Design Document for:
Spoon River Anthology Interactive Text Adventure SRA – ITA
Solving puzzles, resolving pain.
Through interaction, allow students to experience the world and poetry of the Spoon River Anthology, while making connections between characters and references using symbols, reflection, and empathy.
All work Creative Commons - Attribution by Group B Written by Marion Jensen, Jennifer Jorgensen, Marie Duncan Table of Contents
GAME OVERVIEW______4 GENERAL QUESTIONS______4 What is the game?______4 Why create this game?______4 Where does the game take place?______4 What do I control?______4 What is the main focus?______4 What’s different?______4 PHILOSOPHY______4 Align Gameplay and Instruction______4 Instructional Games as a Motivational Tool______5 PROBLEMS & CHALLENGES______5 Activities we wanted to support______5 What we hope students will take from the SRA-ITA______5 EXISTING APPROACHES______5 What already exists______5 Existing approaches that were informative______5 What existing approaches are lacking______5 DESIGN PRINCIPLES & RATIONAL______6 Instructional Objectives______6 Design Objectives______6 What guided our design______6 DESIGN______7 Design constraints______7 Cluster Power______7 Scoring and Cluster Countdown______7 Design Process: the Evolution______8 Key Concepts and Supports for Creativity______8 CHOICE AND DESIGN OF CLUSTERS______8 Sibley's Secret (#114)______8 Hamblin’s Article (#125)______9 Fiddler Jones/Cooney Potter (#59)______10 Fletcher McGee (4)______11 GENERAL LESSONS LEARNED______11 SCENARIOS______12 Scenario #1 (a.k.a. Play then Read)______12 Scenario #2 (a.k.a. Read then Play)______12 EVALUATION______12 Beta Testing______12 Introduction to Users______13 FUTURE DIRECTIONS______13 Master Game______13 Linear Game______13 Volumes______13 Assessment Activities______13 Enhanced Support______13
2 Reduced In-Game Assistance______13 Accessible/iPod version______14 APPENDIX A: THE GAME ENVIRONMENT______15 OVERVIEW______15 THE PHYSICAL WORLD______15 Overview______15 Key Locations______15 Travel______15 Artifacts______15 GAME ENGINE______16 Overview______16 APPENDIX B: EVOLUTION OF WORLD MAPS______17 INITIAL DESIGN MAP______17 NORTH CEMETERY FINAL WORLD MAP______17 INITIAL COMBINATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH CEMETERIES______18 APPENDIX C: CLUSTER MATRIX______19 APPENDIX D: GAME CHARACTERS______20 OVERVIEW______20 CREATING A CHARACTER______20 APPENDIX E: ARTIFACTS______21 APPENDIX F: DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS______22 WINDOWS______22 MAC OS X______22 APPENDIX G: DESIGN HISTORY______23 CLUSTER 1 VERSION HISTORY______23 CLUSTER 2 VERSION HISTORY______28 CLUSTER 3 VERSION HISTORY______33 CLUSTER 4 VERSION HISTORY______37 APPENDIX H: USER INTERFACES______41 OVERVIEW______41 FROTZ USER INTERFACE FOR WINDOWS______41 ZOOM USER INTERFACE FOR MAC OS X______42 APPENDIX I: USER EXPERIENCE______43 OVERVIEW______43 STORY______43 HOURS OF GAMEPLAY______43 VICTORY CONDITIONS______43 APPENDIX J: ABBREVIATED WALKTHROUGH______44 APPENDIX K: DETAILED WALKTHROUGH______45
3 GAME OVERVIEW
GENERAL QUESTIONS What is the game? Spoon River Anthology – Interactive Text Adventure is an instructional game based on Edger Lee Master’s Spoon River Anthology. It includes a virtual environment for players to explore and manipulate in an entirely textual interface.
Why create this game? We created this game to motivate students to learn more about poetry and enhance the experience of the original Master’s text.
Where does the game take place? The game takes place in the Spoon River Cemetery where players will encounter ghosts, epitaphs, and the town of Spoon River.
What do I control? You will be able to manipulate the game’s environment in numerous ways by typing commands to the player character.
What is the main focus? The main goal of the game is to help the ghostly citizens of Spoon River find resolutions to issues, which plagued their lives.
What’s different? SRA-ITA offers a fun educational environment for students to interact with poetry. The instructional objectives closely tied to the game-play.
PHILOSOPHY Align Gameplay and Instruction Most instructional games do not have direct alignment of the instructional objectives with the action in the game. They just present content in a fun game-like atmosphere. In our game we wanted to make the actions of the game closely tied to the instruction. For example, when students read the epitaphs for clues, they improved their reading comprehension skills because they were reading carefully and trying to identify information to help them resolve issues in the game. Also, by destroying the initials in the tree, they were demonstrating their understanding of the use of symbols to represent ideas.
4 Instructional Games as a Motivational Tool Students often find it hard to identify with and understand poetry. By designing a game based on poetry, we hoped to provide motivation for students who may otherwise fail to put forth enough effort to accomplish instructional objectives associated with a traditional poetry unit.
PROBLEMS & CHALLENGES Activities we wanted to support Our main goal for this interactive environment is to allow students to explore the world that Edgar Lee Masters first wrote about in his Spoon River Anthology. Specifically, we wanted to create a graveyard environment where students would have access to the actual epitaph text, a supportive framework to augment the students’ grasp of the material, along with puzzles and challenges that primarily forced students to critically examine the relationships and problems that were expressed in the SRA epitaphs.
What we hope students will take from the SRA-ITA We want students to walk away from SRA-ITA with an understanding of the relationships and problems of the specific epitaphs including, an increased awareness and aptitude in exploring additional epitaphs, an increased appreciation for poetry, a smile and a sense of accomplishment.
EXISTING APPROACHES What already exists There were three existing formats prior to our work. First, there was the original pulp- based, linear version. Two derivatives of this first work also exist, one a simple linear online version, the second a hyper-linked online version that allows users to explore the world of Spoon River in an order and method not usually available in book form.
Existing approaches that were informative Obviously our work was directly based on the original text. To the extent that our puzzles were designed based on the original text, it was informative. The hyperlinked version facilitated an easier method of locating specific epitaphs that could be used when we designed our clusters. It was also helpful to experience the book in it's original, intended form (i.e. to be read linearly), but also see how reading it in it's hyper-linked version might bring out new ideas and experiences.
What existing approaches are lacking Interactivity – while readers can simply read the previous versions, without a teacher or peer, they are not likely have an engaging experience. It is too easy to simply read, and not devour. We believe that by placing the text in an interactive environment, students will critically examine the poetry, and not just simply read it.
5 DESIGN PRINCIPLES & RATIONAL Instructional Objectives By creating several instructional objectives with which to align the design of the game, we ensured a product that would have value in an educational setting. We began by identifying several potential objectives traditionally addressed in a poetry unit. Then, through the course of the design, we made decisions about which objectives could be addressed using the Spoon River Anthology content and the specific clusters we chose. The following is a list of some of the instructional objectives we met in our game and how that was accomplished. For the instructional objectives specific to each cluster, see Appendix C. Learners will identify the poetic device of repetition. This objective was addressed in the Sibley cluster. Mrs. Sibley’s epitaph uses obvious repetition. Editor Whedon gives a clue about the person with prominent repetition in their epitaph. Learners will understand the use of symbolism in poetry. There are many uses of symbolism in the poetry. One example includes the fiddle as a symbol of what made Fiddler Jones happy. Students must recognize this symbol and use it to help another find happiness. In another example, the initials on the tree in the McGee cluster symbolize the union of two people. Students must symbolically destroy that union by destroying the initials. Learners will read and comprehend poetry. In order to resolve issues, students must read and comprehend the epitaphs. Because of the difficulty students have in comprehension, clues are also included which refer the students back to reread epitaphs and derive additional meaning, as needed. Learners will use a variety of problem solving techniques. One such technique is gathering information, forming hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and reevaluating the hypothesis. Students do this each time they solve a cluster. Another technique is recognizing that tools often have different uses than just the obvious. Students discover this when they use a bobbie pin instead of a key to unlock the tool shed.
Design Objectives Players will explore poetic epitaphs in an interactive fiction environment. The goals in the game would be to read the epitaphs and resolve issues of unhappiness addressed in the poems. Players will have the ability to explore their environment and interact with it in various ways so that they can achieve their goals. The flow of game play should allow the players to immerse themselves in the virtual world through text. For design objectives specific to each cluster see Appendix C.
