Canadian Distributed Mentor Project 2008: Trying to Design a Truly Entertaining Game Can Defeat Even a Certified Genius

Furthering the Goals of the CDMP and the CRA-W

We will have the opportunity to work with a large computer graphics research group, and will be able to see how our own ideas can be turned into tangible projects. Stereotypically, women are visual learners and one of the draw backs of many computer science courses is that chalk boards and notebooks are filled with theory and data, with very little applicability to "the real world". Examples of concepts are often demonstrated with assignments consisting of abstract ideas like linked lists or mathematical concepts like the Fibonacci series. Through our proposed research, we will create and evaluate the ability of entertaining educational games to teach concepts that are typically presented with text-based Powerpoint presentations.

Project Goals

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Trying to Design a Truly Entertaining Game Can Defeat Even a Certified Genius

Article in Wired magazine: 16.04

It's best to learn by other people's mistakes...
A professor at Indiana University and a team of researchers designed a game called Arden: The World of William Shakespeare. This was designed to have players explore Elizabethan environment.
Ted Castronova, the professor, then studied the player's behavior. He came up with 5 tips for making a game that 'doesn't suck':

Don't be overly ambitious : He found that making the game realistic was quite a large task - we should be practical about how much detail we wish to include, considering the time line we put together.
Go Low Tech : Stick with a simple development platform. (We are already there - sticking with a simple software that we are familiar with (Game Maker, RPGMaker))
Think About Your Audience: He found that students who were not too familiar with Shakespeare found it boring. We should possibly be thinking about students who are not too familiar with computer science concepts, and what they would find interesting. One of our goals is to create a game that makes computer science appealing to all students (particularly females).
Get a Full-Time Staff (I think we can handle this)
Concede Screw-up: To keep in mind throughout the implementation process: Deal with problems as soon as possible (admit it and move on).

No comments:

Project Timeline

Dates	Description
Week 1: May 3 - 9	Set up: Lab space, keys Background Research: General games, game software
Week 2: May 10 - 16	Create: Timeline Background Research: Educational games, game software, pointers
Week 3: May 17 - 23	Background Research: Educational games, pointers Proposal Presentation for Graphics Group
Week 4: May 24 - 30	Objective: Evaluate which aspects of pointers will become the focus of the game
Week 5: May 31 - June 6	Objective: Ensure the presentation of concepts is not overshadowed Storyline: Using the objective, make a basic outline of the game
Week 6: June 7 - 13	Objective: Ensure the concepts are still present in the storyline Storyline: Add large details Artwork: Create concept drawings for the basic storyline
Week 7: June 14 - 20	Storyline: Make specific decisions so that a testable game can be created Artwork: Discuss concept art in relation to the storyline Game Sketch: Create a basic sketch of the interface
Week 8: June 21 - 27	Artwork: Integrate the artwork with the storyline Game Sketch: Create a sketch of the first levels
Week 9: June 28 - July 4	Game Sketch: Ensure 'playable' levels are complete by the end of the week
Week 10: July 5 - 11	Test: (Sketch/Content) on summer game students Alterations (Sketch/Content/Art) Code: Game interface
Week 11: July 12 - 18	Code: Rough playable Test (Playable Version/Retention) on summer game students
Week 12: July 19 - 25	Alterations (Sketch/Idea/Content/Art) based on test results
Week 13: July 26 - August 1	Code: Finalize interface, playable
Week 14: August 2 - 8	Code: Finalize beta version of game
Week 15: August 9 - 15	Test: Game Design Evaluate: Educational content
Week 16: August 16 - 22	Analyze: Testing results Create: Poster Poster Contest (August 21-23) in Vancouver
Week 17: August 23 - 29	Alterations based on last tests and poster contest Evaluate: Retention from previous test group
Week 18: August 30 - Sept 5	Analyze: Final tests, retention Update: Poster Create: Final Presentation

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Game Design Document

Game Concept

Introduction

short description
title
genre
direction
setting
what sets it apart
software
other meaningful information

