The "Fawn" FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Version 1.0
This file is designed to help you get the most out of "Fawn", the interactive RPG by Greg Gillis (me) for Armadillo Games. It is set up in a "question and answer" format, and will hopefully answer most of the questions you have about the game.
If you still find that you aren't sure what's going on after you read this file, remember that you can always contact us via e-mail at the following address:
azwald@io.org
Or, you can visit our page on the World Wide Web at this address:
http://www.io.org/~azwald/armadillo.html
Now, to business...
Q: What is "Fawn"?
Fawn is a role playing game, or RPG. It was created using HyperCard 2.3.5 (by Apple Computer, Inc.). Fawn differs from many other computer RPG's, however, in that it is more driven by it's storyline than by an attempt at emulating every aspect of the life of a user defined character. In this respect, it is somewhat more similar to the RPG's that dominate the home video game console market. The game stresses fun over realism, if you will.
Q: Why is the game called "Fawn"?
I'm not even sure that I can answer that question ... technically, it's because that is the name of the planet upon which the game takes place. I suppose you mean that you don't understand why it's called "Fawn", and not "Neptune" or something. Well, I wanted a title that kind of gave the impression of something that is fragile, distant, and alone ... hmmm ... perhaps I should have called it "Earth" ...
Q: Why won't the game work!!?!
See the "Hello..." file that came with "Fawn" to determine if your Mac meets the system requirements for the game.
Q: All I get is a white screen!
Make sure that you have allocated enough memory to the HyperCard Player (or the HyperCard application). It should be set to at least 3MB, preferably 4.
To change HyperCard's memory allocation, click once on the application's icon, then select "Get Info" from the File menu. You can change how much memory HyperCard uses in the lower right-hand corner of the window.
Q: The transitions in the game are very jerky...
This effect is usually caused by a need to "compact" the stack (see below), or because of Virtual Memory being turned on (see Apple ... just kidding...).
Q: Okay, I've started the game. Now what?
You start the game in the village of Altreia, the capital city of the planet Fawn. Near the bottom of the screen is a small icon which represents Lance, the leader of your party. To move Lance around on screen, click on the area where you want him to go. If he can go there he will! To enter the buildings in Altreia, simply click on them.
When you want to leave the city, click on the edge of the screen in the direction in which you want to go (ie. click on the left edge of Altreia to go west one screen).
Q: What's that little thing in the upper-left hand corner that says "PARTY"?
It is a pop-up button. Click and hold the mouse button on it, and you will see four items that you can select: Party; Lance; Vincent; Sarah. Selecting "Party" does nothing; it simply closes the pop-up button. Selecting one of the members of your party takes you to their specific pop-up button (it appears over top of the "PARTY" button).
Once you have selected a character, hold down the mouse on their button and you will have more options. These vary by character.
LANCE: Close; Stats; Save.
VINCENT: Close; Stats; Home.
SARAH: Close; Stats; Map.
For all characters, the "Close" option closes their specific pop-up button, and returns you to the "PARTY" button. The "Stats" option takes you to the individual character's status screen. For Lance, the "Save" option allows you to save your progress in the game so far. For Vincent, the "Home" option is a spell that he can cast to return your party to Altreia (at any time except during a battle, as the pop-up buttons are not visible while fighting). For Sarah, the "Map" option calls up a map of Fawn. This option has no function until later in the game.
Q: When I'm in a store and I click on an item to buy, I get a description of the item, but I don't get the option to buy it!
You have to double-click on the item to buy it.
Q: How do I use or equip the items I buy?
Go to the stats screen of any one of your three characters, and you will see a list of all the items that they are carrying. Click on an item to view the options for what you can do with it.
Q: I saved my game but it didn't ask me where to put the file ... so where is it?!
Nowhere. Fawn doesn't create new files for saved games. The saved-game data is stored within the program itself.
Q: When I try to save my game, it doesn't work!
You should not run Fawn directly off of a CD-ROM. Copy it to your hard drive first. Also, make sure that the application itself is NOT locked, and that it is not on a locked volume.
Q: How do I restart the game?
Select "Reset Game..." from the File menu.
Q: How do I turn off the music in the game?
I spent a lot of time on that!! Anyway, it's in the Preferences menu, along with the option to turn off the sound effects.
Q: Why is it asking me if I want to compact the stack? What the *$#@ is a stack!?
Fawn was made with HyperCard 2.3. HyperCard programs are called stacks, and have a tendency to "grow" with use. The fact is, they don't need this extra space that they consume (and it can cause the program to slow down tremendously), so it is possible to "squish" the stack back down to it's proper size. Fawn does this automatically when you quit (if you select "Compact"), and you can also compact the stack manually from the File menu.
Q: Why doesn't Fawn have ... (INSERT GAME FEATURE HERE) ?
There are lots of features that I would have liked to include in Fawn that I didn't, and this is mainly because at some point you have to "let go".
Q: Well, will there be a sequel to Fawn with more features?
Possibly, yes. As of this writing (August, 1996) I have no firm details to give, but I wouldn't expect a sequel until next year. Here are some of the features I plan to include:
•Ability to cast more spells
•More impressive special effects
•More options during battle
•Less linear gameplay
•More "slick" design
•I may possibly increase the game to 640 x 480 resolution, but I'm not sure yet...
•Plus lots of other neat stuff I can't remember just now...
Q: By the way, this incredibly radical game is FREEWARE?! I bet you could charge a ton of money for it ... geez ... the colours, the story ... it's a dream from beginning to end!!
Errrm ... okay. Well, yes, the game is free. If you feel guilty, why not e-mail me and tell me what you thought of it! I love getting mail, and appreciate any and all feedback (although constructive criticism is preferred over "dang, this sucks!" type comments...).
Known "Bugs"...
There are several aspects of "Fawn" which might bother a few people, so I have explained my reasoning behind them here...
• When the main game window is moved (by dragging its title bar), the image of Lance doesn't
move with it...
This is true, however, I don't really see why this should cause anyone undue alarm. I considered removing the window's title bar (so it couldn't be dragged), but I feel that this in some ways reduces the user's ability to customise their display. In any event, this "bug" doesn't actually do any harm, because as soon as you click back in the main window again, the image of Lance returns to where it should be.
• Sometimes, when a saved game is loaded, Lance appears in the middle of some scenery...
I have eliminated as many instances of this as I possibly can without spending another large chunk of time working on very intricate portions of the game. It is rare, but does happen. Still, though, like the previous "bug", this does not really affect the way the game plays. As soon as you click on a place where you'd like Lance to move, he will move there and all will be well again (although you will have to click in an area that he can physically move to; despite the fact that Lance may be stuck in the scenery, you still can't move him around inside it...).
If you find any more odd things going on with "Fawn", please let me know via e-mail at the address at the top of this FAQ. If the problem is noticeable but insignificant, I will likely fix it for the sequel (although the sequel will probably have a very different "engine" to the first game). If the problem is very significant indeed (ie. opening the map on a certain screen causes the game to turn black and white and then crash...) then I will attempt to correct it and release a new version of "Fawn".