What guided our design The actual text of the SPA formed the basis of the challenges we present to learners. Through an analysis we were able to find four separate groups of individuals that had unresolved issues or problems described in their epitaphs. These characters also had relationships with other residents of Spoon River, thus allowing for a more interactive experience for the reader/player. These two criteria helped us create viable challenges and support through the related characters. One aspect of the design process that was very important to us was to make the puzzles relevant to the actual text, not just random challenges. Each puzzle, if appropriately framed
6 should support a greater understanding of the original text. The purpose of the game is not for students to solve puzzles, but to think about Spoon River. It just happens that while they are thinking about Spoon River, they are also solving puzzles. Additionally, we wanted to meet instructional objectives for a traditional poetry unit in a typical English class.
DESIGN Design constraints The first two constraints were placed on us by the very demands of the course: 1) SRA as the basis of the game and 2) the constraints of the Inform language. While both of these were constraints, they were also supportive in that we had established texts and protocols to build upon. Trying to stay true to the text became an additional constraint we placed upon ourselves out of respect for the original work, in that we did not throw in willy-nilly puzzles. As we chose our clusters and made decisions about how resolutions would unfold, an additional constraint included following learning objectives already linked to English classes with units in poetry. We needed the game play to align as closely as possible with achieving these objectives. An additional constraint was our development time of one semester in conjunction with our learning of the Inform language. As a result, there were several puzzles or aspects of puzzles, that we just did not have the skill to code. Though we felt the design was solid, we did not have the development skills necessary to complete the design in a single semester. Thus, we were forced to make compromises to the original design in order to develop a product that still met our instructional objectives.
Cluster Power Our design began by identifying relationships among the people described in the epitaphs of the Master’s original work. Through these relationships we formed four clusters of epitaphs upon which to base our game. We then set about deciding upon issues addressed in individuals’ lives, which remained unresolved. This led to potential resolution situations. After creating a basic design for each cluster, we began developing the first cluster. After the initial development and coding process, it was sent to another group for beta testing. The next wave of development included redesigning and recoding cluster 1 based on feedback of the beta testing and creating cluster 2. The newest versions of both clusters were then again sent for testing. The next wave then included improving the first two clusters and developing cluster 3. This pattern was followed until all the clusters were complete and evaluations from the beta testers indicated no problems. This process allowed us to gradually learn how to write code in the Inform language. Based on the beta testing result, the first cluster required several changes, additions, and reworking of the rules governing our environment. As our learning process continued, each cluster required less fixing because of the feedback from the previous clusters we could apply to the original coding of the new clusters.
Scoring and Cluster Countdown In order to provide feedback to guide student actions, we included scoring scenarios when they accomplished a task that would benefit the final resolution of each cluster. Also, in
7 order to provide motivation and inform students on their progress, a countdown of the issues still needing to be resolved appeared at the top of the interface.
Design Process: the Evolution Originally we started with a complete map, upon which we placed the relevant clusters. As the course progressed we separated out each cluster. This was done for testing purposes. We found that to test a simple action, it often involved us picking an item up in one section of the map, and then carrying to a completely different section of the map. We found that often, to test functionality, we would need to carry out this action 20 or 30 times. It was impractical to test the game on the entire map. By placing each cluster in it's own section, we could isolate each cluster, and testing became much more efficient. After the four clusters were fairly clean and completely functional, we re-integrated them and tested the group as a whole. When the integrated code compiled, we set about the task of completing and connecting the map and placing items in appropriate places.
Key Concepts and Supports for Creativity Our single biggest design concept was to stay true to the original text. Our next big design concept was to provide support, both in understanding the epitaphs and in solving the challenges. Additionally, we wanted the puzzles to engage the students in thinking about how the characters’ problems could be resolved, including novel solutions. For example, many people may believe that, to resolve the McGees’ issues, the player should somehow bring the fighting couple back together again. Instead, our solution was to allow two people, who were probably never meant for each other, to become individuals again.
CHOICE AND DESIGN OF CLUSTERS Sibley's Secret (#114) We chose this cluster because we felt like this was a great example of a when a student might miss an aspect of the poem because they did not pause to reflect (or there is not an instructor to cause the student to pause and reflect). The epitaph reads thus:
The Secret of the stars,—gravitation. The secret of the earth,—layers of rock. The secret of the soil,—to receive seed. The secret of the seed,—the germ. The secret of man,—the sower. The secret of woman,—the soil. My secret: Under a mound that you shall never find.
A student might read this and not even wonder what Mrs. Sibley's secret is. Or they may think the reader can't know, since Masters did not explicitly make this point clear. But upon further reflection, the secret is quite clear. The man is the sower, the woman is the soil, the seed, the germ... A critical reader can ascertain that her secret is in fact that she had an abortion, and buried it under a mound, and kept it secret. But we didn't just want to tell the students that this is what the secret is, we wanted them to figure it out for themselves. By turning the epitaph into a puzzle, the students would be more
8 likely to read, and reread the epitaph. In addition, we found another clue in a separate epitaph, that of Editor Whedon, which mentions he is buried “where abortions are hidden”. Since the map allows for special reconstruction, we were able to hide the 'mound' near Editor Whedon's headstone, and we had the ghost give clues to solving Mrs. Sibley's 'puzzle'. It might also be important to note, that this was the first puzzle we designed and coded because it was mechanically straight forward. The player simply had to pick up an item, and place it in the correct location, in this case they 'dug up' the mound, and placed the contents of the mound in a hole next to Mrs. Sibley. By doing this, we were implying that Mrs. Sibley felt remorse for her actions, and the player was helping her find peace. It should be noted that the epitaph of Mrs. Sibley shows no sign of remorse, so this may be a slight deviation from the text. While we hoped the cluster design would be an easy one, it turned out to be quite challenging. Since it was our first opportunity to work in Inform, there were quite a few challenges. The student couldn't just pick up the contents of the mound; they first had to 'uncover' them, by digging in the mound. And they couldn't dig in the mound until they had the shovel. And there was also the problem of the hole, making it so that the contents of the mound could be placed in the hole, and then covered. All in all, it turned out to be a good opportunity to cut our teeth.
Hamblin’s Article (#125) We chose this cluster hoping it to be a work with which the students could identify. It includes the epitaph of a journalist who was tarred and feathered for writing a controversial article. It also had potential cross-curricular applications with government or social studies classes. The Carl Hamblin’s epitaph reads thus:
9 THE PRESS of the Spoon River Clarion was wrecked, And I was tarred and feathered, For publishing this on the day the Anarchists were hanged in Chicago: “I saw a beautiful woman with bandaged eyes Standing on the steps of a marble temple. Great multitudes passed in front of her, Lifting their faces to her imploringly. In her left hand she held a sword. She was brandishing the sword, Sometimes striking a child, again a laborer, Again a slinking woman, again a lunatic. In her right hand she held a scale; Into the scale pieces of gold were tossed By those who dodged the strokes of the sword. A man in a black gown read from a manuscript: ‘She is no respecter of persons.’ Then a youth wearing a red cap Leaped to her side and snatched away the bandage. And lo, the lashes had been eaten away From the oozy eye-lids; The eye-balls were seared with a milky mucus; The madness of a dying soul Was written on her face— But the multitude saw why she wore the bandage.”
We wanted to emphasize the importance of Carl’s message and the desire others had to silence him. Merely reading the poem may not give the impact the story really needs. So in the course of the game, players will find Carl’s epitaph with only the first three lines. The description explains that the rest of it seems to be on a plaque which has need removed – emphasizing the desire that some people in the community had, to silence the message. This is intended to peak the student’s curiosity to find the missing plaque and article. Carl’s ghost appears and is distraught that the plaque is missing. This adds to the sense of importance his message contains. Upon exploration, students find an old printing press in a landfill – symbolic of wrecking the Clarion’s press. Students are given clues that the plaque is under the press. They must try twice to move the press and uncover the plaque – symbolic of the effort it sometimes takes to reveal truth. After obtaining the plaque, students must screw the plaque to the metal frame on Carl’s tombstone before they can read the message. This delay is intended to further build suspense for reading the plaque and therefore add to the attention the students give to the message. In coding this cluster, we encountered problems involving checking for tools such as screws and a screwdriver in order to permanently place the plaque. We also found problems in hiding the plaque and then revealing it when the press was moved. This also led to complications in changing descriptions of locations and artifacts once the plaque was uncovered, taken, and attached to the tombstone.
