101 -- Final Draft, Level 1

Ah! Hello! Welcome to 101. My name is Justin Wigard ("Why-Guard" for those of you trying to pronounce it), and I'm...well, I'm the creator of this game! But also your in-game guide. You're just in time to start the first level! Here, we'll explore the history of video games through their progenitor: the text-based adventure game. As you go through the game, you'll face countless perils (okay maybe 30 minutes' worth), pitfalls (you've got this!), and maybe even a dragon (...okay, the dragon is actually kind of scary). I'll be with you as you move through the dungeon. You will move through the game by clicking on the blue links (like the one down below) to make critical choices about what to do and where to go next. [[Proceed->History]]

As an intrepid adventurer, it is your quest to collect 4 (count them: four) golden tablets. Each time you collect a golden tablet, you will learn more about the adventure game genre, as well as gain the opportunity to record your progress! Along the way, you'll be faced with numerous obstacles, perils, and hazards. You must use the available actions to overcome these hurdles as you proceed through evermore dangerous sections of the dungeon. Good luck! You'll need it. [[Begin game->One more thing]]

**You see three doors before you. --On the left: a wooden door with light peeking out underneath it. --In the middle: a stone door, no other details. --On the right: a metal door with a small grate near the top of the door. At this distance, you'll have to approach a door in order to get any more information.** What do you do? [[Approach the Wooden Door->Wooden Door]] [[Approach the Stone Door->Stone Door]] [[Approach the Steel Door->Steel Door]]

**You see before you a wooden door about 8 feet tall. It looks to be made of oak, but old.** [[Examine->Wooden Door Examined]] [[Open door->Pit]]

**In front of you stands a tall, 10-foot tall stone door with a rusting metal ring for a door handle. The door is smooth, and doesn't appear to let in any light.** [[Examine->Stone Door Examined]] [[Open door->Flood!!!]]

**You find yourself in front of a large iron door with rivets punched in all around the border. A grate with light coming out of it rests just above your head** [[Examine->Steel Door Examined]] [[Open the door->Flames]]

**You open the wooden door, and stop yourself just short of walking into a pit that spans the length and width of the room before you. Or, nearly: it looks as though there is a small, 3-foot platform on the other edge of this cave with...a golden tablet resting there!!!** *Look, it's just over there. What are you waiting for?!* What do you do? (Link: "Examine")[**You kick a nearby pebble into the pit. You don't hear it fall. You kick a bigger rock into the pit. You hear it fall after a few seconds. You...might be able to jump it? But, probably not.**] [[Jump it->Pitfall]] [[Back away->Wooden Door Opened]]

**You realize that faint noise was actually the rushing water from a cascading waterfall. This cavern is actually rather large (you can't see the top of it). The waterfall has created a rushing river of water that is blocking your path. Some of this is trickling past your feet.** *Welp. Looks like this might be as far as you get this way, for now. Why not try Door #1 or 3?* [[I haven't been to the Wooden Door yet. Let's go there!->Wooden Door2]] [[Sure! Let's try the Steel Door->Steel Door2]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

//Oh! I forgot one more thing. From now on, when I'm talking to you, I'll mark my voice in italics, like so. This way, you can visually tell my voice apart from the description of the room, which will be bolded (like in the following passage).// //(Okay, for real, good luck).// [[For real, **START**->Approach]]

**You don't really open the door so much as you release the small stone barrier holding back a deluge of icy cold water. A rushing wave of water overcomes you, knocking you back into the previous room.** *What do you do???* (Click: "Hold Breath")[**You try to hold your breath as long as you can, but you realize now that there's no place for the water to go! Your last thought is about your love for fuzzy pickles as your character drowns...**][[Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat->Death Screen 2]]

**You are dead.** //Awww, shucks! It happens to the best of us. Why don't you give it another go, and try to learn from what went wrong. Think of this game like a series of branching decisions. Which decision gets you further into the dungeon? What other options are available where your character died? What might produce a different outcome?// [[Get back to it.->Approach]] (link: "Quit for now.")[<script>window.close()</script>]

//Are you sure? You'll go back to the beginning of the game, since you haven't collected any golden tablets yet to save your progress. Right now, you'll just bounce back to the Three Doors.// (link: "End the game.")[<script>window.close()</script>] [[Continue->Three Doors]]

