For this project, Sarah, Megan, and I created a text-based game titled, “One Student, One Fire.” The story line is based off of the Cortland Normal School 1919 fire that we learned about in Professor Faulkenbury’s section of the class, as we found this one the most interesting. At first, we were planning to make a Scooby-Do like plot line, where the player would discover who started the fire, as in real life it still remains a mystery to this day. However, after discovering that many of our classmates planned on doing the same thing, we decided to take a different approach, which I now find much more interesting.
In the game, you play a boy named Derrick, who is in love with his life-long friend Gabriella. At first, it seems like a simple back-and-forth conversation, until Derrick spots a shady character sneaking into the back of the school. Although there are choices for the player to make on every page, this is the one that makes a substantial difference; the player can either choose to ignore the perpetrator, and walk with Gabriella into the hallway where you may or may not ask her to prom and find the library in flames, choosing to save books in the archive or not; or the player can choose to follow the perpetrator, where you can follow him into the boiler room (or main office where you lose) and discover the man starting the fire. However, no matter what option you choose, you have the choice to save artifacts from the archives and risk your life, or not to care about the artifacts enough to risk your safety, which is of course where the humanities part kicks in.
The process of making this game was really enjoyable. Although it was just a simple text-based game, I found it fascinating that my group and I were able to put it all together to create a cohesive plot and story line, one where the player must consider his/her morals in order to make the right decisions. I loved getting to play our own game afterward, as I got to see our finished product and how different choices would take you down different paths; of course I knew where my choices would take me, but I still played it enough times to get every outcome possible.
In class, I had mentioned that this section of the course changed my definition of a game, and this project really solidified that fact. Although text-based games had never interested me before, having the chance to make my own showed me the time and effort that goes into them, and how enjoyable they can be to play afterward. I am very glad to have gotten this opportunity, and will now look at games with a completely different perspective.