composing

For my final project, I plan to create a web-based hypertext adventure game called IN/SANE.

The main element of the project is the narrative that the user will be able to explore. A few months ago, I wrote a narrative for a text-based game that takes place in an insane asylum. (STRANGE!) The player gets lost while hiking and enters an abandoned building to seek shelter. It turns out, the building is haunted by the past patients that were trapped there. I turned the narrative into a simple Java program that doesn't work all the time and is extremely lame to play. For example, the user can't type anything; he or she can only press yes, no, or cancel. The program runs on the error prompts that appear on a computer screen, so the game is hardly a game at all.

With that being said, I want to but some meat on the game's bones. I plan to create a fully functioning website on which the user can play the game. I also plan on adding horrific images, videos, and sounds to the game in order to add a level of virtuality. For example, if the user decides to walk down the hallway to his or her right, a video will appear (that I will film and edit) of walking down a creepy hallway.

Although I already have the barebones of the narrative written, I plan on revising it GREATLY. As I mentioned above, it's hardly a narrative, let alone a game. Also, even though I have a simple Java program written, I can't actually use Java on the Internet. With that being said, here's what I have to work on to create my final project:

I have a good idea of how I want it to look / turnout. I'm not exactly sure if I'll be able to handle the game aspect-- I'm going to try because that's my absolute goal; however, it may end up being a game-less virtual narrative. Fingers crossed, though, I want to make it work.

Below, I have included the .java and .class files to run what I already have. In order to run the program, right click both files and choose "Save Link As." Save BOTH files to your desktop. (Even though you only run the .java file, the .class needs to be there) You should be able to click on the .java file and have the program run. Let me know if you have trouble.

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The narrative is as follows:

The character is hiking in the woods one evening and a sudden storm throws him/her off track. The winds are harsh; the temperature is dropping; the rain and sleet are soaking the player's clothes. After fighting his/her way through the thick brush, the player comes upon an open field with a vast, dark building in the distance. Fearing for their life, the player desperately hikes to the lifeless, brick building where they are faced with the first decision: to go in or not to go in.

If the player chooses not to go in, he or she fights the elements, trying to find a way back, but fails. The game ends.

If the player goes into the house, he or she is faced with directional decisions (go down hallway, go upstairs, etc)

With each exploratory decision that the player makes, he or she slowly pieces together that the building was some sort of insane asylum .

I’m not entirely sure of the whole narrative, but I do know the ending- there is no way to win. The player, no matter what course of decisions he or she makes, will end up in an asylum.



My project won't be set up like "The Flat," with one continuous video playing the whole time. It will be virtual, but each decision the player makes will trigger a different effect. For instance, if he or she chooses to enter the house, a sound clip will play of a heavy, creaking door. If they decide to go down the hallway, there will be a video as if they were walking down a hallway. If he or she chooses to explore an abandoned cell, a picture will show what it looks like. With using different types of effects, I hope to influence and electrify the player's imagination. It's up to them to build a bigger picture of what they see, not just virtually.