Eliemouse In the U.S.A (c)1993 Baggetta_Ware VERSION 1.0 ********************************************************* * * * DEMO VERSION IS RESTRICTED. YOU CAN PLAY THE * * GAMES BUT YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PRINT THE MAP * * AND SOME OF THE GAMES WILL BE ONLY PARTIAL. YOU * * CAN ONLY WORK WITH 6 STATES IN THE DEMO, FOR * * EXAMPLE. * * * * THE COMPLETE GAME IS ONLY $10.00 PLUS $1.00 FOR * * SHIPPING AND HANDLING AND WILL BE SENT IMMEDIATELY * * TO HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN ABOUT THE UNITED STATES * * MAP. * * * * ORDER FROM BAGGETTA_WARE * * P.O. BOX 759 * * AGAWAM, MA 01001-0759 * * * ********************************************************* ********************** * * * SPECIAL ********************* * * * OFFER * * * * PERSONALIZED PROGRAM. IMAGINE YOUR * * CHILD'S LOOK OF SURPRISE WHEN HE/SHE * * SEES HIS/HER NAME ON THE COMPUTER * * SCREEN, RIGHT UP THERE WITH LITTLE * * OLD ELIEMOUSE. FOR $5.00 EXTRA YOU * * CAN HAVE ELIEMOUSE IN THE USA PERSON- * * ALIZED WITH YOUR CHILD'S NAME AND/OR * * MESSAGE, ON THE MAIN MENU SCREEN. * * PLEASE MENTION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE * * THIS DONE, WHEN ORDERING. LIMIT YOUR * * NAME OR MESSAGE TO 35 CHARACTERS, * * INCLUDING SPACES. THE MASSAGE WILL * * APPEAR IN GOLD LETTERING, WHERE THE * * DEMO MESSAGE IS NOW. * * * * MAKES A GREAT PRESENT!!! * ****************************************** "Eliemouse In the U.S.A." is a highly effective educational program that will quickly familiarize young children (and older ones too) with the locations of the states on a continental United States map. Most importantly it, like all other Eliemouse play, is only available for Atari ST computers. This is a low resolution program, so it requires a color monitor. The game captures the imaginations of young people through the use of color, music and sound effects and play. There is an 2element of mystery in the program. Will Eliemouse be able to save the sweetjam which has been distributed throughout the country, and is being sucked up by the mean Zinkos? Can you find him in time to stop the Zinkos in their tracks? This is all part of the game element in the program. While the game incorporates play, it also teaches through rote. By typing in the names of the states, in an attempt to find Eliemouse, most children will learn the names of the states and their locations on the map. In addition, two interesting facts are constantly being displayed in the game part of the program, the name of the state flower and the capital of the state. These too will become a part of the child's knowledge, since they can be a great help in finding Eliemouse very quickly. Animation is profusely included in the program. The Eliemouse icon, constantly on screen, often moves with urgency, hoping you can find the real Eliemouse quickly. The program flashes messages, borders and colors. Objects move in conjunction with the option that has been chosen. There is a lot of movement, sound and color coordination to grab your child's interest. Eliemouse In the U.S.A. (Features) Color, Sound Effects, Music Educational Adventure - Role Playing Game National Firsts List State Game First States Game Eliemouse Character Animation State Songs (hear them) State Flowers State Bird State Capitals State Location Animated Map State Entrance Facts State Knowledge Improved Typing Skills Improved Fun and Facts for All Ages Only for Atari ST Computers Loading Eliemouse Your disk should have two files on it. E_USA.PRG and USAMAP.PI1. It is essential that you have both of these in the same directory on your floppy or hard disk. Click on E_USA.PRG and the program will boot up. First you will see a title screen for a few moments (you can force this along by hitting RETURN), followed by the flashing option screen. There are five options to choose from: <1> STATE FACTS <2> FIRST 13 <3> AMERICAN FIRSTS <4> STATE GAME <5> QUIT <1> State Facts Children who would like to play the STATE GAME effectively should start here. This part of the program will give important information about each of the states. This may be used as preparation for the game, later, or simply to look up facts about the states, at any time. Press the number 1 key, and you are brought to a red-white- blue screen of options: <1> BROWSE THE STATES <2> SEARCH FOR STATE <3> PRINT <4> QUIT If number 1 is selected from this menu, you will start to browse through the state information, starting with ALABAMA. Each screen gives the same order of information: STATE NAME, CAPITAL, FLOWER, BIRD, SONG, DATE OF ENTRANCE INTO THE UNION. ALABAMA, for example will look like this: STATE NAME: ALABAMA CAPITAL: MONTGOMERY FLOWER: CAMELLIA BIRD: YELLOWHAMMER SONG: ALABAMA ENTERED UNION ON: DECEMBER 14 1819 RETURN OR RIGHT MOUSE CONTINUES SPACEBAR QUITS STATE NAME and SONG will have boxes around them. This indicates that you may click on these areas with the LEFT mouse button. By clicking on the STATE NAME you will be sent to the US map that shows this state colored in. An