091116 Plotline--First Working Session

Allen, Dwight, Erik, Melissa & Wei-Hwa met to work through various plot concepts. We looked at many possibilities, including those nicknamed

• Basic--A Simple Technological Problem
• It's A Wonderful Life, Version 1
• It's A Wonderful Life, Version 2
• Rivals
• Crisis On Infinite Earths

We all agreed that "It's A Wonderful Life, Version 2" showed the most promise. Together we modified it to what I now nickname:

"You Always Hurt The One You Love"

or

"This Game Could Go On *Forever*!"

I'll describe this plot line at a super abstract level...and then apply it to the context of the new idea of mine: "showdown at the high school science fair."

SUPER ABSTRACT

ACT I

In the present, Doctor When demonstrates his time machine. The demo goes awry (maybe sabotage?), temporal hi-jinx ensue, but with the players' help he fixes the machine.

The Doctor uses the fixed time machine to go back in time to fix avoid embarrassing himself in front of the hot, but superficial cheerleader and win her heart. Hi-jinx ensue, and with the players' help he succeeds.

ACT II

The players return to the lab to find that it's now under the direction of Prof. Catherine Chronus...who in the previous timeline was Doctor When's ditzy assistant (and friend since high school), Kitty. She has no knowledge of the previous hi-jinx and starts a demonstration of *her* time machine from scratch. The demo goes awry (maybe sabotage?), temporal hi-jinx ensue, but with the players' help she fixes the machine.

After the time machine is fixed, we "pull back" to reveal that when Doctor When avoided the humiliation, it accidentally instead happened to Kitty. She goes back in time to avoid embarrassing herself in front of Doctor When and win his heart. Hi-jinx ensue and with the players' help she avoids the embarrassment. (Along the way we learn that the Doctor's marriage to the cheerleader didn't work out so well.)

ACT III

The players return to the lab to find that it's back under the direction of Doctor When. He has no knowledge of the previous hi-jinx and starts a demonstration of his time machine from scratch. The demo goes awry (maybe sabotage?), temporal hi-jinx ensue, but with the players' help (surprisingly efficient--since they've done this twice before) he fixes the machine.

We "pull back" to reveal that when Kitty avoided the humiliation, she accidentally reinstated the humiliation that happened to Doctor When. The Doctor starts the process of going back in time to avoid the humiliation...but this time the weary players intervene (possibly by going back in time themselves). Kitty and the Doctor realize they're made for each other. The humiliation now happens to the cheerleader. Players return to the present to see all is right in the world.

(However, as the game ends, there's a little ominous foreshadowing that the cheerleader is now researching time travel... )

STRUCTURE APPLIED TO THE SCIENCE FAIR CONTEXT

[I think it might be fun to have all the historical action take place at the high school science fair. (We also discussed having the action take place at the ritual rhythmic motion--I mean the high school prom.) The time-of-day timing may work better for us (I suspect we'll need to do Act III during the daytime). And it might be fun to make fake, Rube Goldberg science fair projects. Erik suggested we could even make the teams submit science fair project designs in their applications and delight them by using the projects in the game.]

ACT I

Learn that Doctor When was humiliated in high school: he planned to impress the hot/snobby cheerleader with his brilliant project and the (mangy) flowers he brought for her. Just as he was about to ask her out (in this inappropriately public place!) the project went awry and he was "slimed" in front of the object of his desire. The cheerleader and everyone else laugh at him.

Doctor When attempts to go back in time to fix the humiliation. Hi-jinx ensue, and with the players' help he avoids being slimed. In fact, the cheerleader nearly gets slimed, but his swift actions protect her. She's so impressed with his gallantry that she does actually start dating him, even though he's a nerd.

ACT II

We "pull back" to reveal that Kitty's science fair project was right next to Doctor When's. She spotted the flowers and thought he was about to ask her out. Instead, not only did he not give her the flowers, in his immature teenage boy snap judgment he chose to protect the cheerleader from the slime instead of Kitty. Everyone laughed at her.

Kitty goes back in time to avoid the humiliation. Hi-jinx ensue and with the players' help she avoids getting slimed.

ACT III

We "pull back" to reveal that when Kitty avoided getting slimed, the sliming happened to Doctor When just as in the first timeline [this should have a Rube Goldberg feel]. The Doctor starts the process of going back in time to avoid the humiliation, but the players intervene. With the players' intervention, this time the Doctor chooses to protect Kitty leaving the haughty cheerleader to get slimed. Kitty and the Doctor realize they're made for each other. Players return to the present to see all is right in the world. (Well, except for the cheerleader now becoming a world-class physicist and working on a mysterious invention in her garage.)

Puzzle/Event Structure

ACT I

• First Half (Ia)
  • These are puzzles that involve helping Dr. When fix the time machine. Perhaps a bit more emphasis on sit-down puzzles with less travelling.
• Second Half (Ib)
  • At this point, Dr. When has a working time machine, and he has gone back in time to fulfill his "grand quest" -- the players don't know that this is actually just a settlement of a petty incident in high school, although the smart players probably suspect it at the end of Ib.
  • Example: "I need my old locker combination!"
  • The "grand quest" is possibly a large Rube Goldberg like contraption, and the puzzles/events are components of this contraption.
  • The players don't see all components of what the Doctor is doing, just bits and pieces of it.

ACT II

• First Half (IIa)
  • These are puzzles that involve helping Prof. Kronos fix the time machine. They look superficially like the puzzles in Ia (since the fundamentals of building a time machine are about the same), but are actually different.
  • The feeling we're going for is that players should feel "deja vu" when solving these puzzles, but they turn out to have different solution mechanisms.
• Second Half (IIb)
  • At this point, Prof. Kronos has a working time machine, and has gone back for her "grand quest".
  • It turns out that the Ib and IIb "quests" are about the same, and even overlap in some components, which players see, but again, even combining Ib and IIb, the players don't have everything.

ACT III

• First "Half" (IIIa)
  • The puzzles are identical to Ia, which means that the players will be solving them very quickly (if they took notes). The Doctor will be somewhat taken aback by the fact that the players seem to be very fast.
• Second "Half" (IIIb)
  • Here, the players go back in time instead. They now have to use their knowledge of Ib and IIb, and combine them together into a cohesive whole, possibly also with some parts that weren't in Ib and IIb (because When/Kronos didn't need help with those).