Fatal Distractions!/fataldistractions.bin/appndxa/masters/brain.doc

Text File | 1991-08-29 | 14KB | 257 lines

                                   BRAINSCAPE!

                          An Adventure in Neuroanatomy

                       W. Jeffrey Wilson & Lynne Ostergren

                      Department of Psychological Sciences

              Indiana University - Purdue University at Fort Wayne
                          2101 Coliseum Boulevard East
                              Fort Wayne, IN  46805

        Copyright 1985, Purdue Research Foundation.  All Rights Reserved.
        Unmodified copies of this documentation, or of the disk on which
        is distributed, may be freely distributed.

        AGT NOTE:  The Adventure Game Toolkit (AGT) version of BRAINSCAPE!
        was adapted to AGT by David Malmberg by modifying the Turbo Pascal
        source code (Version 1.2: dated 1/23/86) for BRAINSCAPE!


        Introduction

             Welcome to Brainscape!  You will have the unique opportunity
        of learning neuroanatomy by wandering around inside of your
        brain.  There are 50 locations available for exploration,
        including the ventricular system, limbic system, sensory and
        motor systems, and cortical and brainstem regions.  There are
        also treasures to be found, problems to be overcome, and a few
        denizens of the brain to be met.
             Brainscape! takes the form of an adventure, in which you,
        the hero, find yourself in unfamiliar territory armed only with
        your wits.
             The first adventure game, written by Don Woods and Will
        Crowther, was called Adventure, and took place within a giant
        cave, Colossal Cavern.  The computer provided a window onto
        another world, a world that existed wholly within the memory of
        the computer, but which quickly became very real for the player.
        The player told the computer what he or she wanted to do, and the
        computer carried out the command and indicated the results of the
        action.  Most of the commands involved movement; the player typed
        "Go West", and the computer revealed a description of the
        location reached by this movement.  Objects found throughout the
        cave could be gotten ("Get gold"), put down ("Drop torch"), or
        manipulated in various ways ("Eat food", or "Open door").
        Communication with the computer was by means of two-word
        commands, in the form of verb-object.  The player was free to try
        anything; the computer would respond by letting the player know
        the result of the action.  In essence, the player could explore
        this computer-generated world in any way that he or she saw fit,
        solving problems that arose by whatever means seemed appropriate.
             Brainscape!, like all of the other adventure games that
        followed Woods and Crowther's initial effort, is in many ways
        similar to the original Adventure.  A world exists in the memory
        of the computer, based on the world that exists inside of your
        head.  When you play the game, you are free to try any command
        that comes to mind.  You will spend a lot of time exploring,
        learning how to get from one part of the brain to another.  You
        will also come across numerous objects, some of which are
        inherently valuable, some of which allow you to solve problems,
        and some of which are totally useless.  Try anything that you
        feel like doing with these objects.  If it is a reasonable
        command the computer will act on it; if not, the computer will
        indicate that the command is not to its liking.  There is nothing
        that you can type that will disrupt the program or break the
        computer, although you can do things which jeopardize the success
        of your journey through the brain.  Have fun, be imaginative, and
        learn a lot!

        Starting the Game

             From the title, you may read the Instructions, or play the game.
        We recommend that you read the Instructions at least once before
        playing the game, as it contains information concerning the goals of
        the game.  Once you are familiar with the Instructions, you can skip
        it when you play the game again.
             Brainscape! is so large that part of the program must reside on
        disk, so the game will fail if the Game Disk is not available.
        The presence of the disk will also allow you to save and restore
        games readily (see below).

        Communicating with Brainscape!

             In response to "What now?", you are free to type any one or two
        word command that you like.  Brainscape! has a limited vocabulary,
        but will understand most commands that have some relevance to the
        game, or that might seem to make sense under the circumstances.
        Don't be afraid to try something; at worst, Brainscape! will let
        you know that it does not understand.
             Always press the Enter or Carriage Return key after
        completing your command.  If you make a mistake while typing the
        command, the Back Arrow key ( <-- ) will allow you to correct the
        mistake.  Correct spelling is VERY important; Brainscape! cannot
        properly interpret misspelled words and typographical errors.
        Some of the commands that you might employ are described below.

        Movement

             To explore the brain you must tell Brainscape! that you wish
        to move.  The direction of movement must be specified in standard
        anatomical terms.  "Rostral" indicates toward the front of the
        head, "caudal" toward the rear of the head, or tail.  "Dorsal"
        means toward the top of the head, "ventral" toward the bottom of
        the head.  "Lateral" means toward the side of the head, and
        "medial" means toward the midline.
             In almost all cases the directions in which movement is possible
        are indicated in the description of your current location.  If you
        should try to move in a direction in which movement is impossible you
        will be informed of your error.
             In all but a few special circumstances you can retrace your
        steps without difficulty.  That is, if you move from A to B, you
        can usually return from B to A, although not always by going back
        in the direction opposite to that which brought you to B.  For
        example, if you move medially to go from A to B, you can usually
        return to A by moving laterally.  In some cases you might have to
        move rostrally to return to A, having moved medially to arrive at
        B.  This was a necessary concession to the twisting nature of
        connections within the brain, and eliminates the need for
        directions like dorsomedial or rostroventral.  We have tried to
        be consistent, if not always apparently logical.
             Movement is not always under your control.  There are some
        locations from which you might be moved when you do not intend to
        move.  When you find your way out of the brain, your movement
        will once again be out of your control; you will be at the mercy
        of your venous system at this point.

