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STILL TO DO (pinned):
X test on mobile post-revisions
X improve formatting on quoted text (e.g., poem, quotes, insets)
X Alpha test
X Beta test
X revise per ^
X Info sheet on project (popup from title page, prolly)
X Put in google spreadsheet play tracking.
X Blockquotes
X Pretty it up - b.g.s, transitions etc.
X add avatars for characters.
X format the popups
X Title page
X Credits page - complete
X start again on the final passage, credits, etc.
X choose a font: preferences in this order: Asul, Gotu, Belleza
X Look again at "wizard" and "dorothy" passages, to see if they need updating now I've written "witch", etc.
X Cut text WAAAAAY back in the first few passages, and everywhere generally. Short, sharp, PRECISE.
X because of the container scrolling, when you go to a new passage, it keeps the scroll at the bottom - really irritating. Need to fix so that the click on the link to the new passage takes you to the top of the body again. Not sure how. (I don't know how I did this... it just stopped amidst whatever changes I was making.)
Beginning drafting 15 Aug 2019. Previous (brainstorming) notes are in Evernote.
Activities today:
- completed brainstorming (mostly on the mnemonic)
- begin outlining storygame here in Twine
- I was thinking about having sound, but if the goal is to have it for mobile devices and eventually in waiting rooms, then sound is no good. Also, it's annoying and I am not good at it.
19 Aug 2019
- had a look at Chapbook formatting, so I'm trialling it for now. I'm more familiar with SugarCube, so may revert to that.
- text color that works with the green background: #0e2b1d
21 Jan 2020
Well, sadly my year of horror last year got worse once I tried to return to work, and I did not complete this. So getting to the writing of it now.
25 Mar 2020
lololollololo. Yeah, the year of horror has extended. Shortly after the last entry, things at new uni went madly south. Struggling with mental health. And then, of course, the whole world went south with Coronavirus. Strangely, I have found an equilibrium in the lockdown, having started a writing Discord server, and am getting a great deal of work done. So starting back on this now, and finally making progress!
20 Apr 2020
Still making slow progress. Still in lockdown.
23 Apr 2020
It's so close to being done! Text/code all drafted, now I'm making it look pretty. :)
25 Apr 2020
(really, the end of 24 Apr)
So I spent most of today clearing out bugs and adding features, and then fixing things when they broke. Having that transition of fade to black and back again was a bitch, but I got it in the end. And then I got back to it and I'd broken the javascript for removing the frame - that had taken me hours and hours to figure out! Oh, well, I got it working again.
Later...
Have alpha'd and fixed what I could find. Added click collection, beta-testing info. Should be ready for betatesters. Pretty happy with this.
18 May 2020
Have alpha'd and beta'd. One tech issue with the background images on iPhone, so that's fixed now. Only revision really is that the transitions b/w "real" world and Oz and b/w end of story and factual info is rather abrupt. Have ethical approval for online focus groups, and the questionnaires are set up. This will be a link from the first questionnaire, then at the end they go back to the second questionnaire.
Also, still in lockdown. Probably better for me if it lasts forever.
Later...
Revisions are complete. I fixed the end transitions a bit, added the participant number login, removed the beta-testing stuff, added the variable for the GP visit at the end (can't believe I overlooked that!), and revised the transitions if the player tried to move too quickly through Dorothy to Nightingale (the "explore all options" was just dumping PC unceremoniously in front of the wizard, with no transition).
I want to test a few times on my mobile, and probably play with the formatting of some of the special text sections (poem, quotes). Otherwise, it's good to go.
19 May 2020
Today I did some more testing. Decided I wanted the site to be a "PWA": Progressive Web App (https://web.dev/add-manifest/) so that the address bar on the mobile browser would disappear on scroll. I could also make it so the app could go full screen with no mar at all, but as I don't have the UI for the user to close the thing, etc., decided not to. Yet. I followed the site above, and got a couple of errors to do with the site security and "service worker". I had to force the site to redirect to https, which means I created a ".htaccess" file and placed it in the project folder (same as Twine's index.html): I created a text file in BBEdit, pasted the following code in:
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/[0-9]+\..+\.cpaneldcv$
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} !^/\.well-known/pki-validation/[A-F0-9]{32}\.txt(?:\ Comodo\ DCV)?$
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} IS
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.lyleskains.com/IS/$1 [R=301,L]
(The last two lines are the customizable ones - have to put the web folder on the penultimate line, and the full url on the last, before the "/$1".)
Then I saved it and uploaded the .htaccess file through Transmit. Seems to work fine now.
Never really fixed the service worker error, but it works fine anyway, so I couldn't be asked.<<silently>><<script>>$('<img id="fgimg" src="overlay.png" >').appendTo(document.body);<</script>><</silently>>You're not home, you are certainly not in Kansas, but as you walk you soon discover this is also not the Oz you have come to know and love from book and film. Apart from the golden bricks beneath your feet, this world is as gray and lifeless as a tornado-beaten Kansas.
You come to a tiny village, most of its structures depressed, if not downright derelict. In its center, slouched on the edge of a dry and crumbling fountain, sits a Winkie: a small, wizened man with hands as black as tarnished silver.
You try to speak to him, but he only coughs and moans, "No one can save us. Oz is dead."
You slowly skirt around him, troubled, until you come to a triad fork in the road. The yellow continues on to <span class="yellow">[[Emerald City]]</span>, this much you know; a <span class="green">[[green path|see a witch]]</span> branches west, and <span class="red">[[red bricks|see Dorothy]]</span> march off to the east.
