneparte?" | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 15. Would you be suspicious of someone dressed in a bloody surgical gown, carrying a hypodermic syringe? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 16. Do you like to pet growling guard dogs? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 17. Would you like to reconsider your answer to question 8? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 18. Are you still a little crazy? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 19. Are you telling the truth on question 18? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
| 20. Have you ever heard the word "Plugh" before? | |||
| Yes | No | Unsure | Score |
Answering Yes indicates a mild paranoia unless you are a tour guide or drum majorette. Score 6 points for Yes.
Answering No suggests an overly euphoric state of mind which, in today's society, calls for immediate treatment. Score 5 points for a No answer.
You don't know whether or not people are following you? Score 6 points for lack of awareness.
Anyway, once you start playing Bedlam, you'll be glad to have people following you - you'll need all the help you can get.
Answering Yes points to a "Superiority Complex," which may be corrected with time and shock treatment. Score 5 points for a Yes Answer.
Answering No indicates a feeling of inferiority, which may or may not be true. Further study is needed, so score 5 points for a No answer.
Unsure shows a very wishy-washy individual. Go back and answer with a Yes or a No, or else give yourself 10 points for your uncertainty.
You had better be smarter than most people if you hope to win this game. Each time you load the game, the exit changes - and there are many possible exits, but only one way out per game.
People collect a wide assortment of friends over a lifetime, so it is very normal to have a diverse, or "weird" group of friends. However, if you choose friends the way you choose games, your friends probably go well beyond the definition for "weird." Score 10 points if you answered Yes.
If you do not believe your friends are weird, it is probably because they are normal and you are one of their "weird" friends. Give yourself 6 points for a No answer.
You can add 5 points to your score for an Unsure answer. If you are not sure about your friends, who can you be sure of?
Once you're in Bedlam, you'll meet a lot of weird people. Some of them may be able to help you get out, while others will hinder your progress. Be warned - the people that help in one game may not be able to help the next time you play.
Give yourself 8 points for a presumptuous Yes answer.
A No answer says that you feel your life is boring and dull and not worth reading about. That attitude is worth 9 points.
Take away 1 point for an Unsure answer.
If you get out of this game in one piece, you'll really have something to write about.
If you get depressed easily, you need help. Add 5 points to your score for a Yes answer.
Add 3 points for a No answer (you'll get depressed trying to get out of this game - and stay sane).
If you're Unsure, score 7 points for being wishy-washy.
Did you answer Yes? Add 7 more points for your "micro" phobia.
A No answer earns a healthy 1 point, since most well-adjusted "normal" people know computers are just machines and are incapable of such human traits as making mistakes, suffering from breakdowns, or displaying malevolent characteristics (such as refusing to operate just when you need them most).
An Unsure answer adds 6 points since you should know they're just machines that are here to help you.
Once you start playing Bedlam, you'll get over this feeling of computers being almost "alive." As to being "evil," well, just wait and see.
If you like to be frustrated, Bedlam is for you! Score 8 points for a Yes. If you answered Yes, you may feel differently after you try Bedlam for a while.
A No answer is worth 5 points since people need challenges.
A healthy Unsure is worth 1 point.
Obviously, Yes is 10 points - you have to be crazy to want to work with computers all day long.
If you answered No, why are you interested in this computer game? Give yourself 5 points for not being honest with yourself and change your answer to Yes (which is an additional 10 points).
Unsure is worth nothing.
This is a reverse variation of question 2 and scores the same point values as the second question, but reversed. That means a Yes answer here is worh the same as a No answer there, and a No answer here is worth exactly what a Yes answer there is worth, and of course, an Unsure answer here remains the same as an Unsure answer there, all else being equal.
If you followed the point scoring for this question without any problems, your answer to question 9 should have been Yes. If you answered No or Unsure, add that point value to the point value a Yes would receive, using the point value scoring system outlined above for this question.
Yes indicates a desire to escape from responsibility, which everyone must face. Yes adds 7 points to your score.
No indicates an obsessive preoccupation with duty, and also adds 7 points to your score.
If you are Unsure as to whether you need a vacation, you really need a vacation. Give yourself 8 points for Unsure.
A wish to know people with super powers could mean that you select your friends based on their talents. Give yourself 8 points for a Yes answer (and shame on you for wanting a friend that you can use).
A No answer indicates a tendency to prejudgement. Although someone has X-Ray vision, perhaps he has many other qualities which are praiseworthy. Your No answer wouldn't even give him a chance. Give yourself 8 points for a No answer.
An Unsure answer is at least a decent and honest answer, so score 9 points for an Unsure. (It's also a very wishy-washy answer.)