10 Fiddler Jones/Cooney Potter (#59) We chose the Fiddler Jones/Cooney Potter cluster because the two epitaphs were right next to each other, and the message that Masters was trying to send seemed fairly clear. Both Potter and Jones started out with the same number of acres; 40. In the end, Potter had grown his acreage to two thousand, while Jones still only had his original 40. It seems clear, based on many standards of measure, that Potter was the more industrious and rich of the two. But the Potter's epitaph was not one of wealthy relaxation and a life of ease. Rather the man sounded miserable; driving his wife and kids to work hard in the field, he himself passing away while working in his fields. Jones, on the other hand, knew how to play the fiddle, and was always being invited to parties, so that he could play for others. He didn't have time to work in the fields, but his epitaph seemed like he was by far the happier of the two. We felt that by placing the two epitaphs side by side in the cemetery, and having them both start out with 40 acres, that Masters' was clearly trying to draw a comparison between the two men. We felt that this made it an excellent candidate for one of the clusters because a) one of the spirits was not at peace, and b) the student could solve the 'problem' with a little bit of critical thinking about the two poems. We wanted the students to have to ask themselves, what does make a person happy? Is it material things? Is it experiences? We set up the problem by having Potter's ghost telling the player to 'bring me something that will make me happy, and put it here on my headstone'. Since there are dozens of objects in the game, the student is going to have to use a bit of critical thought. Potter's epitaph makes reference to pie and cigars, so we thought that by making those things available as well, a student would be forced to really think about the riddle. In the game, Jones is placed next to Potter, just as in the text. It is our hope that the student would see the similarities, understand that it is not pie or cigars that Potter wants, rather he needs the intangible goods that Jones' fiddle brought to its owner. Potter needed to think about other things rather than just his farm, money, and gain. By bringing the fiddle to the gravesite of Cooney Potter, the students demonstrate that they may understand the message Masters was trying to send.
Fletcher McGee (4) The McGees provided another cluster where Masters originally paired the epitaphs. In each of their epitaphs they talk about how the other was cruel and sapped the life out of them. Therefore our instructional goal was to have the learner identify that the pair caused each other more pain now, than joy when they were newlyweds. Translating this into a puzzle allowed us the creative freedom to envision a scenario whereby a more youthful Fletcher had carved their initials into a tree. From a game playing perspective, the students cannot solve this puzzle without exploring the environment. Once the learners explore the forest and the tree in the forest, they should have enough understanding of Fletcher’s tribulations to know that the initials, OM and FM, on the tree have something to do with his finding peace. While the initials on the tree are not an element of either epitaph, several lines from each epitaph hint at a possible solution to his ghoulish limbo:
11 And then she died and haunted me, And hunted me for life
But what think you gnaws at my husband’s heart? The face of what I was, the face of what he made me! These are driving him to the place where I lie.
We wanted the students to understand that he still viewed her as the youthful woman he fell in love with, and that for him to find peace he had to change some aspect of their relationship. In this case, the solution is counter to the pop-culture “kiss and make-up” mentality. For the students to help Fletcher find peace, they must separate the bond that in death keeps him focused on her – his youthful love for an image of her that no longer exists. This is done through the removal of the initials he carved many years earlier. Fletcher’s Ghost, the only non-player character associated with this cluster provides additional assistance with the elements of this challenge that are absent in the actual epitaphs. He does so by mentioning, “I just wish I could be rid of her.” and, “She was so beautiful when I first carved our initials in that old oak tree beside the river.”
GENERAL LESSONS LEARNED One of the problems we first realized became evident after we received feedback from the other team, and from our instructor. On the first cluster, we focused on making sure that it worked. After we could solve the riddle, we felt that it was 'complete'. What we didn't realize was that once we allowed for people to pick up objects, they might want to use those objects in ways that we didn't intend. We must allow for all the player possibilities, not just the ones we wanted students to perform. We also found that when we became descriptive, we had to back that description up in the code. We couldn't say, “There are some lovely flowers here”, and not create an object called flowers, because the reader may try to pick them, may try to step on them, may try to smell them, or examine them more closely. It became quite challenging to try to predict what players would try to do, and create code that would support that. We found that it became a balancing act between being descriptive, but not so much so that we had hundreds of objects that were basically irrelevant to the game. We also had to not include actual objects in the descriptive elements of other objects. The problem in these cases is that as soon as the player picks up an object that is mentioned in a different object either (a) our initial description is incorrect, or (b) possible subsequent descriptions have to be accounted for. For example, if our description of a bookshelf was “a layer of dust covers a single bookend and a journal” and the journal and bookend were objects that could be removed, then we would have to create three additional descriptions: one if the bookend was taken, one if the journal was taken, and one if both objects were taken. The easier solution was simply not mention takeable objects in another object’s description.
12 SCENARIOS Scenario #1 (a.k.a. Play then Read) Initially a teacher may introduce the basic premise of the SRA text. The teacher should then group the students, two to three students per computer, and allow them time to play. Based on current testing, learners should be given approximately three hours to solve the eight problems. A period of debrief should be used after the three hours of play. During this debrief the teacher should guide the students in a retrospective analysis of the problems and relationships of the Spoon River characters in the game. This should then be followed by reading and discussion of other Spoon River characters in the text.
Scenario #2 (a.k.a. Read then Play) Students should be given the game-related epitaphs to read prior to ever being introduced to the game. The teacher should lead a discussion on the relationships and problems that occur between these characters. Then the students should be grouped, two to three per computer, to explore the game. The students should have approximately three hours to explore and solve the problems, and then brought back together for a debrief. During the debrief the students should be guided in a discussion of how the characters in the game were consistent or divergent from the characters in the text.
EVALUATION Beta Testing The beta testing of the first cluster provided key insights for the rest of the development process in terms of coding practices. For example, we discovered that we had to create scenery objects for everything in the descriptions of the locations. This guided us to balancing rich description with ease in coding so that objects mentioned in the rich descriptions were enough for interest, but not so much that coding every object became a nightmare. Subsequent testing revealed minor changes to integrate in the next versions. See specific feedback for each cluster in Appendix G.
Introduction to Users During the initial evaluation, we will divide the test subjects into two groups. Each group will be assigned one of the two scenarios. A qualitative examination will then be done on the transcripts and videotaped debrief from both groups.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS Master Game One alternative for future development is an all-inclusive graveyard. This would encompass the learners having access to all the epitaphs and puzzles concurrently.
13 Linear Game A second alternative is a linear game whereby learners are presented a sub-set of epitaphs to solve. Once they solve those epitaphs in the sub-set, a new section of the game opens up, and they are allowed to progress into a new sub-set.
Volumes A third alternative is a serial style game. Where students would play a set of clusters as a separate and complete game. The entire cemetery could be represented in these separate games. You would have VOSR I, VOSR II, VOSR III, and so forth. If you averaged 15-20 epitaphs per game, you would end up with 12 volumes of SRA games.
Assessment Activities The inclusion of assessment activities would allow easy use for classroom teachers. Debriefing questions could be developed for classroom or one-on-one instruction. Possible writing assignments could also be listed such as writing epitaphs and reflections about the student’s experience. Reflective questions on worksheets could also help teachers assess student learning.
Enhanced Support Several alternatives to the implemented hint system were discussed. These included a method for students to take notes in a ‘notebook’, an additional ghost to provide overarching guidance, and a more adaptive hint system. If a ‘notebook’ type system was implemented, the assessment activities could also be completed in the game environment.
Reduced In-Game Assistance Concerns have been expressed about the amount and degree of puzzle support. Therefore one future direction could be to make the puzzles more challenging through the removal of some in-game assistance.
Accessible/iPod version Currently, the format of the Inform language and Z-engines limit the game to a full computer system (e.g. PC, Mac, Linux, etc.), one future direction would be to extend Inform so that the game could understand voice commands and vocalize the system text. Such an extension would benefit individuals with accessibility needs as well as further the technological reach.
14 APPENDIX A: THE GAME ENVIRONMENT
OVERVIEW The game world consists of several locations that make up the graveyard of Spoon River, and parts of the surrounding town. The game is not based on any historically accurate map of the Spoon River area. The game world is entirely built from our own imagination and design.
THE PHYSICAL WORLD Overview The physical world consists of areas and artifacts. Areas are linked to other areas, and artifacts reside within those areas. Some objects can be picked up, used, or manipulated. Other objects are static, and serve only as scenery. We have attempted to make the artifacts act as they would in the real world, with characteristics that would allow the students to immerse themselves in the Spoon River world.
Key Locations Key locations in the game include:
1. Fountain – The player starts here, and it sits in about the center of the graveyard. The player also returns to the fountain once the game is over, to get a clue to opening up another section of the game.
2. Shed – many useful items needed to solve the puzzles are contained within a shed, found in the north-west corner of the graveyard.
3. Landfill – Here a player will find two objects needed to solve two separate puzzles
4. Grove – The grove is another location a player must visit to solve one of the puzzles.
5. Store – Another location where a critical piece of the puzzle is located.
6. Grave sites and epitaphs – There are several grave sites where ghosts explain the problem, and students get clues as to what issues need to be resolved.