Description

Key Features/Possible Features
Mechanics/Features we really liked from other games. This doesn't mean we need to/are going to implement all of them, but they are something we should keep in mind -- many of them have useful ideas behind them (like how to make sure people are able to get hints if they're lost, or reaccess information to help them continue if they forget it)

Folklore

Different types of plot events. We really like the different styles, and think they would be easy to substitute (to give it a more modern game feel, than just the text boxes)

FMV = "Comics", full pictures moving by with text bubbles, used for very important events
"Comics" = Talking. Character images on either side of the screen with text in bubbles generating at the top with subsequent ones lower down. Less important events, but important conversations
Characters talking = normal RPGMaker text bubbles. Labeled by character name. No other image of the character other than the sprites.

Suikoden

Having the introduction be character based instead of plot based

Codec conversations, being able to talk to characters you know at any time
A good "help" method -- if you forget what to do, you can talk to the same character again and they'll give you pointers towards your next objective
These characters also break the 4th wall to tell you about mechanics, or understand that they're in a game

Save points (in other games too, just came across them here) -- make them common, though
Random encounters -- perhaps an optional area you can just fight things in that doesn't open until right at the end?
Summons -- perhaps instead of gathering a party of characters with different abilities, you can "summon" them re: espers in FFXII -- the abilities can be assigned to your two (perhaps four) characters in your party. Care would need to be taken if characters ever left your party to make sure you weren't crippled.

Genre

define genre, flavor

Software challenges we have solved

The software that will be used to implement this educational game is RPG Maker XP. This piece of software is equipped with it's own front-view, turn-based battle system, and a large database full of sample data, including character graphics, monster graphics, map tiles, magic effects, animations, background musics and sound effects. Our complete game will be easily distributable by CD-ROM or over the Internet.
This software also allows us to make different versions of the same level (so we might be able to have a modifiable difficulty). It's easy to copy/paste levels, which saves all of the art and events already placed in that level
RPGMaker makes importing our own graphics/music really easy
We've learned how to give events their own little version of AI. Since we're looking at having two main characters, we've managed to make it look like one character is following the other around the map, can not be moved through, but will not trap a player in a corner they can not get out of
We've learned how to include pictures, and how to make those pictures update themselves along the side of the map. We believe that we can use this to give some idea of "cut scenes", and to introduce our own character art so the game isn't just limited to sprites
We've figured out how to create worlds larger than the initial size (which is something we never did in GameMaker) -- worlds also scroll on their own, so we don't need to implement this, we can just take advantage of it
We've managed to get the character walking in circles (like for our big city map). One of our concerns is if we want a map larger than 20 squares across, it will have a bit of scrolling until the player gets to the end, then it will stop scrolling to take them back to the other side of the map. We'll have to see if it's possible to wrap the map and just make it continuously scroll

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Functional Specifications

Game Mechanics

Core Game Play

Game Flow

Characters/Units

Game Play Elements

Game Physics and Statistics

Artificial Intelligence

User Interface

Flowchart

Functional Requirements

Mockups

Art and Video

Overall Goals

2D Art and Animation

Terrain

Game Play Elements

Special Effects

Cinematics

Sounds and Music

Overall Goal

Sound FX

Special Effects

Units/Characters (Voice recordings/collision)

Game Play Elements (alerts)

Terrain (Birds, creaks, etc.)

Motion (wind)

Music

Story

Level Requirements

Level Diagram

Asset Revelation Schedule

Level Design Seeds

Technical Specifications

Game Mechanics

Platform and OS

External Code

Code Objects

Control Loop

Game Object Data

Data Flow

Game Physics and Statistics

Artificial Intelligence

User Interface

Game Shell

Main Play Screen(s)

Art and Video

Graphics Engine

Sound and Music

Sound Engineering Instructions

Level Specific Code

Educational Integration

Show how the educational aspects of our game map to real-world skills

Game Storyline

Characters

Main: Veronica, Isaac

We will have one of our character who is chosen be a skeptic about their world and the "powers" they gain
We want to try to have dialogue between the two main characters be the same, or at least similar, no matter which character is chosen to be directly controlled by the player

Minerva: is the motherboard (knows what's happening in memory). She will act as another source of information or guide for our player. She will be presented as an enchantress; a beautiful and charismatic female who's person emits a soft glow.
Chester Unai (aka Old man): is the control unit -- he directs the player towards the end of the game. The difference between Chester and Minerva, is that Chester will give the players their specific tasks that they need to accomplish, whereas Minerva will appear throughout the game to provide some direction or suggestions/hints.