animated arrow will lead you to the spot on the map. Click on SONG and you will hear a few strands from the state song. Some the songs are contested, so the most commonly associated song was used for this program. Where there is no state song, either a traditional song from the state will be heard, or no song will be indicated. You may browse through the states by pressing any key, except the SPACEBAR. SPACEBAR will abort the browse and send you back to the option menu for state names. You can browse very quickly through the states by using the hair trigger of the RIGHT mouse button. Your reaction must be very quick to control this. When you have scanned all 50 states, you will be sent back to the state names menu. Incidentally, ALASKA and HAWAII have been placed at the end of the list of state names -- not because they lack any importance, but since they are not a part of the continental U.S. they would cause problems with color fills in the program. ALASKA and HAWAII are important so the information is included in the state names section of the program. Back at the state names menu, option 2 will allow you to search for a specific state. You must, of course, know how to spell the name of the state in order to find it. Press the number 2 key, and a prompt box will appear. Type in the name of the state (upper or lower case does not matter), and the state screen will be displayed, as with option number 1. Again you may click on STATE NAME or SONG to get more information. Pressing the RETURN key, however, returns you to the state names menu. The third option on the state names menu, PRINT, will allow printing on a typical Epson compatible printer (or most other printers that follow this protocol). Press the number 3 key, and another submenu will appear: PRINT ALL STATE DATA PRINT ONLY U.S. MAP QUIT Selecting A will ask you if your printer is ready. Make sure it is turned on and set to top of page. The program does not check for these things, so you must be ready. If you change your mind, simply respond with a no, and you will be returned to the state names menu. Answering yes will send a formatted list of the states out to your printer. This may be used when playing the game, for study in school, or any other occupation that would require such information. When the printing is completed you will be returned to the state names menu. Option B from the submenu will print a plain black and white copy of the U.S. map. This may be used for school purposes -- coloring, identification, travel, etc. Press the B key and the U.S. map will appear on screen. If a printer is attached you will get a copy of the map. If no printer is attached, the map will remain on screen for a few moments and then the program will timeout and return you to the state names menu. Incidentally, if your map is printed too large for your printer paper, you will need to adjust your output. Go to the CONTROL PANEL displayed in your desktop menubar (the program loads as an accessory -- from the original disk you got with your computer), and click on INSTALL PRINTER. You will get a dialog box that has a line in it Pixels/Line 1280 960. Select 960 and then click on OK. You should now be ready to get a good copy of the map. The last option is self-explanatory. QUIT will bring you back to the main menu, the start of the program. <2> First 13 In this section, Eliemouse presents you with a little quiz about the first 13 states in the union. Press number 2 and you will be brought to another screen showing the country map in the background, Eliemouse watching from the wings, and a bordered window asking if you can name the first 13 states. If you do not know these, the program will instruct you. Press N and Eliemouse will give you a list of the states to study. If you study these carefully, next time you come into the game, you will be prepared. Press any key to return to the main menu. If you think you know the states, press Y to answer yes, and you will be given the ok to go ahead and try to list them. Simply type the name of the state. You won't be able to type beyond the border of the window. When you are finished, press RETURN to register your answer. If you are wrong you will get a terse WRONG message from Eliemouse, the window line will be cleared, and you may try again. If you get the answer correct, you will get a happy RIGHT response and Eliemouse will jump for joy. Your answer will remain in the window, and you may continue on with the rest of your answers. If the task becomes impossible, simply type the word BYE at the prompt and press RETURN. This will end the game and return you to the main menu. Notice that no scores are given or kept anywhere in the program. Emphasis is upon the idea that this is not a win or lose situation. You will learn the information if you practice or play long enough. <3> American Firsts The United States has been the home of many firsts in history, and option 3 gives you the opportunity to learn about some of the most important social events in the country. Select the number 3 and