Games (introduction) & Interactive Fiction Project: Day 1

Lab:

Please turn in your homework. Then:
On YOUR blog, please post a comment answering this question:

• Write about your favorite game (this could be a board game, a sport, or a digital/electronic video game, etc.)
• What is it? What's the objective/goal of the game? How do you play? Etc.
• What do you like about the game? 
• What have you learned about yourself, others, or your world from playing the game? What benefit is there to playing? Etc.

After about 10-15 minutes writing, we will watch a short video about games. Answer the following:

• Crash Course Games (introduction)

1. According to the video, what is the difference between a TOY and a GAME? (use the graphic organizer to answer this question)

2. What are some things you learned about games from this video? -- complete your notes on the graphic organizer.

3. How do we use games in our culture? -- Complete your notes on the graphic organizer.

Then, please read the article: Text Based Games (a short history). Add notes on your graphic organizer for this topic.

Choose your own adventure books began to arrive in the late 1970's (particularly from Bantam Books) to entice younger readers. The role-playing industry was just getting started. For more history on fantasy role playing games, check here. More information about Choose Your Own Adventure books can be found here.

Complete your graphic organizer with notes from the role-playing link and the CYOA book link (see hyperlinks above).

Turn in your graphic organizer notes when you have completed the reading & research (due by end of class today).

Ready, Player One?

Interactive Text Based Game Design Project

Please read the instructions on how to use the program: Twine. Go to their website (click on the link) and begin to create your own interactive fiction game. You may wish to download this program to your computer (if working at home) or "use it online" by choosing that option. I recommend using the program online.

Some things to remember:

• Read the tutorial. Really. It has information that will be useful for this project.
• Fiction is a story that is not true. Feel free to choose any genre you would like to write (see articles above for some ideas for CYOA games)
• Descriptions are key! You will want to write your story with enough specific imagery and good writing skills to immerse your reader into the story. Describe your settings, characters, add dialogue where needed, etc. Just like you would do if you were telling a good fiction story!
• You may wish to plan your story using index cards to represent a map of locations or scenes for your story (like a storyboard). It is harder to write one of these story games if you are making it up on the fly--so a plan is almost a requirement. 
• Be creative!

This project is not due yet. But you should start brainstorming and getting an idea about what kind of story you are going to tell (genre, situation, characters, inciting incident, setting, theme, etc.) by the end of class or by next class.

HOMEWORK: None. Play an interactive fiction game to see how it works.
Zork (text based game)
Adventure (text based game)
Jigsaw (text based game)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (text based game)
Various Infocom online games