How I started in Adventuring (6)

                     by Jean Childs

Once upon a time, there was a bored housewife whose youngest child
started school. What could she do with herself? After the
housework was done and the part-time home-based job of cooking
peoples' books for them, she asked herself that question many
times. So she took up darts. But when holes started appearing in
the walls, her husband brought home a VIC-20.

He probably regrets it now, but he opened up a whole new world to
me. At first I was loathe to touch it, and my son would turn it on
when he returned home from school. I used to watch him playing
some rather primitive zap-em-ups which I found fun at first but
which soon became boring. So I bought a computer magazine to see
if any interesting programs were available. It was then that I
discovered listed programs that people had written and sent in. It
was just a case of typing them in, or so I thought. Very few of
them worked, often because I had made a mistake while typing but
sometimes because of a printed 'bug'.  It was purely through
trying to get these programs to work that I taught myself to
program. I could get my little computer to do anything, at least
all I could think I wanted it to do.

Then we bought a new game, an adventure. I'm not absolutely sure
of its name but my memories of it harmonize with other people's
memories of Scott Adams' 'Adventureland'. This was bliss. This was
putting the computer to a good use. Then came the question - could
I write adventure programs? Try as I might, nothing would
materialize. The imagination was there and the puzzles flew
through my mind, as did the story-lines, but I was too
inexperienced with the computer. The frustration was unbearable.

Then came the advent of the BBC computer and I upgraded to that.
My excuse, and it was an excuse, was that it would be more useful
for the children as the schools were using them. But first and
foremost it would be my domain. I remember going to buy it. The
man in the shop, while busily packing it up, turned to the
children and said "Is this for you?". "Actually" said my husband
"it's for my wife." The man looked at me and said "Now that's
strange. I thought you'd prefer a washing-machine." Now let me
just say - I am not a feminist. The point I am making here is that
I was not at all put out or shocked by this statement. Well, maybe
a tad put out. The reason I was not shocked was that I was used to
reading computer magazines that were completely male-orientated.

We played many adventures on the BBC, and I think my favourite was
a program called 'Ten Little Indians'. Anyone remember it?  Others
I enjoyed were 'Philosopher's Quest' and a lesser known one called
'The Pen and the Dark'.

When my youngest child, a girl, was about eight or nine her school
decided to run a computer club during the lunch hour and a request
was sent out for volunteers to help run it. So off I toddles and
what do I find? I find software suitable for five year olds, so
some of the children became bored. Then the teacher takes over the
computer and all the children became bored.  Then the teacher
becomes bored, the sessions became erratic and eventually the club
broke up.

My daughter then suggested that we had a little after-school club
of our own. This I organized and although there was only four of
them, they loved it. Adventures seemed to be a favourite but they
found them a little hard. So I set about writing one myself, just
for them. It was easier than before as I had, by this time,
digested the manual on BBC basic. Also, the children were less
demanding that I had previously been demanding of myself. Lets
face it, we should all start at the beginning.  Something I
eventually learned.

'Ogreland' was about travelling through a vast number of
locations, about twelve would be a realistic figure. But one of
the locations was a library giving information which was required
in order to answer the ogre's questions. Being limited to straight
BBC basic and my ability to use it, the children's answers had to
be exact. It was amazing how the answers to those general
knowledge questions stayed with the children for a long time
after. I believe that the combination of learning and the
children's natural zest for adventure was a good partnership.
Whether this is used in modern day use of computers in school I
don't know, but it wasn't used to its full capacity then.

Well, the children are now grown up. My son works for an American
computer company, Sun Microsystems, and hates adventure games.  My
daughter is just finishing college and dabbles in adventures
occasionally. Me? I've never been separated from them since I
first came in contact with them. It's harder to find the time now
as I am working full time (still cooking books), but every minute
I get is spent at the keyboard. We upgraded to an Atari ST which
kept me in adventures for a long time. I've even managed to write
a couple. But again I've moved on. The time I now spend on my PC
is almost grounds for divorce, my apprehension of the VIC 20 a
vague memory.





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