Worlds

Path world
The Path World is a batch file, which is executing several programs. These other programs are represented by the different worlds our player must venture to, accessible from the Path World. When the student is running his/her program, their bad pointers are causing problems in the other programs, accessing and overwriting memory that does not belong to them. The final World that the player will visit will be the students own program.
(Different characters go missing throughout the game, and in World 5,the player is made to realize that the characters have been disappearing to this Sewer World, attached to the Path World. The programs lost the ability to access these characters because of a memory leak caused by the student. The player must then reassign them so they can be accessed and returned to their own world.)

World 1
Arrrr....World 1 is a British Port town, the main port of the infamous Captain DeMorgan and his scurvy band of software pirates -- always one step ahead of the diligent Commodore A.V. Norton. The other characters are very friendly in this world, because they have become accustomed to travelers passing through. ( Some of the wooden shacks in town could an old motel, a taverns, a shop, a fish market and some storage facilities...)

Commodore A.V. Norton

Captain DeMorgan

World 2
This world emits a mystical energy, providing it with a glowing atmosphere. The small towns flow natural lines and geometrical formation, with twisted and narrow paths, with people that are very welcoming, and open to visitors. These towns rely on a magical gem/globe to provide them with the energy needed to survive.
(Because some of their villagers have randomly disappeared, the town is in need of some new additions. After acquiring the 'ability' to initialize, the player then creates several other 'pointer' villagers, but does not initialize them to null. However, creates another set and initializes them to null. The player comes back from the first quest to see that the first set of (uninitialized) villagers are reeking havoc, and the energy source has disappeared (one of the uninitialized villagers must have run off with it)! The player must initialize them to Null, then assign them where they are needed. Some are assigned to a search path, to try and retrieve the energy source. In World 5, the player finds the energy source in the Lost World, along with the uninitialized villager (who has gotten 'lost' along his way).)

Mayor Babbage

His daughter, Ada

World 3
A small, underdeveloped town of Natta(Null), nieghbouring a large mystical looking marsh. This town is tucked away in the forest, secluded and content with their simple ways. The people are skeptical of outsiders, and are very uneasy about things that are unfamiliar to them. They are quite self contained, and are not very eager to regain contact to the outside world Ada, a character (educated daughter of the 'mayor' of the previous town?) who was introduced at the end of World 2, is sent with you as a reward for restoring their contact with the outside world. She will act as a guide/information source for the main party.

Ada Lovelace

World 4
Medieval town, where the niece and nephew of Noble King Turing have gone missing. Their Father, a Noble Knight, Percy Mortimer, and their mother, the King's sister, Elizabeth. The Mortimer Twins, at birth, were each given an enchanted ring, The Malloc Ring and the Free Ring. They were entrusted with these rings, and are the only ones able to use them properly.
(Aside: In this world we deal with linked lists, so player will have to 'link' the clues together to determine their whereabouts)

Noble King Turing

Knight Percy Mortimer : He was known throughout the worlds as the most powerful and noble warrior, however, he was defeated by a malicious Trojan horseman. His two children

Elizabeth Mortimer

Mortimer Twins, Indira and ... (Names?)

World 5
Big sprawling city, which gives the illusion of limitless boundaries. This metropolis is a complex world, and will require the player to combine certain abilities previously acquired to achieve the Quests. It is also very difficult to find much help in this world, because the city people are furious that their world has been tampered with and could not be bothered to stop and explain. The player might need to travel back to the other worlds to recall some important information that perhaps was not useful at that time.