Travel Players travel between locations by typing in compass directions. We have no supernatural travel such as teleporting, or shortcuts to different areas in the board. Once the game is complete, a student can open up a bridge to a separate section of the graveyard, but it is still reached by typing in compass directions.
Artifacts Most crucial to the game are the epitaphs, located on the headstones in each cemetery plot, and the artifacts used to solve the puzzle. There are 'red herring' objects, but even these serve to force the student to critically think about Masters' work.
15 See Appendix E” for a complete list of all the objects found in the world.
GAME ENGINE Overview From the Frotz homepage (http://www.cs.csubak.edu/~dgriffi/proj/frotz/) Frotz is an interpreter for Infocom games and other Z-machine games. It complies with standard 1.0 of Graham Nelson's specification. It was written by Stefan Jokisch in 1995-1997. It was ported to Unix by Galen Hazelwood. Currently the Unix port is being developed and maintained by David Griffith. The Unix port is also the canonical core version upon which all other ports are based.
Features ~ Compiles and runs without changes on most common flavors of Unix, both open source and not. This includes MacOS X. ~ Portable to many other operating systems and hardware. ~ Plays all Z-code games including V6. ~ Old-style sound support through OSS driver. ~ Config files. ~ User-configurable error-checking. ~ Optional dumb interface. ~ Default use of the Quetzal save file format. Command line option to use the old format. ~ Distributed under the GNU General Public License.
16 APPENDIX B: EVOLUTION OF WORLD MAPS
INITIAL DESIGN MAP
NORTH CEMETERY FINAL WORLD MAP
17 INITIAL COMBINATION OF NORTH AND SOUTH CEMETERIES
18 APPENDIX C: CLUSTER MATRIX
Characters Locations Artifacts Resolution Rel. Activities Learning Obj.
- Mrs. Sibley Sibley's Headstone Shovel 'Secret' is dug up Find the tool shed and Student will have to reflect (both Amos and Mrs.) and buried next to obtain the shovel what the 'secret' is. - 'her secret' 'Secret' Mrs. Sibley Tool shed Dig up bundle - Editor Whedon Freshly Dug Grave Editor Whedon (with Bury bundle - Amos Sibley mound) 3 epitaphs - Ollie McGee - McGee’s gravestones - Hatchet Tree is found and Characters Walk through Student will have to reflect chopped complaining (use their on the interaction between - Fletcher McGee - The Love Tree - Love Tree epitaph), and then you these two people. can find their grave and - Tool Shed read their headstone in its entirety. - Carl Hamblin - Carl Hamblin’s grave - Plaque Plaque is placed Find the plaque in the Students will sense the on Hamblin’s printing press and the importance of the message. - Dump (printing press - Screws and gravestone, his screwdriver and screws They will realize that this is there) screwdriver in tool message lives on. in the tool shed. man was tarred and shed feathered, and the plaque - Tool Shed was stolen in an attempt to silence the message. Cooney Potter Potter Plot Cigars Fiddle is placed Students will explore Students will have to ask on Potter’s and find different things themselves, “What is Fiddler Jones Jones Plot Apple pie headstone. to put on headstone. Masters saying about happiness?” What makes a Store Fiddle person happy? garbage
19 APPENDIX D: GAME CHARACTERS
OVERVIEW Player Character. This is the player. He begins his journey while walking through a quiet graveyard at night. His curiosity and desire to help others leads him to explore the graveyard in search of clues and ghosts. Fiddler Jones. A kindly man who started his adult life with 40 acres, ended with 40 acres, and discovered the meaning of true happiness along the way. He was a fiddler who played for anyone who requested his skills. Cooney Potter. A distraught, hard-working man who started his adult life with 40 acres, ended with thousands of acres, but failed to find true happiness. Carl Hamblin. A journalist who wrote an article about the corrupt aspect of justice for which he was tarred and feathered. Ollie and Fletcher McGee. A couple who find hostility and dissatisfaction in their relationship while apart seem pleasant and happy. Editor Whedon. A newspaperman who seems to know much about the citizens of Spoon River. His riddle-like clues reflect his style of writing Mrs. Sibley. A sad woman who spent life in adultery, bringing shame and sorrow to her husband. She now longs for the innocence of what was lost. Amos Sibley. Husband to Mrs. Sibley and a quiet, mournful character.
CREATING A CHARACTER Edgar Lee Masters originally created the characters. We took liberty in interpreting the epitaphs of the characters to create their ghostly counterparts. However, we tried to stay as true as possible to the descriptions in the original text.
20 APPENDIX E: ARTIFACTS Brass and Iron Keys (outside shed & fountain) – These appear to be red herrings since they don’t actual open any locks in the game. In fact, they are the keys to our easter egg. Bobbie pin (store) – The bobbie pin is part of the non-epitaph puzzles. It can be used to pick locks. Hatchet (shed) – The hatchet is used to remove the tie that binds Fletcher McGee to the wife he no longer loves. Printing press (south landfill) – The printing press that did not share the truth during Carl Hamblin’s life, hides the plaque that will share the truth and allow him to find peace in death. Plaque (south landfill) – Buried under the printing press, the plaque is the truth that Carl Hamblin was prevented from sharing in life. Screws and Screwdriver (shed) – The screws and screwdrivers are necessary to attach the plaque to Carl’s headstone Mound (north landfill) – This is where Mrs. Sibley’s secret lays, waiting to be moved so that she can find peace. Shovel (shed) – The shovel is needed to unbury Mrs. Sibley’s secret. Pie, cigars, and coins (store and fountain) – These are nothing more than red herrings. They are items that Cooney Potter enjoyed during life, but which prevented his finding peace in death. Fiddle (store – garbage can) – This appears with the previous items. This item is in fact what will help Cooney find peace in death.
21 APPENDIX F: DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENTS
WINDOWS
MAC OS X
22 APPENDIX G: DESIGN HISTORY This is a brief explanation of the history of the design and code.
CLUSTER 1 VERSION HISTORY
Individuals Locations Artifacts Resolution Learning Activity Cooney Store apple pie Fiddle is Identify that Fiddler Jones was Potter Fountain cupboard placed on not obsessed with material (59) Plots: shelves Cooney things and found peace through Fiddler Cooney cigar box Potter's playing his fiddle. Jones (60 Potter garbage tombstone Furthermore, identify that plot (59) trashcan Cooney Potter was unable to Fiddler stove find peace during his life Jones small iron key because of his material plot (60) coins obsessions. By placing the statue fiddle on Cooney Potter's Cooney Potter's grave, the learner provides him Ghost a chance at the peace that Fiddler Jones had. Date of readiness: 11/5/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster1V3.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster1V3.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: We’ve made a few changes. A couple suggestions from last time are still on the working canvas. Play it more and see what you can find. Updated Classes and Scoring information: ‘gravesite’ needs to be added to the possible names of the Plot class. Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... -once the pie was placed on the gravesite, it disappears (a bit of a shock, you'd expect it to still be there) -after you take the garbage and the pie, the room description still includes them in the store -the box of cigars (and cigars in the box) really seem to only cause confusion. Do you really need cigars in the box if it's just a red herring anyway? Seems to just cause programming problems... -the description after you place the fiddle on the grave says he looks "West" which isn't the right direction, and shouldn't be capitalized Can't examine statue Can't examine fountain