//Are you sure? You'll start from the last golden tablet you collected. However, just in case something goes wrong when we try to resurrect your character next time, try to jot down some notes about key decisions and paths before you close out of the game.//

**You make the biggest leap of your life. You're just about thereaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa splat** [[OH COME ON->Death Screen 2]]

**You notice that the torches are not chained to the archway.** //This is a good example of why examining your environment is good. Maaaaybe you could grab one?// (link: "take torch")[You grab the torch from the rung. The weight feels good in your hand, and it sheds light all around you.] [[Return->Entrance2]]

Upon stepping out of the rain, your lit torch reveals a long stone hallway, with no end in sight. [[Move Forward->TRAP]] [[Go Back->Entrance2]]

While it's certainly not the oldest progenitor to video games, the text-based adventure game is certainly as good of a place to begin as any! We can trace the adventure game (so-called because the player goes on an *adventure* by exploring, traversing, and overcoming some area) all the way back to Will Crowther's *Colossal Cave Adventure* (developed in 1976), which is widely considered to be the first version of interactive fiction. We'll learn more about *Colossal Cave Adventure* and early video game history as you move forward. For now, just be mindful of what choices you make, and how video games might evolve from this point forward. [[Proceed->Instructions]]

**You lift your torch, and slowly make your way through the long hallway. Your footsteps echo down the passage..."** Proceed (click-replace: "Proceed")[**Still trying to shake the rain off your cloak, you fail to notice a pressure switch under your left foot.** **Everything happens at once. The ground opens up before you, revealing a cavern below. You lose your footing as the floor falls away. QUICK! What do you do?!** [[Jump for the other side -> Leap of faith!]] [["Bring it on!" (Just fall and brace yourself) -> Cavern 1]]]

**You leap forward...or try to, and instead, slip on the wet floohoooooooooor.** **~splat~** [[Gross.->Death Screen]]

*Mental note from unseen narrator to player: traps are bad. Dungeons are horrible. But, that must mean you're getting close to something cool, right? Right?* [[Ugh. Fine. Whatever.->Three Doors0]] [[WHY ARE YOU TALKING SO LOUD, MY HEAD HURTS SHUUUUSH->Three Doors0]]

**You see a large stone archway set into the side of a sheer mountainside, flanked on either side by a lit torch. This looks like the entrance to the Dungeon of Melchoir. This archway is...ancient...ominous...and...exciting(?)** [[Examine->Torch]] "The passage is dark..." [[Proceed anyway ->Darkness1]]

**You peer into the darkness, but can't make anything out. Might be easier with a light, but you've got this.** Move forward (click-append: "forward")[ **You fumble your way forward...and wWELKSJDFLKNVXLCVJ** *That's the sound of you falling and tripping over...something...in the dark and...just don't look. [[ Proceed?->Death Screen]]]

Unfinished: -- Entrance passage Disable: Back button Color: Black background, white font.

**The rain is coming down in sheets. You've been travelling for weeks to get to this castle, and, up ahead, you think you can make out a faint light. You think this might be it: the thing you've been searching for. ** [[Move forward->Entrance]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

**You see a wooden door before you. How do you want to examine the door?** *This is an interesting opportunity. Until now, you've only been able to choose one kind of Examine action. Each of these should give you some unique information, but be careful when examining in other situations. Sometimes getting a little too curious can be dangerous!* (Link: "Look closer")[**You see a soft, golden glow at emanating from the other side of the door.**] (Link: "Listen")[**Pressing your ear up to the door itself, you listen closely, and hear the faint ringing of chimes.**] [[Open Door->Pit]] [[Back up->Wooden Door]]

**You see a wooden door before you. How do you want to examine the door?** *Try some of these options. They should give you some unique information, but be careful when examining in other situations. Sometimes getting a little too curious can be dangerous!* (Link: "Touch the door")[**The stone is very, very cold. Colder than the natural cavern walls**] (Link: "Listen")[**Pressing your ear up to the door itself, you hear a soft whispering sound behind the door**] [[Open Door->Flood!!!]] [[Back up->Three Doors]]