John von Neumann

List of Events

Isaac meets "old man" in the warehouse
Isaac is told that the only 'safe' path is between the warehouse town and the first town (World 1)
Isaac doesn't go to the path-world at this point, he goes straight to the first town (W1)
Isaac is sent on Quest 1

World 1: Quest 1 - Physical Memory and Addresses

Isaac completes Quest 1, and is shown completing W1:Q2 in a cartoon
Isaac disappears
Veronica meets "old man" in the warehouse
Veronica is told that the previous hero disappeared on this quest, perhaps because he didn't know enough about the world -- the world is actually inside a computer
Veronica is told that Isaac's progress is being erased
The 'old man' tells her that the path that Isaac took is no longer safe, but he can send her on a different route, if she does some organizing in the warehouse

The first address is scattered around the warehouse, this will give short introduction to the Hex system

Veronica is told that the only remaining properly functioning pointers are to the path-world, and from the path-world to W1
Veronica is sent to World 1

Veronica retrieves the note left by Isaac outside of Quest 1, which points her to Quest 2

Veronica goes on Quest 2

World 1: Quest 2 - Types of Variables/Pointers

Void Pointers

Casting

Pointers to Pointers

Veronica completes Quest 2, and frees Isaac who has been stuck in World 1
Veronica and Isaac return to the warehouse, and find out that the only quests that haven't decompiled are quests 1 and 2, so all of Isaac's "progress" is lost
Veronica gives the 'old man' the piece of the address she learned in W1, and he says that now the way from the path-world (WP) to W2 is safe to use, a crate appears that will store this information in the warehouse
The players gets a choice to play as either Isaac or Veronica as the main party member, the other will still be part of the party (we've managed to make it look like one character is following the other around the map in RPG Maker)
World 2 is chaotic! The members of this world have all been scattered, and pointed to a different location in the town than where they belong. This is handled piece by piece, through the different quests in W2

World 2: Quest 1 - Initializing, *
World 2: Quest 2 - Assignment
World 2: Quest 3 - Dereferencing, &

The player returns with a piece of the address after completing W2
The 'old man' now reveals the address to get from WP->W3, a crate appears that will store this information in the warehouse
Once you get into this world, you see that all of the NPCs are in the "seg fault marsh". One of the named characters tell you that that's where townspeople go when they don't even know they are townspeople anymore. The named NPC sends the player on the quest immediately thinking it will help them, but the other member of the party (Isaac or Veronica) says that they'll stay behind to see what they can do from here.

World 3: Quest 1 - NULL Pointers versus Uninitialized Pointers

After completing the quest, the player notices that half of the people in the marsh have vanished, and the person who stayed behind has joined the remaining people in the marsh and has begun to act like them. The named NPC will tell the player that since these people don't have a purpose, something is removing them, which seems to be for the good of the world (the 1st year student is cleaning up their program, laboriously removing the bad pointers)
During this conversation, another townsperson disappears
The named NPC tells the player to quickly reinitialize all of these people to NULL (the default for unnamed townspeople) -- through the first quest, the player should have learned the difference between NULL and uninitialized states
Everyone, including the other party member (Isaac or Veronica) is returned to the town from the marsh
The other party member now thinks they are a townsperson, because they are initialized to NULL
The named NPC tells the player that they should reform their party before attempting the second quest in this world
When the other party member spouts random townsperson gibberish, the named NPC tells the player to talk to the old man in the warehouse
The old man tells the player that each person either belongs in a town, or has a different fate -- but currently, Isaac/Veronica think they belong in the town. To restore their proper fate to them, they will need to be reassigned to who they are, and there's a clue in W3:Q2

World 3: Quest 2 - Segmentation Faults (Dereferencing uninitialized pointers and NULL pointers)

After completing the quest, the player finds out that the other character needs to be reassigned to their name, doing so will have them join the party once again
The player returns with a piece of the address after completing W3
The 'old man' now reveals the address to get from WP->W4, a crate appears that will store this information in the warehouse
There is a character that has gone missing in World 4 - this character is important to this world. All the smaller quests are working towards finding this character. (Arrays - Build bridge, Freeing - Cave/Maze game) These make sense, so the lost character is over a river and in a cave.

