1.Mae TidmanSeptember 18, 2009LCC 2700 - Project 1 - Text based gameProject DescriptionBook & Volume and Zork have spaces that are easy topicture as a map - sequential steps down a path, rooms in abuilding, and other spaces that make sense. I wanted to make agame with spaces that do not make sense, but that could bedrawn out spatially.My two most favorite books are Alices Adventures inWonderland and Through The Looking Glass, which havenonsensical spaces just like I want in my game; hence it hasbeen a huge influence for my content, spaces, and situations. Ifound further inspirations in modern interpretations of Charles Dodgsons 1865 childrens story: Terry Gilliams movie Tideland, and Disneys Alice in Wonderland. Other adaptations including Jan Svankmajers Alice and Tim Burtons adaptation that is due for theatrical release in 2010 were inspiration for my ideas but not my implemented work. Unfortunately, due to time and skill limitations, I was unable to add anything gruesome or creepy to my game.The story is an adventure that the reader goes on. You (the reader/player/user) begin the game in a dark space. Unlike most of the text-based games I have seen, the reader knows and remembers (at least initially) who he/she is and is actually playing his or herself in the game. I think this is a very special aspect, and should result in the player being more involved with the spaces even though he/she is only looking at text. I also tried to make the descriptions explain that the player is not supposed to know where they are and where they are going. The whole experience is supposed to be confusing, just like it is in Alices adventures.The spaces were also inspired by the Xbox 360 game Beautiful Katamari byNamco Bandai. This game involves levels where your character rolls a magical, highlyadhesive ball called a katamari around, collecting increasingly larger objects. In thebeginning of levels, the katamari is tiny and only picks up very small objects like coinsand tiny toys. As it collects more the katamari grows and can collect bigger and biggerobjects: bugs, food, furniture, people, cars, trees, buildings, acres of land, continents, andfinally planets and galaxies. In addition, it is worth noting that Katamari Damacys story,characters, and settings are bizarre and heavily stylized, rarely attempting any semblanceof realism, though the brands and items used are based on those current in Japan duringthe games production (Wikipedia).Unfortunately, I faced many troubles and had to drop way more objects than Iwanted: scenarios, rooms, and all characters, conversations, and tests were excluded. Iwanted to have a Cheshire Cat in the Twisted Tree room that would show you the barkdoor, but I ended up spending so much time debugging this and several other characters

2. were dropped. I also wanted to have conversations available between the player and anycharacter, with subjects such as riddles and Where am I? Over my years at Tech it hasbecome obvious to me that I am a very slow learner when it comes to computinglanguages, and Inform 7 was no exception. I read the documentation early on, but thatonly partially helped whenever it came time to write the code. I tried to write fromfamiliarity but ended up making syntax errors everywhere.I failed to get some of the objects to be visible and invisible at different points,and there were many other things I failed to implement. Overall though I think the senseof the game should be what I was aiming for, just in a basic implementation.An image from Tim Burtons upcoming movie.