23 can't examine coins (either add descriptions or make them scenery) Can't put anything in the fountain Going north from the fountain puts you at Cooney potter's gravesite, but going back south takes you to the store (instead of back to the fountain) Inside the cigar box is “some cigar”, should be “some cigars” You can take the stove! Should be static Put the fiddle on the Fiddler Jones’ gravesite and received no feedback. The same thing happened with the cigars and key. It would be nice if it said something to help me realize that these items should go somewhere else. Came back to Cooney Potter’s gravesite after the resolution, and his spirit came up again. It also wouldn’t let me put the cigars on the gravesite. It said, “You can’t see any such thing.” 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... “nickles” should be spelled “nickels” I don't know what directions I can go in. It would be helpful to have in the description where I can go, especially in the fountain location. I had no idea where I could go. Also, in that section, notice “The store is has . . .” Get rid of the “is.” At the end of that section, there is an extra line break (>). That should also be fixed. Make cigars plural using attributes. When I returned to Fiddler Jones’ tombstone, I got a “You can see a headstone (on which are a cigar box (in which are some cigar) and a fiddle) here.” 3.Difficulty level of resolution... Good game so far; fun to play! -like the comments from the other team, I think the "solution" to this problem needs to be more intuitive than placing the fiddle on the grave somehow. An idea is that you must take it to Fiddler Jones first, and he gives hints on where it should go. Another idea is to have Jones fix the fiddle, say "who needs it more" and then maybe give it to him. 4.Suggested improvements... If the pie has been placed on potter's headstone, every time you examine it, the ghost screams the message again. I think this should only happen the first time you place the pie on it Jared’s additional comments on descriptions: As a general rule, use one space after a period. Two spaces after a period was used back in the days of type-writers to avoid confusion with a comma. Because of technology, that rule has been deprecated and only one space is needed. In the “The store is has been long deserted
24 . . .” section, the last sentence has one space before it. All the others have two spaces. The Cooney Potter section has the same problem. In the “It looks like a box of cigars; New Jersey cigars,” get rid of the semicolon and make it a comma. What’s the significance of New Jersey cigars here? As another general comment, make rich descriptions meaningful. Were these Red Eagle cigars? As a player, I’m trying to figure out why you included each detail. Why do I need to know that both gravesites here are well taken care of? A large and ornate headstone resting on the ground doesn’t sound right. (there’s a similar description with the other headstone, just that it’s a “small plain headstone” that “sits on the ground”). My first thought was that it was lying face down. Also, the sentence, “This looks like Cooney Potter’s Headstone” doesn’t seem necessary there. If you want to keep it, include his name in the previous sentence. The same thing happens with Fiddler Jones’ Gravesite. You have some nice connections and descriptions. I like that there is apple pie and cigars included in the game from Cooney Potter’s epitaph. Keep thinking about enriching your narrative and descriptions. Maybe after eating the apple pie, you could put something more like: “That home baked pie took the edge off your hunger. Still, you don’t think that a slice of pie would bring lasting satisfaction.” Also, having Cooney Potter say, “I only want to be happy” doesn’t seem compelling enough to me. Here’s an example of more enriched description: “The soul should not be a tractor using the body to plow. No, such pursuits that made up my living only worried my brow with furrows. All this getting left no joy for me. Now, I seek a hobby, something I could share with others. Help me find happiness so I can rest.” Another example: “ Like a coffee grinder, hard labor ground me to dust. Sure, my toil reaped a harvest, expanding father’s farm from fourty to a thousand acres; but it left me withered. This work did not brew joy I could drink deep.” In writing this description, I didn’t mean to make the resolution too obvious. At present, I wonder if someone would figure out putting the fiddle on the headstone. This doesn’t seem like a clear course of action that directly follows from the clues to me. I think the only way I figured this out was since I had heard Marion and Jen talk about this solution. Anyway, hope my comments don’t sound too harsh. I enjoyed playing! Date of readiness: 11/5/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster1V3.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster1V3.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: We’ve made a few changes. A couple suggestions from last time are still on the working canvas. Play it more and see what you can find. Updated Classes and Scoring information: ‘gravesite’ needs to be added to the possible names of the Plot class.
25 Beta Tester Comments: Nov. 10: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work...
It would be nice to be able to refer to the trashcan as 'garbage can' as well
Can't x nickels, pennies worked though
When I tried to x the cigars, it referred to the box instead every time.
Can't examine statue
Can't examine fountain
can't examine coins (either add descriptions or make them scenery)
Can't put anything in the fountain
Going north from the fountain puts you at Cooney potter's gravesite, but going back south takes you to the store (instead of back to the fountain)
Inside the cigar box is “some cigar”, should be “some cigars”
You can take the stove! Should be static
Put the fiddle on the Fiddler Jones’ gravesite and received no feedback.
The same thing happened with the cigars and key. It would be nice if it said something to help me realize that these items should go somewhere else.
Came back to Cooney Potter’s gravesite after the resolution, and his spirit came up again.
It also wouldn’t let me put the cigars on the gravesite. It said, “You can’t see any such thing.”
Can't put anything in the fountain
It also wouldn’t let me put the cigars on the gravesite. It said, “You can’t see any such thing.” 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... “nickles” should be spelled “nickels” I don't know what directions I can go in. It would be helpful to have in the description where I can go, especially in the fountain location. I had no idea where I could go. Also, in that section, notice “The store is has . . .” Get rid of the “is.” At the end of that section, there is an extra line break (>). That should also be fixed.
26 Make cigars plural using attributes. When I returned to Fiddler Jones’ tombstone, I got a “You can see a headstone (on which are a cigar box (in which are some cigar) and a fiddle) here.” Also, in, "It looks like a box of cigars; Red Eagle cigars." change semicolon to a comma. In: “The store has been long deserted, but a few items can be found, here and there.” take out the comma before here and there. In, “This is bound to get you into somewhere sweet!" it is unclear what “this” refers to. You should add “key” or some clarifier. In, “What kind of person goes about stealing other people's wishes!” exclamation point should probably be a question mark. Same issue with Cooney Potter’s ghost and “What is this!” In, “After a brief pause, the screaming continues once again, it seems like it's even louder.” added the word “but” after the comma, change the comma to a semicolon, or start a new sentence after “once again.” I changed “poeple” in, “Some poeple started out with the same things I did in life,” to “people.” In, “Have you ever tried to eat pie when you are dead?” I changed it to “you’re” to keep it consistent with the rest of the writing. “To the South” should not have “south” capitalized. What are “beeves”? I know that it’s in the original Masters’ epitaph, but I didn’t know what it was and neither would a high school student. “An errie voice” should be spelled “eerie.” I changed it in attached in_ file. In, “I ended up with a broken fiddle?” change the “?” to a double hyphen (since we can’t do en dashes). 3.Difficulty level of resolution... Good game so far; fun to play! 4.Suggested improvements... If the pie has been placed on potter's headstone, every time you examine it, the ghost screams the message again. I think this should only happen the first time you place the pie on it. I would do something more with incorporating Fiddler Jones’ opening epitaph lines. He says that “the earth keeps some vibration going there in your heart . . .” You could have resolutions not resonate or something like that. You could say: “My heart has found that rhythm that brings happiness.” Tie back to the poetic images and devices. Jared reiterates his comment about two spaces after a period. I guess there are different opinions on this. Look at this link:
27 http://www.ellsworthpublishing.com/forums/viewtopic.php? p=60&sid=e2e84ed430255bfa3aa7496c261710a7 APA (as well as AP, Chicago, and MLA) rules dictate one, not two spaces. This is going to drive me nuts, and I’ll continue to disagree. If the pie has been placed on potter's headstone, every time you examine it, the ghost screams the message again. I think this should only happen the first time you place the pie on it. There are some improvements here, but keep working on descriptions (see previous comments below from Jared). Especially look at the voice used in each individual epitaph and try to match it. For example, if metaphorical, metaphorical descriptions like those written below might fit better. If not, probably don’t use as many similes and metaphors. Look at complexity of language as revealing a speaker’s level of education. These comments apply especially when having ghosts speak because we’re assuming the personae of the character. The character needs to sound consistent with the way the epitaph is written.
