Reply to post: Not excel, but...

Excel abuse hits new heights as dev uses VBA to code spreadsheet messaging app

Naselus

Not excel, but...

Last year, during a quiet period, I started building up my powershell profile - you know, just some basic functions and aliases for routine tasks, stuff like a short account unlock command so I don't need to go via ADU&C or a short command to load Exchangeshell and run a top-10 mailbox size report. Humdrum stuff to save me five minutes here or there.

Well, the quiet period dragged on a longer than initially anticipated, and I got a little bit carried away. I ended up building a complete 1980s-style text-based adventure. It contains a complete 10x10 map of areas (stored in a hash table), each with an individual description, a short story line (which revolves around finding some cheese and defeating a Luminous Sprocket), several items you can pick up and use, and multiple NPCs you can interact with. I was just beginning to add another 10x10 level to the dungeon when some genuine work came up and the project had to be abandoned; there's still a downward staircase which just leads to a sign saying 'under construction'.

But I didn't write it as a separate program - it's literally built into my profile on our production network. When I launch PS, it immediately greets me with "Welcome to Powershell Dungeons of the Endless! You are in a dark passage. Exits are to the North, South, East and West" along with some ASCII art. This has caused me to get some funny looks when someone wants their account unlocking and I respond by apparently launching a text-based adventure game.

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