you will see another window dominate the map screen. Eliemouse is there to watch, too. Tap any one of the letters from A-N and you will get information about the event. They all have some kind of sound effect associated with the event, a graphic, or a simple animation that emphasizes the event. When you are through studying these events, press the Z key and you will be sent back to the main menu. <4> State Game Young children find this the most amusing, entertaining, and educational part of the program. The quest is simple. The Zinkos, a mean thirsty race of things, love sucking sweetjam wherever they can find it. They have become so greedy however that they threaten the national supply, that Eliemouse is constantly delivering throughout the country. Unbeknownst to Eliemouse, the Zinkos start sucking the sweetjam at a fierce pace. You get the word to contact Eliemouse for help. Eliemouse has a special formula of sweetjam that he gives the Zinkos that temporarily immobilizes them. He then has the chance to refill all of the states that have been drained. You are very important to the cause, because you and only you are capable of finding Eliemouse in time. You do this by looking at the LOCATION box, in the upper right portion of the screen. This will give you hints about the state where you will find Eliemouse. Simply type in the name of the state correctly and the message will be sent to Eliemouse, and you will have saved the day. Press the number 4 to play the game. A map of the country will be displayed with an icon of Eliemouse pointing to the map. In the lower left corner of the screen is an animated DIFFICULTY box. You may select either <1> EASY <2> HARD. If you select EASY you will be given the name of the state where Eliemouse resides at the moment, but several letters will be missing. If you select HARD you will not be given this clue. Choose one, to start the game rolling. The first time you play the game you will see assorted messages hinting at the problem in the country. After these you start the game. The colored states will become black as they are drained of their sweetjam, by the Zinkos. Eliemouse's Icon will become rather panic stricken if you don't respond, by demonstrating assorted nervous twitches, accompanied by moans for help. If you think you know the name of the state where Eliemouse is working, simply type it in. It will appear in the lower left corner of the screen. Some letters will come more slowly than others as you type, since the Zinkos are trying to slow you down by trying to interrupt your message. When you are through spelling the name of the state, press RETURN to see if you are correct. If you have the wrong answer. You will get a return message, that says HE'S NOT THERE! And you must once again try to save the day. Keep in mind that the Zinkos keep on draining the sweetjam, so hurry with your answer. On the other hand it does not pay to panic and type in the wrong answer. If you don't succeed in getting through to Eliemouse, the Zinkos will drain the entire nation of its sweetjam supply, and you will be told that this has happened. The LOCATION box will display the name of the state, for learning purposes. But, cheer up, you can play the game again, if you like. Simply tap the Y key at the prompt that follows the bad game, and the play will start over. Since you are really starting anew, you will be forced to read all of the messages again. If you are successful and type in the correct state name (spelling is important, ahemmm), the Zinkos will be stopped in their tracks immediately. You will be "patted on the back" with a nice message and Eliemouse's icon will use his magic pointer to point a glowing beam to the state as it appears on the map. Sound and color events will also help pinpoint the states exact location. The states will then refill with sweetjam, and you will be asked if you want to play again. If you say yes here, you will not have to read the messages again. Simply choose your difficulty and begin playing. It might be pointed out here, that your success in answering makes the game more challenging. Every time you answer correctly, a little more speed power is given to the Zinkos and they absorb the sweetjam much more quickly. See how fast you are. As you play the game more, your acquired knowledge of the states should allow you to keep up with the Zinkos and maybe even conquer the game. If you should save all 48 continental states (Hawaii and Alaska) are not included in this part of the program due to technical problems), you will be proclaimed a victor and return to the main program menu. <5> Quit Pressing the number 5 on the main menu ends the program. Young children can gain a lot of knowledge about state location and state information by playing "Eliemouse In the U.S.A." on a regular basis. The program also helps with typing skills. The faster a player can type, the more likely he is to win the states game, if he knows the answer. But Eliemouse is a fun character and the program can be used simply as entertainment, too.