CLUSTER 2 VERSION HISTORY
Individuals Locations Artifacts Resolution Learning Activity Ollie McGee (3) Outside tool shed small brass key Tree is found and Learner will Fletcher McGee Inside tool shed tool shed door the initials are identify that (4) Grove of trees tree hacked the Ollie and Grove of Trees initials out/destroyed Fletcher McGee Ollie plot bobbie pin McGee's ties (3) Ollie McGee's need to be McGee Fletcher Ghost destroyed. Plot(4) Fletcher McGee's Ghost Date of readiness: 11/5/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: Help the spirits find rest. The suggestions we received are listed below. They are fixed. Play with it more and let us know what you can find. Updated Classes and Scoring information: We have a couple of extended verbs, but they don’t currently work. Extend 'pick' * noun -> Unlock; Extend 'listen'
28 * 'to' creature -> Talk; Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... If you try to take the “brass key”, it doesn't work, only “key” is recognized “bobbie pin” also doesn't work, only “pin” I can attack the initials repeatedly 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... In Fletcher Mcgee's website, I didn't know if there was a tombstone or not because it wasn't explicitly in the description, I just guessed It might be nice to have the way out listed in the tool shed direction, i.e. “The exit is to the west” 3.Difficulty level of resolution... I like the fact that examining “trees” gives you a clue to examine a “tree” (single) I liked the guidance on not trying to chop down the entire tree 4.Suggested improvements... Date of readiness: 11/5/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: Help the spirits find rest. The suggestions we received are listed below. They are fixed. Play with it more and let us know what you can find. Updated Classes and Scoring information: We have an extended verb that doesn’t currently work. Extend 'listen' * 'to' creature -> Talk; Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... If you try to take the “brass key”, it doesn't work, only “key” is recognized
29 “bobbie pin” also doesn't work, only “pin” I can attack the initials repeatedly You can’t put the bobbie pin in your hair. Maybe change that description so game players won’t think to try that. Pick lock programming error 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... Once the shed door is open, it seems a bit awkward to keep saying that “the shed door is the only thing keeping you from all sorts of handy tools” in the location description. Outside the toolshed, when I typed “x shed” it defaulted to the shed door. Perhaps that could just <
30 In, “You would need a key, or something with which to pick the lock.” there’s no need for a comma. “Small skinny pointy things” needs commas between all those words in the series. I rewrote this a bit to add to the romance of the scene: “"Standing in a lovely grove of trees, the trees rustle in the light breeze. A foam flecked river runs to the east.” You also call the trees “lovely” a couple times. Keep working on your descriptions. “Whoa there…” doesn’t seem like the right punctuation. It would be better as, “Whoa there!” If you want to keep the ellipsis, the general rule currently in use is: Use three dots with a space before, between, and after each. 3.Difficulty level of resolution... Nice that you can type “chop oak” I like the fact that examining “trees” gives you a clue to examine a “tree” (single) I liked the guidance on not trying to chop down the entire tree 4.Suggested improvements... At the point of resolution, I would try to link back to the epitaph. For example: “That worrisome sculptor mentioned in the epitaph, conflict between spouses, has been cut away.” Also, when the ghosts first appear, I think it would help to have another clue. For example, you could put: “Some remnant in the forest still binds us together. That bond must be severed.” – Added to the editor’s clues in another cluster. Does a ghost walk toward you? -Yes Last talk to ghost doesn’t make sense. Tortured enslaving any further desire to converse. Say what? After examining the headstone shouldn’t it tell me that it’s Fletcher’s gravesite? After getting into the shed the description still tells me that the door is blocking my way. Can’t examine tombstone. Only headstone. Date of readiness: 11/5/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster2V3.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: Help the spirits find rest. The suggestions we received are listed below. They are fixed. Play with it more and let us know what you can find. Updated Classes and Scoring information: We have an extended verb that doesn’t currently work. Extend 'listen'
31 * 'to' creature -> Talk; Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... If you try to take the “brass key”, it doesn't work, only “key” is recognized “bobbie pin” also doesn't work, only “pin” I can attack the initials repeatedly You can’t put the bobbie pin in your hair. Maybe change that description so game players won’t think to try that. Pick lock programming error 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... Once the shed door is open, it seems a bit awkward to keep saying that “the shed door is the only thing keeping you from all sorts of handy tools” in the location description. Outside the toolshed, when I typed “x shed” it defaulted to the shed door. Perhaps that could just <
32 Right now, you say, “Fletcher closes his eyes, the depression of a tortured enslaving any further desire to converse.” A “tortured” what? In your code, I put “existence,” but I’m not sure if that’s what you want. Fletcher’s epitaph is very metaphor heavy. You could use that somehow in teaching literary terms. With the rickety shed, you have “keep” and “keeping” used in close succession. I changed the first “keep” to “stop” for variety. In, “You would need a key, or something with which to pick the lock.” there’s no need for a comma. “Small skinny pointy things” needs commas between all those words in the series. I rewrote this a bit to add to the romance of the scene: “"Standing in a lovely grove of trees, the trees rustle in the light breeze. A foam flecked river runs to the east.” You also call the trees “lovely” a couple times. Keep working on your descriptions. “Whoa there…” doesn’t seem like the right punctuation. It would be better as, “Whoa there!” If you want to keep the ellipsis, the general rule currently in use is: Use three dots with a space before, between, and after each. 3.Difficulty level of resolution... Nice that you can type “chop oak” I like the fact that examining “trees” gives you a clue to examine a “tree” (single) I liked the guidance on not trying to chop down the entire tree 4.Suggested improvements... At the point of resolution, I would try to link back to the epitaph. For example: “That worrisome sculptor mentioned in the epitaph, conflict between spouses, has been cut away.” Also, when the ghosts first appear, I think it would help to have another clue. For example, you could put: “Some remnant in the forest still binds us together. That bond must be severed.” – Added to the editor’s clues in another cluster. Does a ghost walk toward you? -Yes Last talk to ghost doesn’t make sense. Tortured enslaving any further desire to converse. Say what? After examining the headstone shouldn’t it tell me that it’s Fletcher’s gravesite? After getting into the shed the description still tells me that the door is blocking my way. Can’t examine tombstone. Only headstone.
CLUSTER 3 VERSION HISTORY
Individuals Locations Artifacts Resolution Learning Activity Carl Tool Shed screws plaque with Learners will identify that Hamblin Riverside screwdriver missing potion Carl Hamblin is not at rest
33 () Landfill plaque of epitaoh is due to his message being Editor Carl Hamblin printing press attached to Carl silenced. By placing the Whedon Plot Hamblin ghost Hamblin's plaque on his headstone, () Editor Whedon ghost headstone learners give him is voice Whedon and can read his message. Plot
Date of readiness: 11/12/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster3V1.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster3V1.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: Your task will be to help a ghost find resolution. The tool shed is not created in this cluster, though the screw and screwdriver will be found there. The river, though described in this section, is not created. Updated Classes, Verbs, and Scoring information: We have extended a verb. Extend 'screw' * noun 'to'/'on'/'in'/'into'/'onto' noun -> PutOn; Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) Things that didn’t work... . Nothing happens when put plaque on headstone . “Ghost” in “Ghost of Carl Hamblin” should be lowercase. Also, we need to agree on a convention. Are we putting the first few words in every epitaph all in upper case? (Not if it’s part of the title of the proper noun. We want to leave as is. . I couldn’t examine Editor Whedon’s newspaper. . Why does the tombstone have light but I can’t see the plaque elsewhere? Maybe you need a lantern or something if it’s going to be dark. . Should be Carl Hamblin’s gravesite, not “Hambin” . I couldn’t figure out how to screw on the plaque using the screws or screwdriver. I put the plaque and that did it. . I like the printing press in the garbage dump. That connects to the poem well. . I still don’t think that “Remember,” from Carl Hamblin’s ghost says enough. It’s good in the sense that you don’t want to be too pedantic and preachy. My recommendation would be something like, “Justice in Spoon River still has some blind spots, but you cured my issue.”
