MazeQuest: Tales of the Wandering Grammarian

Table of Contents

A. Introduction

B. Objectives

C. Methods

• Game Play

• Game Interface

D. Tracking

E. Teaching Suggestions

A. Introduction

MazeQuest: Tales of the Wandering Grammarian provides a fun way to help students of all ages learn the alphabet,sentence structure, subject/verb agreement, use of prepositions, parallel sentence structure, contractions and possessives,diction, plus develop critical and strategic thinking skills. As Blit, the student will complete a variety of different mazesand test his or her grammar skills in order to make friends with the creatures Blit meets in each maze. The student willcomplete mazes and make friends with the creatures of Grammaria in an attempt to earn experience points and attain ahigh rank within the kingdom of Grammaria. There are twenty levels of difficulty that contain a variety of questions andmazes that range from beginner difficulty to advanced difficulty.

B. Objectives

1.To learn to identify words based on the letters of the alphabet.2.To develop reading comprehension skills.3.To learn the definitions of many different parts of speech.4.To learn to identify parts of speech within the context of sentences.5.To learn to identify words and phrases that are often misused.6.To combine basic mathematical and strategic thinking skills.7.To develop spatial navigation skills.

C. Methods

Game Play

The primary object of MazeQuest is to complete mazes, make friends with the creatures of Grammaria, and earn experi-ence points; after each friend is made, the student's number of experience points increases. As experience pointsaccumulate, the student's rank will increase. Experience points may also be used in the Magic Shop to purchase itemsthat may prove useful on a quest. For example, if Blit's valor, defense, or brain power is low, the student may elect tobuy an item in the shop that increases one of those attributes; increasing one of those attributes will help the studentmake friends with creatures more effectively. Items may also be sold in the Magic Shop in exchange for experiencepoints, especially if the student is trying to increase his or her rank.

MazeQuest combines two challenges into one: a complex maze and grammar question-and-answer. In the first portion ofthe game, the maze, the student must navigate through a variety of complex mazes in order to complete quests forthe king. To have the student navigate through the maze, the student should click on the part of the maze to which he orshe would like to go. To look at other parts of the maze, the student can click on the scroll bars that surround themaze; these will show the student what is north, south, east, and west of his or her location in the maze. To recenter themaze view on Blit and resume traveling the maze, the student should click on the red circle in the upper right cornerof the maze. At any time, the student may click on the map button to the right of the maze. The map shows the maze andthe student's current location within the maze. To return to the maze, the student should click on the blue "Back"button.

There are several maze features that vary the difficulty and strategy necessary to complete a maze and, consequently, aquest for the king, successfully. As the level numbers increase, the mazes become increasingly large and complex. As themazes get larger and more complex, the number of creatures Blit encounters also increases, and correspondingly, thenumber of grammar questions the student must answer correctly to finish the quest successfully increases.

After a creature is encountered in the maze, the student will be transported to the Encounter screen. At the Encounterscreen, the student will be asked a series of questions. For example, the student might be asked to identify the adjective,adverb, or verb. For every question, there is a choice of four possible answers. The student may select an answer eitherby clicking on the appropriate letter or word, or by typing the appropriate letter.

If the student chooses the correct answer, the creature will make a sound and react positively to that answer. Blit orArabella will also say something positive to the student. The creature's rancor will also decrease. At any time, the studentmay click through the creature's reaction to begin game play again. If the incorrect answer is chosen, the creature willreact in a different manner, and Blit's valor will decrease. The student may also click through this reaction to begingame play more quickly.

As the level number increases, the length and complexity of the sentences, as well as the complexity of the questionsbeing asked, also increases. However, the difficulty of each encounter may vary, even within one level and one maze.By answering grammar questions correctly, the student is attempting to "make friends" with the creature he or she hasencountered in the maze. With each question answered correctly, the creature's rancor decreases proportionally. However,it is easier to decrease some creatures' rancor than others. For example, if a creature's brain power outweighs Blit'scurrent brain power level, more correct answers will be necessary to make the creature Blit's friend. If Blit has morebrain power, and the creature's defense is low, then it will not take as many correct answers to make friends with thecreature.

It is possible to "retreat" in the middle of an encounter with a creature; however, the student will not be able to progressin the maze until the creature becomes Blit's friend. Retreating may give the student an opportunity to take a breakfrom the current encounter, or may allow that student to backtrack through the maze to pick up a gift that he or she hadpreviously left behind.

