Yes, I can say I really spent a lot of time considering things before tackling the actual programming.
But the strangest thing here is… that this was about 36 years ago and I still remember it! I guess it is because I spent so much time thinking about it then. Designing it is the real hard part of the work. Getting to program it afterwards is quite "mechanical by nature". Then debugging because of the many errors, inconsistencies and "plot holes" one always leaves when working alone.
Nowadays, games are written by comprehensive teams. But back in the 70's and 80's, many so called "software houses" were just one person actually!
But I guess I might be able to write another adventure game nowadays. I still know how it works. And, to be honest, it is not so technically difficult: One mostly needs to be able to juggle with dozens of variables without getting lost. But once everything gets put down on paper, it becomes much easier.
"Those were the days…"