World 4: Quest 1 - Uses for Pointers (Linked Lists, Arrays)

Pointer Arithmetic

The player cannot complete 4:1. After finishing 5:3, they will be sent back here to finish this quest with what they have learned -- alternatively, the student erases this progress after the player finishes 5:3, and 4:1 is easier to complete because the player knows how to manipulate pointers with arithmetic -- either way, the new abilities gained can show why pointers are useful to have

World 4: Quest 2 - Freeing Pointers

The player returns with a piece of the address after completing W4
The 'old man' now reveals the address to get from WP->W5, a crate appears that will store this information in the warehouse
World 5 has a series of houses with different addresses, all containing different size variable. The player would have to search for keys/scrolls that contained the address and the variable type of each house. Each address will need to be a certain type, but the player might find it as another type and will need to cast it so that people can find the house. There can also be a 'directory' in town that will store a pointer to each house, some houses may have a pointer as their address, so this will integrate pointers to pointers as well as casting.
At some point in World 5, the player realizes that the disappearance of certain characters in the previous worlds have been due to a memory leak, and is sent to 'free' those characters from the Lost World (Sewer World?).

World 5: Quest 1 - Void Pointers and Casting
World 5: Quest 2 - Pointers to pointers
World 5: Quest 3 - Pointer arithmetic

The player returns with a piece of the address after completing W5
The 'old man' now reveals how to confront the student who has been inadvertently causing the problems, a crate appears that will store this information in the warehouse
Last Fight: The End Boss is revealed to be a 1st Year Computer Science student working on a project, who has no understanding of pointers, which is why the world has been unravelling
After Last Fight: The student is placed in the empty warehouse, to start the process of learning about pointers all over again (although the game doesn't continue from this point)

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Quest Analogies

People

Pirates represent different types of variables, with the colour of stripes on their shirt corresponding with their type

Green = char
Red = double
Yellow = float
Blue = int

Children represent different types of pointers. The colour of their shirt or dress corresponds with their type. The colours are the same as for the pirates.
The children "look after" a room to help the innkeeper. The room they are looking after is the place in memory they are pointing to.

The special "dark" pirate represents NULL

The Cleaning Lady is tentatively representing the garbage collector. She will also act as a reference for the player

Rooms

Rooms are considered to be memory. Each room is a piece of memory, but for convenience, the upstairs rooms are "grouped together" to form blocks of memory. All of the downstairs rooms are individual bytes.

Size 1 -- 1 byte, considered to be the size of a char
Size 2 -- 2 bytes, considered to be the size of an integer
Size 4 -- 4 bytes, considered to be the size of a float
Size 8 -- 8 bytes, considered to be the size of a double

The special rooms in the inn are the cleaning lady's room, the dining hall, and the lounge.

Cleaning Closet
Dining Hall
Lounge -- NULL, this is where the dark pirate stays

Actions

Memory (Quest 1)

Players will be asked to pick appropriate numbers for the rooms, based on the size of the room
Players will have an introduction to hexadecimal, and will be asked to translate between hex and decimal

Variable Types and Sizes (Quest 2)

Sending each pirate to a room upstairs of appropriate size

Initializing (Quest 3)

Sending each child to a room downstairs
Telling each child to look after the NULL pirate
If the child is not giving the duty of the NULL pirate, they will bother the other pirates and the Cleaning Lady will complain to the main character

Assignment (Quest 4)

The child is told to look after one of the pirates in the rooms upstairs

Defrerencing (Quest 5)

Mallocing (Quest 8)

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Dialog

Panels:
Cartoon cutscenes. Very important information/plot events. Panels may also consist of just a few pictures to introduce the flavour of a new location

IG:
In game. Using paths to make a couple events interact where the player can see but doesn't change things. A "poor man's" cut scene

Important:
Dialog between two characters that has an avatar of each character standing on opposite sides of the screen with text bubbles popping up between them