**You see a large stone archway set into the side of a sheer mountainside, flanked on one side by a lit torch. This looks like the entrance to the Dungeon of Melchoir. This archway is...ancient...ominous...and...exciting(?)** (*Hey! Look! You have a new option available because you have the torch. What other choices might be meaningful throughout the dungeon?*) [[Examine->Torch2]] (link-reveal: "The passage is dark")[...but the torch helps a lot.[[Proceed->Hallway1]]]

**You see before you a wooden door about 8 feet tall. It looks to be made of oak, but old. Beyond it: a large pit, with a soft glow emanating just out of sight.** "**The door is open.**" [[Walk through->Pit]] [[Back up->Three Doors1]]

**you see three doors before you. --On the left: a wooden door, opened, with a pit beyond it. --In the middle: a stone door, no other details. --On the right: a metal door with a small grate near the top of the door. At this distance, you'll have to approach a door in order to get any more information.** *Okay. You've opened the first door, and it seems like you can't go any further yet. Why not try another door, see what path might get you closer to your goal? What do you need to make happen to get across that pit?* What do you do? [[Approach the open Wooden Door->Wooden Door Opened]] [[Approach the Stone Door->Stone Door1]] [[Approach the Steel Door->Steel Door1]]

**You see before you a wooden door about 8 feet tall. It looks to be made of oak, but old. Beyond it: a large pool of water, with a soft glow reflecting off of it.** "**The door is open.**" [[Walk through->Pit (Filled)]] [[Back up->Three Doors1]]

`**In front of you stands a tall, 10-foot tall stone door with a rusting metal ring for a door handle. The door is smooth, and doesn't appear to let in any light.** [[Examine->Stone Door Examined1]] [[Open door->Flood!!!]]

**You don't really open the door so much as you release the small stone barrier holding back a deluge of icy cold water. A rushing wave of water overcomes you, knocking you back into the previous room.** *What do you do???* Hold Breath (Click-replace: "Hold Breath")[**You try to hold your breath as long as you can, and just as you're on the verge of consciousness, you realize the water is draining. You collapse on the ground, gasping for breath. Better investigate where that water went...** [[Just...just give me a minute->Three Doors2]]]

**you see three doors before you. --On the left: a wooden door, opened, with a pit beyond it. --In the middle: a stone door leading into a cavern with a loud rushing emanating from it. A stream is now flowing from this waterfall out past your feet and into the area beyond the wooden door. --On the right: a metal door with a small grate near the top of the door. At this distance, you'll have to approach a door in order to get any more information.** *WELL THEN. THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING. What do you reckon has changed with that flood?* What do you do? [[Approach the Wooden Door->Wooden Door2]] [[Approach the Stone Door->Stone Door2]] [[Approach the Steel Door->Steel Door2]]

**In front of you stands a tall, 10-foot tall stone door with a rusting metal ring for a door handle. The door is smooth, and devoid of features. Beyond it, you see moving water.** "**The door is open.**" [[Proceed forward->Waterfall]]

**You find yourself in front of a large iron door with rivets punched in all around the border. A grate rests just above your head. There is no light coming out of it.** What do you do? [[Examine the door->Steel Door Examined 2]] Open the steel door. (click-replace: "Open the steel door.")[*Are you sure? If you haven't found the golden tablet yet, you may need to go back to find it...* [[Go to the Wooden Door->Wooden Door2]] [[I've already found the golden tablet. Let's move forward!->DRAGON!]]]

**You open the wooden door, and stop yourself just short of walking into a large pool of water that spans the length and width of the room before you. Or, nearly: it looks as though there is a small, 3-foot platform on the other edge of this cave with...a golden tablet resting there!!!** *A large pool of water? Wonder how that happened...* What do you do? [[Approach->Pool of water]] [[Swim? Yeah. *Swim.*->Golden Tablet 1]]

**That enormous pit has been filled in.** What do you do? Touch the water (click-append: "Touch the water")[Yep, that's pretty danged cold.] Peer into the water's depths (click-append: "Peer into the water's depths")[For that pit to be filled in, there must have been literal tons of water that poured out of that room! What do you do now? [[Back up->Three Doors2]] [[Swim across->Golden Tablet 1]]]

**Bapada bah pah bah ba baaaaaaaaaah** **You find a Golden Tablet giving you tons of information about the adventure game genre. It's amazing. You learn a lot! And this is really just placeholder text while I chisel a real lesson into this here golden tablet. But....do you wanna see the rest of the dungeon?** [[Heck yes I do!->Stone Door2]] [[Nah, just get me out of here->Steel Door Examined 2]]