34 . The second time I talked with Whedon’s ghost there are only one set of quotes. . Same on the third time. . I can take the press and walk around with it. . You can’t ‘lift’ the press. (player is strong!!) . After moving the press and taking the plaque, when I x the press, it still says there is something shiny under it . I was able to screw on the plaque even without the screws (nice guidance by the way on placing the plaque on the frame) . When I examined the tombstone to read the epitaph after putting the plaque on, it says the epitaph continues below on the plaque, but there is no text there Wordings/situations lacking clarity... . If you are to examine the headstone before you know who is there why do you tell the player who the ghost is off the bat? . I don’t know where to go after I’m in the dump. Where do I go? . The light at the headstone is still weird to me. How many headstones have light? . Ghost of Whedon: “The my last line refers to the last line from the epitaph...” (Seems like a typo?) . “ A hint was all I needed to print allowing the public to discover the meaning for themselves. I shall do the same for you” Change wording, i.e “A hint was all I needed to print, which allowed the public...” or something like that Difficulty level of resolution... Not quite sure how the ghost of Editor Wheaton relates to Carl Hamblin. Did Weadon hide the plaque? How did he know where it is? Suggested improvements... . Don’t push the press as many times . make press static . Fix grammar . Whedon Date of readiness: 11/12/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster3V1.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster3V1.inf
Updated Lead-in Instructions:
35 Your task will be to help a ghost find resolution. The tool shed is not created in this cluster, though the screw and screwdriver will be found there. The river, though described in this section, is not created. Updated Classes, Verbs, and Scoring information: We have extended a verb. Extend 'screw' * noun 'to'/'on'/'in'/'into'/'onto' noun -> PutOn; Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) Things that didn’t work... . Nothing happens when put plaque on headstone . “Ghost” in “Ghost of Carl Hamblin” should be lowercase. Also, we need to agree on a convention. Are we putting the first few words in every epitaph all in upper case? (Not if it’s part of the title of the proper noun. We want to leave as is. . I couldn’t examine Editor Whedon’s newspaper. . Why does the tombstone have light but I can’t see the plaque elsewhere? Maybe you need a lantern or something if it’s going to be dark. (The purpose of not being able to read it until it is on the tombstone is so that it builds suspense for the player. We did this on purpose. It is not a glitch we want to fix. . Should be Carl Hamblin’s gravesite, not “Hambin” . I couldn’t figure out how to screw on the plaque using the screws or screwdriver. I put the plaque and that did it. . I like the printing press in the garbage dump. That connects to the poem well. . I still don’t think that “Remember,” from Carl Hamblin’s ghost says enough. It’s good in the sense that you don’t want to be too pedantic and preachy. My recommendation would be something like, “Justice in Spoon River still has some blind spots, but you cured my issue.” . The second time I talked with Whedon’s ghost there are only one set of quotes. . Same on the third time. . I can take the press and walk around with it. . You can’t ‘lift’ the press. (player is strong!!) . After moving the press and taking the plaque, when I x the press, it still says there is something shiny under it . I was able to screw on the plaque even without the screws (nice guidance by the way on placing the plaque on the frame)
36 . When I examined the tombstone to read the epitaph after putting the plaque on, it says the epitaph continues below on the plaque, but there is no text there Wordings/situations lacking clarity... . If you are to examine the headstone before you know who is there why do you tell the player who the ghost is off the bat? . I don’t know where to go after I’m in the dump. Where do I go? . The light at the headstone is still weird to me. How many headstones have light? . Ghost of Whedon: “The my last line refers to the last line from the epitaph...” (Seems like a typo?) . “ A hint was all I needed to print allowing the public to discover the meaning for themselves. I shall do the same for you” Change wording, i.e “A hint was all I needed to print, which allowed the public...” or something like that Difficulty level of resolution... 1. Not quite sure how the ghost of Editor Wheaton relates to Carl Hamblin. Did Weadon hide the plaque? How did he know where it is? (I don’t think we have to make this distinction because Masters didn’t. The connection simply is their professions. Besides, Whedon was a newsman and knew a lot about a lot of things. That’s why he is one who gives clues. Suggested improvements... . Don’t push the press as many times . make press static . Fix grammar . Whedon
CLUSTER 4 VERSION HISTORY
Individuals Locations Artifacts Resolution Learning Activity Amos Sibley plots of Amos hole bury coffin of students recognize Mrs. Sibley Sibley & tiny coffin aborted infant repetition Editor Whedon Mrs. Sibley shovel by Mrs. Sibley students recognize (located in landfill mound connections between another cluster) characters Date of readiness: 11/12/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster4V2.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster4V2.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions:
37 Everything should work properly. The landfill will contain other items when we integrate the clusters. Right now you can put other things in the grave, but we intend to intercept that command. Updated Classes and Scoring information: none Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... . After I took the coffin I looked around and the description is still the same. It tells me that there is a mound there. . Typing “smell” worked at the landfill, but “smell stench” said you can't see any such thing . I can dig repeatedly at the landfill to drive up points. . The description at the landfill still said I saw a mound of dirt . After digging the mound, I typed “look in mound” and it said the mound was closed. I think the mound should have open after digging, and maybe you could intercept the message as well . After I got the coffin, I typed “show ghost coffin” and it said “the ghost of Mrs Sibley seems unimpressed” 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... . Her sunken eye? . Talk to ghost: looking is misspelled . Where do I go after I have the coffin? No directions. . When I smelled at the landfill it said “deepy” instead of “deeply”. Also, maybe say “it was not a good idea” instead of “that was not a good idea” . I wasn't sure how Amos fit in. After I read the epitaph, I didn't know what the point was. 3.Difficulty level of resolution... . It’s pretty easy to solve. Did you mean it to be that easy? . The epitaph says that the secret is “under a mound that you shall never find” Maybe it is too obvious as it stands now? Maybe the mound could be hidden under some trash or something like that? 4.Suggested improvements... . Somehow tie in Amos more to the situation.
38 . Maybe not have the ghost of Mrs. Sibley give so much away in her dialogue, i.e. Not mention the burying of the baby. Hard to say though, it's tricky to balance the complexity Date of readiness: 11/12/05 Z-File name: TeamBCluster4V2.z5 INF-File name: TeamBCluster4V2.inf Updated Lead-in Instructions: Everything should work properly. The landfill will contain other items when we integrate the clusters. Right now you can put other things in the grave, but we intend to intercept that command. Updated Classes and Scoring information: none Beta Tester Comments: (Fixed items are highlighted in yellow) 1.Things that didn’t work... . After I took the coffin I looked around and the description is still the same. It tells me that there is a mound there. . Typing “smell” worked at the landfill, but “smell stench” said you can't see any such thing (Limits of Inform) . I can dig repeatedly at the landfill to drive up points. . The description at the landfill still said I saw a mound of dirt . After digging the mound, I typed “look in mound” and it said the mound was closed. I think the mound should have open after digging, and maybe you could intercept the message as well . After I got the coffin, I typed “show ghost coffin” and it said “the ghost of Mrs Sibley seems unimpressed” 2.Wordings/situations lacking clarity... . Her sunken eye? . Talk to ghost: looking is misspelled . Where do I go after I have the coffin? No directions. . When I smelled at the landfill it said “deepy” instead of “deeply”. Also, maybe say “it was not a good idea” instead of “that was not a good idea” . I wasn't sure how Amos fit in. After I read the epitaph, I didn't know what the point was. (Amos is her husband. It gives you an insight as what her poem means by referring to her adultery.)
39 3.Difficulty level of resolution... . It’s pretty easy to solve. Did you mean it to be that easy? Yes. . The epitaph says that the secret is “under a mound that you shall never find” Maybe it is too obvious as it stands now? Maybe the mound could be hidden under some trash or something like that? We thought of that, but decided due to the complexity all of them will have together to leave it like this. We can hide it later if need be. 4.Suggested improvements... . Somehow tie in Amos more to the situation. . Maybe not have the ghost of Mrs. Sibley give so much away in her dialogue, i.e. Not mention the burying of the baby. Hard to say though, it's tricky to balance the complexity. (Will take under consideration when we test all together for complexity.)
40 APPENDIX H: USER INTERFACES
OVERVIEW The interface is entirely textual. The player reads output of the environment’s descriptions and types in commands to interact with the environment. By moving north, south, east, or west, they can enter different locations to explore.
FROTZ USER INTERFACE FOR WINDOWS
41 ZOOM USER INTERFACE FOR MAC OS X
42 APPENDIX I: USER EXPERIENCE
OVERVIEW A student who plays Voices of Spoon River will have the opportunity to read several of Edgar Lee Masters' poems, found in Spoon River Anthology, and to be able to help many of the characters in the book who seemed to have unresolved problems in their life.
STORY We do not get too specific to the background of our story. We wanted to stay as close to the text as possible. We finally agreed to tell the character that they had a gift to see ghosts, and their mission was to help resolve issues of those who has passed on. From our introduction: “You see ghosts. It's kind of a gift. You don't know how or why you have this power, but you know that many of those who have left this life, live on. Some have found peace, others still search. Many of those who have left this life can only hope that someone like you is willing to help. That is why on this particular chilly night, when others are tucked away safely in their homes and beds, you are alone, in the middle of the Spoon River cemetery. “Armed with nothing more than wits and courage, it is your mission to find those souls who suffer, and show them the way to eternal rest. ... “
HOURS OF GAMEPLAY We expect a player, or group of players, would not be able to solve the four puzzles in the game in under an hour. We suspect playing a complete game would take an adept player or group of players anywhere from 1 to 3 hours.
VICTORY CONDITIONS A player achieves victory after they have resolved the four puzzles in the game. In three puzzles, the player must bring an item to the gravesite and either place it on the headstone, or bury it near the gravesite. In the final puzzle, a player must go to a location and destroy an artifact.
43 APPENDIX J: ABBREVIATED WALKTHROUGH >take key >s >take fiddle >take pin >n >n >n >put fiddle on stone >w >w >pick lock with pin >w >take all >e >take key >e >e >s >s >e >e >open gate >e >dig mound with shovel >s >move press >move press >n >n >n >chop initials >s >s >w >w >n >put coffin in hole >n >screw plaque on frame >s >s >e >e >n >n >throw iron key in river >throw brass key in river >e
44 APPENDIX K: DETAILED WALKTHROUGH
Spoon River Anthology Every cemetery has a plot, a series of secrets that some would prefer stayed buried.
On this particular chilly night, when others are tucked away safely in their homes and beds, you are enjoying a stroll, in the middle of the Spoon River Cemetery. As you walk past the fountain, you hear a very strange sound behind you. When you turn around your heart jumps and adrenaline rushes through your body as you catch a glimpse of movement. Were your eyes deceiving you? "Hello!" you yell into the moonlit shadows. The stillness rings into the night as you wait silently for a response. Is someone following you? To your horror the head of the statue in the middle of the fountain turns to look in your direction. After several moments of terrified silence, he begins to speak. "Welcome to the Spoon River Graveyard. I am Edgar Lee Masters. Walk carefully tonight as the spirits are restless. Ease their pain and you shall be rewarded." The statue mystically resumes its original form, and stillness echoes through the night once again.