Your score will depend on whether you answered this question in a real-world sense or in a metaphysical sense. If you said that, Yes, metaphysically, any door (which symbolises the knowledge of self-worth) that is painted on a wall (which represents the mental barriers that we ourselves create) can be opened (on the intellectual level) to achieve a higher plane or degree of inner awareness and consciousness, congratulations. Give yourself 10 points - 'cause you're nuttier than a fruitcake. Answering Yes, in a real world sense, will also get you 10 points (and put away, if anybody hears you).
A No suggests a predisposition for making judgements without considering all the possibilities. Score 9 points for a No.
Unsure is a cop-out - 10 points.
Answering Yes indicates a distrust of the hospital system, and doctors in general. If they ever tried to put a sane person in a mental hospital, the mistake would be found out very quickly. You, for example, would easily be recognised as sane, wouldn't you? Of course you would. Give yourself 10 points for doubting the system. After all, they wouldn't be in charge if they didn't know what they were doing.
A No answer indicates blind trust in the system. How did you make it this far with that attitude? 10 points for a No answer. (Boy, you'll believe anything, won't you?)
Unsure is the same as a Yes answer - 10 points.
Actually, any answer to this question scores 10 points. (So there was no reason for you to bother reading this explanation of each score.)
If you answered Yes to Question 13, a Yes here would be expected. OK, give yourself only 3 points for being consistent.A Yes answer to question 13 and a No answer here will add 9 points to your score.
If you answered No to Question 13, and Yes to this question, you have an inner conflict problem. Give yourself 9 points.
If you answered No to Questions 13 and 14, you have an unwillingness to consider all avenues of potential egress. Add 10 points to your score.
Unsure about the whole thing? 8 points for being wishy-washy.
Did you answer Yes? You're darn right. Give yourself 1 point for a Yes answer.
A No answer is worth 0 points - you'll be in enough trouble if he catches you. If he does catch you, there is only one way to recover from what he does to you. (You'll have to find out what "it" is.) The clue can be found in one of the answers to the questionnaire.
You don't want to be unsure about this question. If you said Unsure, give yourself 9 points - and lots of luck!
You've heard the expression, "His bark is worse than his bite?" Well, in this case, it's not true. 8 points for Yes.
On the other hand, the dog may simply need to be shown a little kindness, so a No answer may be wrong here and earns you 6 more points.
Unsure may indicate a problem relating to animals. (Would Freud have loved to talk to you!) 9 points.
Your answer is of no importance. Did you have to go back and read question 8 over again? You only read the question a few minutes ago. If you can't remember something that recent, you're in trouble. 10 points if you had to go back.
Give yourself 0 points if you didn't have to look.
If you answered Yes, it is a clear admission of insanity. Take 10 points and add them to your score.
If you answered No, how can you be sure? Since you've just admitted that you once were crazy, you still may be. 10 points for a No answer.
If you are not sure whether you are cuckoo or not, add 10 points to your score.
It's no good. When you answered Question 18, it gave you away. You have already said you are (or you were) crazy. So how can you know if you are telling the truth? Give yourself 9 points.
A No answer says you lied. A No answer is 10 points and a ticket to the funny farm.
Unsure? You don't know if you lied or not? Come along now. Go quietly. 9 points for an Unsure answer.
You know about "Plugh?" Really? That means you've played adventure games before. It also means you're ready for Bedlam. Here's a darling little number in white for you to try on. The sleeves are a little long, but I think it's really you. 8 points for Yes.
No, you've never heard about "Plugh" before? Too bad, that could really cause you some problems here. Oh well, good luck. (Hee, hee, are you gonna get it.) 3 points for a No answer.
Not too sure about "Plugh," are you? Same score as for a No answer. Too bad for you.
Add up your score for all 20 questions, and use the following chart to determine if Bedlam is for you.
0-30 points - Indicates you are a healthy, well adjusted, normal person with a very high IQ.
31-60 points - Shows you are a person with several mild neuroses. A prime candidate to try Bedlam.
61-99 points - Wacko! Go directly to Bedlam. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
100+ points - You're kidding. Nobody should be able to score 100 points or more. Get into Bedlam quick.
Note: To those of you who feel the questionnaire made it impossible to ever get a low score, you're right, but your score stands as it is. The questionnaire is designed so that many of the questions are absurd or silly. Somebody really sane would never attempt to answer these questions. If you are crazy enough to answer all questions, you deserve whatever score you get.
Tandy Colour Computer 16K
Type "CLOADM". When loaded, type "EXEC".
© Copyright 1982 Radio Shack