CONRAD BUTTON'S EDUCATIONAL TEXT ADVENTURES THE ASIAN CHALLENGE (C) Copyright 1989 by Conrad Button This educational text adventure provides the student with information concerning the geography and history of the countries on the Asian Continent. Geography can be a very uninteresting subject to some students. However, when their textbooks are supplemented with an educational adventure, these students typically become much more interested in the study of geography. Learning becomes a fun experience with a Button Adventure. We have also found that the use of our educational adventures increases both the students' reading and spelling capabilities. Their ability to reason is also enhanced. During the course of play, the students will visit most of the countries on the Asian Continent. In each country, they will be presented with several important facts concerning the geographical features, early history, and animals native to the country. The locations of each country within the adventure correspond to the actual locations of the countries on a map of the continent. We therefore encourage the students to obtain an Atlas and trace their progress on the map of Asia (the map is not required, however). At the conclusion of the adventure, the students will be presented with a list of questions concerning the countries that they have visited. They must answer the questions correctly in order to successfully complete their quest. When an incorrect answer is given, the students are encouraged to revisit the appropriate country to determine the correct answer. This educational adventure is similar to a novel in which the students are the main character. They will be given a quest which must be successfully completed. Their computer will become their guide. It will tell them what it sees and hears and will ask them for commands. It will obey their commands most of the time. Although it speaks fluent English, it has trouble understanding long sentences. Therefore, the students should limit their commands to no more than two words, with the verb as the first word (e.g. `read scroll'). If the computer does not know or understand a word, it will tell them so. In that case they should use another word of similar meaning. The computer will present the following information at the start of each round of play: 1. A description of the students' current location. 2. Items that the students can see at this location. 3. Directions in which the students can move (n-north, s-south, e-east, w-west, u-up, d-down). The students must then respond by typing in the actions they wish to perform. Most actions require two words, for example: light candle, get gold, drop sword, examine hay, enter house, etc. Some actions require only a single word: HELP - in certain areas, the computer will provide clues or advice when this command is typed. QUIT - allows the students to exit from the adventure. To move to a new area, the students need only type n, s, e, w, u, or d which means go north, go south, go east, go west, go up, or go down (the long form of the command is also acceptable, however). An important feature included in all Button Adventures is the SAVE GAME command. This command allows the students to save their current location, and all items acquired during their quest, in a file which can be loaded the next time they restart the adventure. Each student will have a different file name as the computer will combine their first and middle names together to form a unique name (e.g. Robert James Smith is saved as ROBJAM). SAVE GAME is not only important at the end of a learning session, it is also used when the player feels that an action he is about to take may result in "death". As "death" results in the automatic cessation of the game, the player can rapidly return to his current status by saving the game before his "death" occurs. We strongly suggest that the students construct a simple map during their travels so that they can more easily return to previously explored areas. This map will greatly reduce the amount of time required to play the adventure as it eliminates confusion and the associated random wandering. A simple map is nothing more than a block diagram with area names, objects found, and permitted directions of travel. A portion of a typical map is shown below: !-----------!e w!-------!e w!----------! ! mountains !--------! river !--------! dark pit ! (gold) !-----------! !---!---! !-----!----! (deer) !s !s n! n! !---!---!e w!-----!----!e w!------! ! house !--------! old tree !------! barn ! !-------! !-----!----! !------! (candle) !s (shovel) n! !-----!----! ! pyramid ! (scroll) !----------! Most of the objects found by the students are to be used elsewhere in the adventure. For example, the candle found in the house may be needed to explore the dark pit. The shovel in the barn may be needed to dig for the gold in the pit. Although the students may play the adventure by themselves, use of teams comprised of two or more students will normally allow the adventure to progress at a more rapid pace. One student is selected to enter the commands to the computer; the other team members contribute additional ideas about alternative actions to be taken when a seemingly difficult problem has been encountered. Use of the team concept also reduces the number of computers required during a class session. Although helpful suggestions and hints are provided by the computer during the course of play, on rare occasions the students may encounter a seemingly insurmountable block and cannot progress further. This is highly unlikely, especially when the team concept is used, but, should it occur, the author will provide additional hints. This service is free of charge to REGISTERED USERS. Please write us and describe the area in which the difficulty has been encountered. We will then help you to solve the problem. A self-addressed, stamped envelope for returning the hints to you should be included with your letter. NOTE: Inquiries from NON-REGISTERED users will not be answered! To register your copy of The Asian Challenge, copy and fill out the registration form which appears on the screen when the adventure is first started. Be sure to select the FREE adventure that you would like to receive as a bonus for registering. The fee for registering is $15.00. We sincerely hope that you will find our educational adventure series to be both useful and enjoyable in the study of geography. Two other educational adventures are also available for the study of geography. SOUTH AMERICAN TREK and AFRICAN SAFARI may be ordered directly from Conrad Button; please use the order form which appears in THE ASIAN CHALLENGE adventure. Thank you for trying our software. Your comments would be most welcome. Conrad Button Conrad Button's Software 13807 S. E. 282 St. Kent, WA 98042