Game Interface

In MazeQuest, the student will encounter several screens during game play. The first, the Town screen, allows the studentto access the Magic Shop, the Fairy Palace, the Library, and the Museum. The Magic Shop, which can be accessed fromthe Town screen, allows the student to buy items that may help during a quest, or sell items gained through quests forincreased experience points. The Fairy Palace, which may also be accessed from the Town screen, is the location wherethe student will go to accept quests from the king. When a quest is given, the student will go to the Portal Room screen tochoose which maze to enter. Upon choosing a maze, the student will be transported to one of several Maze screens.When the student encounters one of the creatures of Grammaria, he or she will be transported to the Encounter screen,where a sentence and question about grammar will be given. The Item and Status screens can be accessed from theEncounter screen or by clicking on the respective "Buy Items" button or the small Blit icon in the Magic Shop. Thestudent may examine the Items screen to see how many and what types of items have been earned throughout the courseof the current game. The student may examine the current status and rank, how many experience points have beenearned, and the number of defense and valor points.I. The Town Screen

The Town screen allows the student to access the primary facets of game play. To have the student begin a maze and thegrammar question-and-answer portion of the program, the student can click on the "Fairy Palace" button in the upperportion of the screen. The student may click on the "Library" button in the left portion of the screen to reference theLibrary, which provides detailed audio and textual explanations of many grammatical terms and parts of speech. If thestudent would like to buy items for use on a future quest, or sell items to gain more experience points, he or she shouldclick on the "Magic Shop" button in the lower left portion of the screen. To look at the creatures of Grammaria and theirattributes (such as rancor and defense), have the student click on the "Museum of Fantastical Creatures" button in theright portion of the screen.

To change the level of difficulty, the student should click on one of the yellow arrow buttons in the lower portion of thescreen. When the student places the mouse cursor over one of the yellow arrow buttons, a screen describing samplemazes and topics introduced will appear for the selected level. To hear a general help message, the student can click onthe red "Help" button in the lower right portion of the screen. To check Blit's attributes or current quest, click on thesmall Blit icon in the lower right portion of the screen. To access the program's tutorial, which features detailed explana-tions of each of the program's game screens and basic game play strategies, the student can click on the "Tutorial" buttonin the lower right portion of the screen. The "Save" button in the lower portion of the screen allows students to save their

II. The Magic Shop

From the Town Screen, the student may elect to enter the Magic Shop, where items may be bought for use on futurequests or sold for more experience points. The items can all be found in the upper left portion of the screen. To seewhat each item is worth and its cost, the student should click on the item. The item's worth can be found in the upperright portion of the screen; the number of experience points needed to purchase the item can be found in the left portionof the screen. The number of experience points available to purchase items can be found in the lower left portion of thescreen. To hear a general help message, the student can click on the red "Help" button in the lower right portion of thescreen. To turn off the program's background music, the student click on the green "Music" button. To return to the Townscreen, the student should click on the blue "Back" button.

III. The Fairy Palace

When the student wants to begin a maze, he or she should click on the Fairy Palace in the upper portion of the screen.Upon clicking on the button, the student will be transported to the King's Court screen; at this screen, the king may giveBlit (the student) a quest to complete, or may instruct Blit to come back later. The student can hear and read the king'sinstructions by clicking on the yellow arrow "Page" button in the lower right portion of the screen. If the student is givena quest, the "Portal Room" button in the lower portion of the screen will flash. If there has been no quest given, the"Portal Room" button will not flash. From this screen, the student may click on the red "Help" button in the lower rightportion of the screen to hear a general help message. To return to the Town screen, the student may click on the "Town"button in the lower left portion of the screen. To begin a quest or explore a specific maze, the student should click on the"Portal Room" button in the lower portion of the screen.

rank, points earned, the game level, and gifts found throughout game play. The "Load" button allows the student toaccess a previously saved game. The "Save" button becomes available after the student has begun game play; however,the "Load" and "Save" buttons are available only from the Town screen. The "Quit" button in the lower portion of thescreen allows the student to quit the program at any time.

Upon clicking on the "Portal Room" button, the student will be transported to the Portal Room.

From here, the student may select which maze to enter by clicking on one of the primary areas on the screen. The nameof each maze can be discerned by simply placing the mouse cursor over each area. The name of each maze appears at thebottom of the screen: Bubble Reef, The Chasm of Infinite Peril, Frost Valley, etc. To select the maze, simply have thestudent click on the appropriate area. The student can access a general help message by clicking on the red "Help" buttonin the lower right portion of the screen. The student may return to the Town screen by clicking on the Town button in thelower portion of the screen.

IV. Maze Screen

Upon choosing a maze, the student will be transported to one of several Maze screens. The student may click on the mapbutton in the upper right portion of the screen to examine the map in its entirety and see where he or she is located withinthe maze. To look at different parts of the maze, the student may click on one of the two scroll bars that outline the maze.To recenter the maze view on Blit, click on the red button in the upper right corner of the maze. The student may seewhat items Blit has retrieved on a quest or received from the king by clicking on the "Brown Bag" icon in the rightportion of the screen. To examine Blit's attributes, the student may click on the small "Blit" icon in the right portion ofthe screen. To hear a general help message, the student may click on the red "Help" button. To turn off the program'sbackground music, the student should click on the green "Music" button. The student may click on the purple "Exit"button to return to the Town screen.

V. Encounter Screen

Upon encountering a creature in the maze, the student will be transported to the Encounter screen. The Encounter screenfeatures the grammar question-and-answer portion of the game. The student may view Blit's current attributes by click-ing on the small "Blit" icon in the upper portion of the screen, and may review items retrieved on quests or received fromthe king by clicking on the "Brown Bag" icon next to the "Blit" icon in the upper portion of the screen. The student mayhear a general help message by clicking on the red "Help" button in the upper right portion of the screen. To turn off theprogram's background music, have the student click on the green "Music" button, and to return to the Town screen, thestudent should click on the purple "Exit" button.