Armed with nothing more than wits and courage, it is your mission to find those souls who suffer, and show them the way to eternal rest. When you have have no more issues to resolve, return here.
Near a fountain It seems a bit odd to see a large fountain in the middle of the cemetery, but here it stands. There is a statue of a man in the middle of the fountain, and it looks like people toss coins in the water for good luck. A store lies to the south. A gravesites are on the north, east, and west.
You can't help but notice that among the pennies and nickels in the fountain lies a small iron key.
>take key Taken.
>s
Store The store appears to have been deserted a long time, but a few items can be found, here and there. Shelves and cupboards cover the walls. An old stove sits in one corner. Dust covers the floor, and garbage lies here and there, despite the fact that there is a trashcan in one corner. The only exit to the store is north.
On the counter is an apple pie.
You can see a bobbie pin here.
>take fiddle Taken.
>take pin
45 Taken.
>n
Near a fountain
>n
A gravesite You are in the middle of the cemetery. At your feet is a grey headstone, weathered and crumbling with age. More plots are to the north, east, and west. The fountain is south.
>n
A gravesite Something is strange about this plot. As you walk up to the tombstone you can hear soft sobbing. A large and ornate tombstone is here. More gravesites lie to the east, west, and south.
>put fiddle on stone
Cooney stops crying for just a moment. He looks at the fiddle and asks, "What is this! I wanted something to make me happy and you bring me a broken fiddle?"
The spectre looks like he is going to start crying again, but then he pauses. He gazes off to the north.
"You know," the ghost finally says, "Old Fiddler Jones always seemed to be happy. I envied him, even though he only had his forty acres." The ghost glances at the fiddle. "I wonder if Fiddler Jones could fix this fiddle, and maybe teach me how to play."
The ghost stares at the fiddle for a moment, then slowly reaches out and touches it. Both the ghost and the fiddle fade away. Somewhere off in the distance, you hear a fiddle being played. It doesn't sound very good, but you think the spirit is at rest.
[Your score has just gone up by five points.]
[You have 3 issues left to resolve.]
>w
A gravesite As you enter this plot, you hear the faint hint of a ghostly fiddle playing a cheerful song. The music slowly fades.
This plot seems to be well taken care of. A small, plain headstone sits on the ground. To the south and east are more cemetery plots. An old tool shed is west.
>w
Outside tool shed
46 You are standing outside a tool shed in the northwest corner of the cemetery. The shed seems rickety, but it's strong enough to keep somebody from breaking in. The shed door is the only thing preventing you from all sorts of handy tools. You need to go west to get into the shed. You can go east to a gravesite.
There is a small brass key here.
>pick lock with pin Picking the lock with the bobbie pin was surprisingly easy. The door is now open you can go west into the shed.
>w inside tool shed You are now inside the tool shed. It's quite cozy and smells of grease and freshly cut grass. You can exit the shed to the east.
You can see a shovel, some screws, a screwdriver and a small hatchet here.
>take all shovel: Taken. screws: Taken. screwdriver: Taken. small hatchet: Taken.
>e
Outside tool shed
There is a small brass key here.
>take key (the small brass key) Taken.
>e
A gravesite
>e
A gravesite
>s
A gravesite
>s
Near a fountain
47 >e
A gravesite You are in the southeast corner of the cemetery. This gravesite, though a dump is through a gate to the east, is surprisingly clean and tidy. There is a large tombstone here. To the north is another gravesite. The fountain is west.
>e
Gate This is a gate that leads to the other side of the wall. The landfill is east. Gravesites are west.
The gate is closed. You need to open it to pass through.
>open gate You open the gate door.
>e
North Riverside Landfill You are standing in a landfill on the west bank of the river. The stench is nearly unbearable. The landfill continues to the south. A gate leading to the cemetery is to the west. A small path is north.
You notice a mound of dirt as if someone had buried something many years ago.
>dig mound with shovel You shovel for a while and uncover a tiny coffin. After a moment of contemplation, you lean over and gingerly pick it up. Surely you have come across it for a reason.
[Your score has just gone up by three points.]
[You have 3 issues left to resolve.]
>s
South Riverside Landfill You are standing in a landfill on the west bank of the river. The stench is nearly unbearable. The landfill continues to the north.
A large abandoned printing press in the middle of the dump catches your eye.
>move press You struggle to move the press a couple of inches. Exhausted, you take a short break. Perhaps you should try again.
>move press With one last shove, the pile of trash moves underfoot. The shift causes the printing press to fall to the side. You narrowly escape being buried by the collapse. The shiny object you saw before is now completely free. You notice it is a tarnished plaque.
48 You pick up the tarnished plaque.
[Your score has just gone up by three points.]
[You have 3 issues left to resolve.]
>n
North Riverside Landfill
>n
Path You are in the middle of a path along the west bank of the river. A nice grove of trees is north. To the south is a landfill.
>n
Grove of trees You are in a lovely grove of trees on the west bank of the river. The trees rustle softly in the breeze, and it's nice and quiet. It might be romantic if you weren't all by yourself. To the south is a small path.
>chop initials
You chop at the initials until there is nothing but hacked up wood, dripping with sap. From somewhere in the cemetery you hear a great rending sound. A bond has been broken this night. The ghost of Ollie appears in the grove.
"You have to be kidding me!" she exclaims. "Is that what was keeping us together? Had I known that, I would have taken an ax to this entire grove long ago. Thanks for your help."
Just then the Ghost of Fletcher appears, standing next to Ollie. Ollie takes one look at him, puts her nose in the air, and disappears forever.
"Yes!" Fletcher exclaims, "I'm finally rid of her." He then fades into the night sky. [Your score has just gone up by five points.]
[You have 2 issues left to resolve.]
>s
Path
>s
North Riverside Landfill
>w
Gate
49 The gate is open. You may pass through.
>w
A gravesite
>n
A gravesite You are in a secluded section of the cemetery. At your feet is a sad-looking headstone. An unscalable wall runs along the east side. Cemetery plots lie north, south, and west.
Next to the headstone is a freshly dug hole about the size of a bread box.
>put coffin in hole You gently place the coffin in the infant's grave and push dirt over it. The ghost of Mrs Sibley suddenly notices you. "You found it and brought it to me!" she cries in joy as she kneels over the tiny grave. Her spirit slowly fades into nothing. You know one more spirit has found rest.
[Your score has just gone up by five points.]
[You have 1 issues left to resolve.]
>n
A gravesite You are in the northeast corner of the cemetery. There is a large tombstone on this plot. To the east and west are gravesites.
>screw plaque on frame With the moonlight in this area, you are now able to read the writing on the plaque. This must be what Carl thought so important. It reads:
"I saw a beautiful woman with bandaged eyes Standing on the steps of a marble temple. Great multitudes passed in front of her, Lifting their faces to her imploringly. In her left hand she held a sword. She was brandishing the sword, Sometimes striking a child, again a laborer, Again a slinking woman, again a lunatic. In her right hand she held a scale; Into the scale pieces of gold were tossed By those who dodged the strokes of the sword. A man in a black gown read from a manuscript: 'She is no respecter of persons.' then a youth wearing a red cap Leaped to her side and snatched away the bandage. And lo, the lashes had been eaten away
50 From the oozy eye-lids; The eye-balls were seared with a milky mucus; The madness of a dying soul Was written on her face --- But the multitude saw why she wore the bandage."
As you finish reading the poem, the ghost of Carl Hamblin appears to you. "Justice is not always blind." Then he smiles and simply says, "Remember." He glides some distance, disappearing into the darkness.
[Your score has just gone up by five points.]
[You have 0 issues left to resolve.]
>s
A gravesite
>s
A gravesite
>e
Gate
The gate is open. You may pass through.
>e
North Riverside Landfill
>n
Path
>n
Grove of trees
>put iron key in river You put the small iron key into the river.
>throw brass key in river
The keys disappear in the river. Suddenly you hear roaring as if thunder calls from the waters of the river. Gradually a shape rises in the middle of the waters. As it takes form, you recognize that it is a bridge leading east to the other side of the river.
>e
51 East River Cemetery You are now in the Cemetery on the east side of the river. A bridge leads to the west across the river. This cemetery contains all of the epitaphs in Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology. Welcome and congradulations for helping all the spirits!. As your reward, feel free to roam about this new section of the cemetery.
52