Text:
In-game text dialog. Unimportant or hints to remind the character what they are supposed to be doing

???:
A character is talking who hasn't been met yet, so they aren't named in their text bubble, although the text bubble would be placed by their figure (text can normally be on the bottom of the screen and flagged with an appropriate name)

Other name:
Something the character might be flagged by until the player actually learns their name

Meta:
A decision the player must make, one that the characters do not know about

Italicized lines in the actual dialog (already tabbed in) are what the player is making the character do right before the scene, or the trigger of the scene

Panels: Opening Sequence
Panels: Introducing Chester: Isaac and Chester

Isaac has appeared in the warehouse
He looks around quickly, noticing a dark figure approaching from a corner

Important: Isaac is sent on a quest: Isaac and Chester

I: Huh? Who are you?
C: Old Man: Of course you wouldn't know, boy, I'm the keeper of this warehouse, and I have a job for you
I: Wait, where am I? I have an important a...
C: Old Man: Never mind that now, boy. There's a port to the north of here. If you exit the warehouse and take the path leading out of this village, you'll find it. Don't try any of the other paths though, they've become overgrown and are no longer safe.
I: If I help you, will you tell me what's going on here?
C: Old Man: If you help me, you'll find that you will understand what's going on here?
C: Old Man: trailing off: Heroes these days! Hmpf! What I wouldn't give for a hero that didn't have a bad case of amnesia...

Panels: Isaac finds World 1: Isaac

Isaac exits the warehouse and goes up the path to the north
The path.
The trees from the path framing a view of a busy port town, complete with a pirate ship

IG: Introducing DeMorgan and Norton: Isaac, DeMorgan, Norton, and pirates

Isaac steps towards the town, getting only a couple paces in when a pirate bumps into him (we can make only one path into town that the player has to move on, and as soon as he's about to have freedom of movement he's bumped into)
Pirates are scattering through a crowd of other civilians, making towards the pirate ship
N: ???: This is my town! Your kind aren't welcome here! The next time you access our port, I'll have you drawn and quartered!
The pirates quicken their pace
D: ???: Arrr, you be leavin' my boys alone now, y'hear? They're merely try'n ta make an honest wage
Norton turns to see DeMorgan behind him
N: ???: As for you, blackguard -- I'll see to it that you find no safe port of call, or I'm not Commodore A.V. Norton!
D: ???: The name's DeMorgan, and don't ye be forgett'n it. Captain DeMorgan. Ye've made it clear your position, and me men and I'll be tak'n our leave. Ye can't hide your treasure away forever, m'boy -- I'll get it one day!
Norton advances on DeMorgan, who easily makes it to his ship, which then departs. Norton remains standing on the docks and the villagers, who have been watching the altercation, go back to their business

Text: NPC's in World 1

Pirates:

Arrrrrrrr
Perhaps the Cap'n might have some words for ye

Fishermen:
Market women:
Norton:
DeMorgan:
Minerva:

Panels: Introducing Minerva: Isaac and Minerva

Isaac moves towards the location of the first quest
There is a flash of light, and the figure of Minerva appears next to the entrance to the quest
Minerva: ???: "Hello Isaac. Congratulations for finding your way here...I know the path can be tricky to navigate, and our world seems to be getting more and more dangerous."
Isaac: surprised "What, huh? Who are you? Where did you come from?"
Minerva: "I am Minerva. Chester and are are....friends. He asked me to meet you here to explain the task ahead."
Isaac: "But...people don't just appear like that! It's not possible. This whole place isn't possible!"
Isaac takes an angry, confrontational stance
Minerva: "There are some things about our world that are difficult to explain, and you are but a visitor. In fact, you're a regular visitor, even though you may not be entirely aware of us. I'm sure everything will make sense in time."
Minerva gestures Isaac closer to the entrance of the quest
Isaac, looking like he's about to whine, skeptically draws close