**You approach the steel door. What do you want to do?** *Peek* through the grate. (Click-replace: "*Peek* through the grate.")[**You see flames billowing in the room, and a dark shape within them. You have just enough time to duck before flames burst out of the grate.**] *Touch* the door handle. (click-replace: "*Touch* the door handle.")[**You touch the handle, and realize that it is warm to the touch. You think to yourself that whatever is beyond the door has to be incredibly hot to warm steel in this way.** What do you do? [[Open the door->Flames]] [[Back away. Carefully.->Three Doors]]]

**You go to open the door, and realize the handle is a little hot. You push on anyways, jerk the door open, and are immediately greeted with an intense burst of white-hot flame. It's kind of nice. You thought it might be more painful, but it's more like...a marshmallow that is nice and OH MAN THAT'S HOT AND ----** Welp. Guess I got burnt to a crisp. (Click-replace: "Welp. Guess I got burnt to a crisp.")[[[SIGH->Death Screen]]]

**You approach the steel door. What do you want to do?** Peek through the grate. (Click-replace: "Peek through the grate.")[**You see a hulking, dark shape and two glowing orange eyes behind the door**] Touch the door handle. (click-replace: "Touch the door handle.")[**You touch the handle, and realize that it is cold to the touch. You think to yourself that whatever heat source has been cooled off in some way. Maybe water got through the grate?** What do you do? Open the steel door. (click-replace: "Open the steel door.")[*Are you sure? If you haven't found the golden tablet yet, you may need to go back to find it...* [[Go to the Wooden Door->Wooden Door2]] [[I've already found the golden tablet. Let's move forward!->DRAGON!]]]]

**You open the door to find a cavern...and the source of the heat behind the door: A dragon! It snarls and roars with menacing intent. Currently, it is not breathing fire.** WOAAAAH WHAT DO YOU DO?! Examine the dragon.(click-replace: "Examine the dragon.")[*Here's the thing. DRAGONS. ARE. DANGEROUS! And currently, the dragon is blocking your way. So, you'll have to find a way around...or **through** the dragon. Previously, you've faced two different kinds of obstacles: puzzles (like grabbing the torch) and finding the way forward (filling in the pit). The dragon represents another kind: an enemy that must, somehow, be overcome. But, because we're in a prototype, I think we should call it here. And by that, I mean, that's all that I have developed so far! Thank you for playing through World 1-1: "Adventure Games". I hope you've enjoyed this experience, and learned a little something about the adventure game genre. Just click that little link there to close out the game, and be on the lookout for World 1-2: "Arcade Games"! [[End the game->Credits]]

All text developed by Justin Wigard. Level 101, World 1-1 created using Twine. *Thanks for playing!* (link: "End game.")[<script>window.close()</script>]

**Shaking off the fall, you see three doors before you. --On the left: a wooden door with light peeking out underneath it. --In the middle: a stone door, no other details. --On the right: a metal door with a small grate near the top of the door.** [[AHEM->AHEM]]

*Adventure games thrive on making choices. Compared to most modern video games, only having three options in front of you seems limiting, at best. But, think about what you know about books. Most books only allow readers to move one direction: forward. And, even then, they are linear, like a straight line that the author puts in front of you. But, think back to the 1970s, when these adventure games came out. In front of you, you're faced with **THREE** paths! **THREE** options! How neat is that?* [[That's pretty neat. Can I move on?->Three Doors]]

**You notice that there is an unchained torch in the archway.** //Huh. Getting a little greedy, aren't we?// (link: "take torch")[You grab the *other* torch from the rung. A voice screams out at you: "WHO TURNED OUT MY LIIIIIIGHTS?!" You hastily put the torch back.] [[Return->Entrance3]]

**You see a large stone archway set into the side of a sheer mountainside, flanked on one sid by a lit torch. This looks like the entrance to the Dungeon of Melchoir. This archway is...ancient...ominous...and...exciting(?)** (*Hey! Look! That new option is still available because you have the torch. What other choices might be meaningful throughout the dungeon? And hey, maybe you might want to proceed into the dungeon?*) (link-reveal: "The passage is dark")[...but the torch helps a lot.[[Proceed->Hallway1]]]