The creature's attributes (rancor, brain power, and defense) are listed underneath the creature in the Encounter screen,and the student's attributes (valor, brain power, and defense) are listed beneath Blit. The student may return to the Mazescreen by clicking on the blue "Retreat" button, located between the creature's and Blit's attributes.

The sentence, and the question about that sentence, can be found under the attributes. The student may hear the sentenceagain by clicking on the sentence, and may hear the question again simply by clicking on the question. The four possibleanswers are located under the question and may be selected either by clicking on the appropriate answer or by typing thecorresponding letter on the keyboard.

VI. Item Screen

Occasionally, after an encounter, a creature will leave a treasure chest that may hold a gift or item that the king has sentBlit to find. Upon finding that treasure chest, the student will be transported to the Item screen. The name of the item andits attributes may be found in the upper right portion of the screen. The student may use, drop, sell, or take the item byclicking on one of the respective buttons in the upper portion of the screen. To examine Blit's attributes, click on thesmall "Blit" icon in the lower portion of the screen. To return to the maze, the student may click on the blue "Back"button. To hear a general help message, the student may click on the red "Help" button in the lower portion of the screen.

VII. Status Screen

D. Tracking

The tracking function data is stored in a text file that can be accessed by most word processing programs. (Hint: For best results, change thefont of your tracking output to a monospaced font, such as "Courier.") The tracking function is automatically activated. You will be given theopportunity to access the tracking information when you exit the program. When the student is finished using the program, click on the"EXIT" button. On the next screen that appears, there are three options: SAVE, PRINT, and EXIT. To save the tracking information, click the"SAVE" button; when the dialogue box appears, name the file, and designate where you want to save it. To print the tracking information,click the "PRINT" button, and follow the directions of your operating system. To exit the program without saving the tracking information,click the "EXIT" button.

The Status screen may be accessed from several different areas of the game simply by clicking on the small "Blit" icon.The Status screen gives the student information about his or her status at any point in the game. Blit's current valor,brain power, defense, and rank can be found in the right portion of the screen. The right portion of the screen also dis-plays the number of points that are needed to attain the next rank, the number of quests that have been completed, andthe number of friends that have been made. The left portion of the screen displays the current quest. To examine itemsthat have been retrieved on quests or received from the king, the student should click on the brown bag "Items" button inthe upper portion of the screen. To hear a general help message, the student may click on the red "Help" button, and toreturn to the previous screen, he or she should click on the blue "Back" button.

E. Teaching Suggestions

As you can see from the above descriptions, MazeQuest offers instruction in the alphabet and English grammar and wordusage, plus exercises strategic thinking skills. While the mazes offer strategic and logical reasoning challenges,thegrammar question-and-answer portion of the game teaches word usage, sentence structure, and many other facets ofEnglish grammar. The ways you use the program will vary depending on your students' needs and abilities. You shouldbegin by determining the skills or information your students need to learn and practice.

If you would like to focus on having the student learn the alphabet, have the student play Level 1. Level 1 will alsointroduce the student to basic mazes and basic spatial navigation skills. Once your students have become familiar withthe alphabet and more adept at navigating through the mazes, you may decide to advance them to Levels 2 and 3, whichask students to identify letters of the alphabet within slightly longer sentences, and introduce some basic concepts ofEnglish sentence structure, such as the noun, adjective, and verb. As the levels increase, the size and complexity of eachmaze also increases, as well as the difficulty of the grammar questions being asked. Once your student has masteredlower levels, try advancing him or her to higher levels that ask more complex questions and feature larger mazes; thepace at which the student should advance may depend on his or her understanding of the program's concepts.

This program is unique in the fact that while the same sentences are used throughout the game, it is possible to exposeyour student to different concepts at different levels. For example, verbs are introduced at Level 2, but specific verbtenses are not introduced until Level 8. Below is a full listing of the program's levels and the concepts that are introducedat each level:

Level 1: the alphabet

Level 2: nouns, verbs

Level 3: subjects, predicates

Level 4: adjectives

Level 5: pronouns

Level 6: adverbs, direct and indirect objects

Level 7: singular and plural nouns, articles, common and proper nouns, personal pronouns,

possessive pronouns, possessive nouns

Level 8: prepositions, verbs in the present tense, verbs in the past tense

Level 9: interrogative and indefinite pronouns, countable and uncountable nouns

Level 10: verbs in the future tense, positive and comparative adjectives

Level 11: superlative adjectives, collective nouns, relative pronouns, main verbs

Level 12: auxiliary verbs, present participles, verbs in the active voice, conjunctions

Level 13: demonstratives, quantifiers, distributives

Level 14: adverbs of manner, adverbs of place, adverbs of time

Level 15: transitive and intransitive verbs

Level 16: adverbs of degree, verbs in the present perfect tense

Level 17: verbs in the past perfect and future perfect tense, irregular verbs, infinitives, gerunds

Levels 18-20: combines all concepts from the game