Important: Isaac is directed towards Quest 1: Isaac and Minerva

Minerva explains about the Inn and numbering the rooms properly

Panels: Isaac completes Quest 1 and is lost: Isaac

Isaac is seen completing the last task in the first quest
There is another flash of light that fades to black, and a low rumbling sound

Panels: Introducing Veronica: Veronica and Chester

The rumbling sound from the previous set of panels eases off, and as light slowly reenters the scene, it is back in the warehouse
The 'camera' is behind a figure, who is assumed to be Isaac approaching Chester
When the figure steps into the pool of light around Chester, it is revealed to be Veronica
Veronica: "...who....what? I was..."
Chester gestures her closer

Important: Explaining the world to Veronica: Veronica and Chester

Chester: Old Man: gruffly "You were working late in the lab, but this doesn't look anything like your station, so you're about to whine like that boy did, and I don't have time to..."
Veronica: "If you don't have time to waste, you can save some by assuming I'm a whiner. I want to know what this place is and what I'm doing here."
Chester: Old Man: "Hmpf. You're all whiners, whether you want to admit it or not. "
Veronica: "Look, if you don't want to waste time, but you're talking to me anyway, I assume you want my help. And I'm not going to be inclined to offer it if you keep insulting me."
Chester: Old Man: seems a little surprised to be spoken to so harshly "Maybe we started out on the wrong foot. I'm Chester. I manage this place and help people schedule their tasks, if you get what I'm saying. We had a young man helping us, but he didn't understand what this world was....and now he's disappeared. It's rare that someone disappears so completely that even M can't find them, but there you go."
Veronica: "M?"
Chester: "Minerva, my friend and ally. You'll meet her soon enough. She's a wise woman who has access to a lot of accumulated knowledge. That's her job, to know everything, just like my job is to tell people what to do. Do you have any idea what this world is?"
Veronica: "I....I don't know. This warehouse....I think I can see a village outside, and a field. But I was working at school..."
Chester: "Right. Working on an assignment, in a place that looks nothing like this. Well, Miss Veronica, this is how we perceive our world....the very world you were manipulating when you dozed off."
Veronica: "This....this is my computer?!"
Chester: "The short answer is yes. This world is all your perception of the inside of a computer. The people you meet are like variables, they have their jobs, each crucial in their own way. Their worlds are all programs, kept in synchronization with each other through the batch file...a special world that I'm about to send you to. From there you will be able to access , and later, if I deem you fit, subsequent programs that need help."

Veronica: "Just one more thing...what will happen after I help you?"
Chester: "Hopefully you'll go home, and take Isaac with you."
Veronica: "Isaac?"
Chester: "The other student who got lost. We can't find him, but if you set our worlds to right, either you'll run across him or we'll be able to figure out where he got himself to."
Chester: "Now...leave the warehouse and go east. There you should find a path that looks relatively clear, that's the reference to the batch file. Take it. When you get into the path file, there will be a cliff face at the end of the path. Enter the memory address to open the way to that program. Later, you'll collect more addresses, and be able to access more programs from that same spot. Good luck."

Important: Veronica is directed towards Quest 2: Veronica and Minerva

Veronica has gotten through the batch file and finds the location of the second quest, which has Minerva waiting nearby
Minerva: "Greetings Veronica. Chester tells me that you have agreed to help us, which is wonderful. Are you ready for this quest?"
Veronica: "Yes...I think so. Chester didn't tell me anything about it, though."
Minerva: "Mmm, that's because that is usually my job."
Minerva: "The pirates in this town are very picky about what sort of colour they like.

Panels: Veronica frees Isaac: Veronica, Isaac, and Minerva

Veronica completes the last task in the second quest
A flash of light, and Isaac appears beside a surprised Veronica
Isaac: "What? Who are you?"
Minerva speaks from behind Isaac, causing Isaac and Veronica to spin around
Minerva: "Congratulations Veronica....I had a feeling that Isaac had been lost in this place. Please accompany me back to the warehouse. We have much to discuss."
The scene fades....