        Treasures, Tools, and Trash

             Scattered throughout the brain are treasures that will
        increase your score, whenever they are in your possession.  These
        include neurotransmitters and various types of cells.  You will
        also come across various "tools" that will allow you to solve the
        problems that you encounter.  A small number of useless items can
        also be found; these do not increase your score or help you with
        problems.
             The presence of an item will be indicated on the screen.  To
        pick up an object, type "Get dopamine", or "Get cell".  The command
        "Inventory" (or "I") will reveal what you are carrying.  To put down
        an object, type "Drop dopamine", or "Leave cell".  If you want to get
        everything that appears at a given location, type "Get all"; to put
        down everything that you are carrying, type "Drop all".

        Problems

             Your exploration of the brain will be hindered by a number
        of difficulties that must be overcome.
             In certain locations you might be moved against your will.
        The reason for this should become clear.  This movement can in
        fact be used to your advantage.
             Some areas of the brain cannot be entered if you are empty-
        handed.
             You cannot leave some areas without answering a question.
             You can get lost in one region of your cortex.  Random
        wandering will allow you to escape.
             You might encounter two other inhabitants of the brain.  One
        is harmless; the other will make your life difficult.  There is a
        logical solution to the problem posed by the latter.
             You can carry only a limited number of objects at a time.
             You must find growth hormone in order to return to your
        original size.
             If you enter the blood supply unprotected, you will be
        attacked and eaten by white blood cells.

        Score

             Your score is determined by a number of things.  For each
        location of the brain that you discover and enter, you are
        awarded 10 points.  There are a total of 50 locations to explore.
             Every neurotransmitter or cell that you carry with you adds
        50 points to your score.  Putting down the object deducts those
        50 points, until the object is picked up again.  There are 8 such
        treasures.
             Solving certain problems adds to your score.  Carrying the
        growth hormone adds 50 points to your score.  Swallowing it (at
        the appropriate time) adds an additional 50 points.  Entering the
        venous supply protected from the immune system adds 50 points.
        Dealing effectively with the rambunctious resident of the brain
        adds 100 points to your score.
             The total score possible is 1150 points.
             When you leave the game, either on purpose or inadvertently,
        your score will be displayed.  At any point you can type "Score"
        in response to the prompt "What now?" to find out your current
        score.

        Saving or Restoring a Game

             You can save the game in progress by typing "Save".  After
        your response to the prompt indicates that this is in fact your
        intention, Brainscape! will save on disk an "image" of the game.
             To resume a game that was previously saved to disk, type
        "Restore" in response to the prompt.

        Leaving the Game

             You can leave the game in one of four ways.
             If you type "Quit", Brainscape! will tell you your score,
        and ask whether or not you are serious about quitting.  If you
        indicate that you are, the game will end.
             At five different locations, you must answer a question in
        order to proceed.  The question will be selected randomly from a
        pool of questions available at that site.  If you answer
        incorrectly twice in a row, the game will end, and you will be
        urged to study a bit harder.
             You can make one fatal error in judgement that will result
        in a rapid end to the game.  We hope that you don't find out what
        this error is.
             When you find your way out of the brain, the game will end.
        Descartes will meet you and let you know how well (or poorly) you
        did.  This way of leaving the game is the only one that will
        allow you to achieve a perfect score.

        A Final Comment

             We have worked hard to make Brainscape! free of errors in
        spelling, typography, anatomy, and logic.  To the best of our
        knowledge, there is nothing you can type that will cause the
        program to "bomb", that is, to stop running.  However, you might
        find that the program does not understand a command that you
        type.  This will occur from time to time because you have used a
        word that Brainscape! does not know.  If you get the same
        response (or lack of response) after trying several synonyms, it
        probably means that what you are trying to do is not possible.
        This would indicate that what you are attempting, despite being
        highly creative, probably is of no value in the game.
             We wrote Brainscape! to educate, but also to entertain.  We
        hope you find that your understanding of neuroanatomy improves as
        a result of your wanderings through the brain.  We also hope that
        you are not too frustrated by the problems that must be overcome
        in the course of the game.  If you have any comments, criticisms,
        praise, pleas for help, or suggestions for improvements, please
        send them to:

                  W. Jeffrey Wilson, Ph.D.
                  Department of Psychological Sciences
                  Indiana University - Purdue University at Fort Wayne
                  2101 Coliseum Boulevard East
                  Fort Wayne, IN  46805.

        References

             For further information about the anatomy of the brain, and
        about the functions of brain structures, refer to the following
        texts.

        Carlson. N. R. (1986). The physiology of behavior, third
             edition.  Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

        Carpenter, M. B. (1985). Core text of neuroanatomy, third
             edition.  Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

        Diamond, M. C., Scheibel, A. B., & Elson, L. M. (1985). The human
             brain coloring book.  New York: Barnes & Noble.