Panels: Gathering in the warehouse: Veronica, Isaac, Minerva, and Chester

....and fades back in the warehouse, with Isaac standing skeptically off to one side, Veronica sitting on a crate near Minerva, who seems to be radiating a faint glow of light. Chester stands in his usual pool of light, leaning on a broom, it looks like he was surprised by their appearance while cleaning up

Meta: Text: Pick Isaac or Veronica as the main character (MC), making the other the secondary character (SC)

After the last series of panels, while the screen is still dark
Would you like to continue this adventure with Isaac or Veronica?

Important: MC is told that World 2 is in need of assistance

Panels: MC finds W2: MC, SC

MC exits the path world with SC and takes the pointer to World 2
A soft glow in the distance
The twisted path slides down the side of a hill, with Isaac and Veronica's backs framing the view of a pretty, sparkling town. Before them is a field of flowers, framing the path as it approaches a bridge
A clearing is seen in the trees, housing a glowing gem on a pedestal
The images give the impression of Isaac and Veronica approaching the village, there are a couple people around, but it is a clear contrast to the bustling port of World 1
The scene shifts to an older gentleman (Mayor Babbage) waiting before the bridge into town, and a young woman (Ada) further along the path

Important: Introduction to World 2: MC, Mayor Babbage

Babbage: ???: Greetings Isaac and Veronica, I am Charles Babbage, the Mayor of this town, and this is my lovely daughter Ada. We're very happy that you've arrived so soon, as you might be able to see, our quaint little town is in a spot of trouble
MC: Trouble? It looks so peaceful
B: That's exactly the trouble. How many people do you see around here?
MC: I thought the quiet streets were part of your village's charm?...
B: sighs: Yes, in a way. But right now it is too quiet. We think people have been disappearing, but there's no way to tell. Some things have been ... falling apart. We need new employees to help keep things running, but there's no way to get them. Can you help us?

IG: Isaac, Veronica, Babbage, Ada, Minerva

After the introduction to this village...
Everyone walks to the gem
Ada: "Thank you so much for coming....I didn't think we had a chance of saving our town before. But if Minerva has faith in you...." trailing off
Ada: "In the east of our town, over the second bridge, there is a green cottage where you can learn about initialization. I'll wait for you there"
Ada moves off east to the location of the first quest in World 2
Minerva appears next to the player

Important: Introduction to W2Q1: MC, Minerva

Minerva: "Ada is quite correct. Only by mastering the skills of initialization and assignment can you save this village. These people are powerless to prevent the destruction of their village, even though they know the methods of their enemy. Ada will teach you how to protect them, and once you prove that you understand her instructions, Chester will grant you the abilities you need. Should you require any further assistance, as always, I am at your disposal."

Minerva disappears

Important: World 2 Quest 1: MC, Ada

Ada explains about initialization to prepare for the first quest

Panels: After W2Q1: MC, Ada, Minerva

Ada and Minerva are waiting by the bridge that will take the player back to the main area of this town -- the panels start when the player gets close to the bridge
Minerva: "You've now mastered the art of initialization. Chester will restore to you these skills. Use them to help Ada..."
Ada looks extremely worried, the background of the town is now darker than before, it has stopped glowing
Ada: "Something terrible happened while you were in the quest! Those first villagers you practiced initializing are running rampant through town. The second group isn't enough to stop them. Please, [name],we really need your help now more than ever. I'll meet you in the south-east of our town where I will teach you how to assign our villagers to certain jobs...hopefully we aren't too late!"
Minerva: "This isn't your fault, . We should have been more careful to properly initialize even those first villagers you helped to create. This is why it is extremely important to make sure that even if you don't know what people are doing, you ensure they aren't doing anything bad. Ada may be able to aid you further"

Important: World 2 Quest 2: MC, Ada

Ada explains about assignment to prepare for the second quest, making it clear that the chaotic villagers should be reinitialized to NULL first

Panels: After W2Q2: MC, Minerva, Ada

Canadian Distributed Mentor Project 2008

Furthering the Goals of the CDMP and the CRA-W

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Trying to Design a Truly Entertaining Game Can Defeat Even a Certified Genius

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