Determined to shake off what surely must be an hallucination, you bypass the golden path and continue home. You self-medicate and fall into a restless <<link "sleep">>
<<if $treat1 is "antibiotics">><<goto [[dystopia]]>>
<<else>><<script>>$('<img id="farmimg" class="fade-in-out" src="fade.png" >').appendTo(document.body);<</script>><<timed 3s>><<goto [[farm]]>><</timed>>
<</if>>
<</link>>.
<<silently>><<set $dystopia to "visited">><</silently>>It's quiet when you wake. You peek outside and see emptiness and destruction.
What happened while you slept? Had a cyclone blown through? World War III?
Your family is all gone. Dust covers every surface, and layers of water stains stream down the walls.
Shaking, you run to your local surgery: the fever has intensified so much you can no longer locate reality.
To your dismay, your GP shakes her head mournfully. "My friend, it is the end of the world. You think this flu is bad? Try sepsis. Tuberculosis. Appendicitis. Hardly anyone will risk surgery anymore, not without antibiotics to control infection. Malnutrition, because no one can afford protein after the livestock were wiped out. We're in the dark ages again. Be glad you only have the flu. This time."
Stunned, you stagger home, but a glint in the park's grass stops you. Beneath the barren dirt, you detect a bricked pattern.
You crouch, brushing away the dirt and the litter, <<link "following the brick road">><<script>>$('<img id="farmimg" class="fade-in-out" src="fade.png" >').appendTo(document.body);<</script>><<timed 3s>><<goto [[farm]]>><</timed>><</link>> on your hands and knees.
<<silently>><<set $emerald to "visited">><</silently>><<if $toofast is "true">>You follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.
<</if>>The suburbs of the capital city are overwhelmed with the sick and the dying. A caucophony of coughing coalesces into a constant din. You hear murmurs of a <<link "curse">>
<<script>>
Dialog.setup("The Curse", "cssstyle");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("curse").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>>
<</link>>, but more than that you pick up a rumbling <<link "discontent">>
<<script>>
Dialog.setup("Disease in Oz", "cssstyle");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("discontent").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>>
<</link>> aimed at the emerald green crystal palace.
All of this seems very familiar to you, but you can't quite put a finger on why. You must be here for a reason, though, correct? Maybe, like Dorothy, you can help.
You'll just have to see <<cyclinglink "$ecCL" "whoever this new wizard is" "one of the witches fighting the sickness" "Oz's best-known hero: Dorothy">>. Determined to help, you <<link "set off">>
<<if $ecCL is "whoever this new wizard is">><<set $varCL to "wizard">><<goto [[see the wizard]]>>
<<elseif $ecCL is "one of the witches fighting the sickness">><<set $varCL to "witch">><<goto [[see a witch]]>>
<<else>><<set $varCL to "Dorothy">><<goto [[see Dorothy]]>><</if>>
<</link>>.
<<silently>><<set $witch to "visited">>
<<set $instructions to "got">><</silently>>The green brick road leads to a castle challenging Themascura for feminine power: Glinda's domain of peace and love and bunnies in mazes. <<if $wizard is "visited">>Unlike the wizard, s<<else>>S<</if>>he seems to expect you.
<<if $dorothy is "visited" and $wizard isnot "visited">>"Dorothy sent a monkey to tell me you might be coming, dear," says Glinda. <<elseif $wizard is "visited" and $dorothy isnot "visited">>"The wizard sent a monkey to tell me you might be coming, dear," says Glinda. <<elseif $dorothy is "visited" and $wizard is "visited">>"Dorothy and the wizard both sent monkeys to tell me you might be coming, dear," says Glinda. <<else>>You don't even have to tell her what you've seen and learned; she already knows. <</if>>"I believe you can help. You must seek out the Nightingale."
She gives you instructions, then sends you on your way. <<if $dorothy is "visited" and $wizard is "visited">><<print "Your path is clear: you must find the [[Nightingale|find object]].">>
<<elseif $dorothy is "visited" and $wizard isnot "visited">>You could return to the <span class="yellow">[[yellow brick road|see the wizard]]</span> or you could seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]] Glinda and Dorothy told you about.
<<elseif $dorothy isnot "visited" and $wizard is "visited">>You could go down that <span class="red">[[red brick road|see Dorothy]]</span> or you could seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]] Glinda told you about.
<<elseif $dorothy isnot "visited" and $wizard isnot "visited">>You're still a bit unsure, however. Perhaps it's time to see where those alternate roads lead, the <span class="red">[[red|see Dorothy]]</span> and the <span class="yellow">[[yellow|see the wizard]]</span>.<</if>>
<<silently>><<set $dorothy to "visited">><</silently>>The red brick road, rather aptly, leads you to a small farmhouse that would be right at home in Kansas, and Dorothy within.
This is Dorothy – not //the// Dorothy, of course, but rather her great-great-great-granddaughter. When you tell her what you have seen and learned, she nods.
"I and the witches have done all we can, but the curse remains. Scarecrow told me long ago that the Nightingale might be able to help, but only if wielded by someone who has never been touched by magic – which means no one from Oz can touch it. Perhaps you could seek it out?"
You think about it for a moment. <<if $witch is "visited" and $wizard is "visited">><<print "Your path is clear: you must seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]].">>
<<elseif $witch is "visited" and $wizard isnot "visited">>You could return to the <span class="yellow">[[yellow brick road|see the wizard]]</span> or you could seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]] Dorothy and the witch told you about.
<<elseif $witch isnot "visited" and $wizard is "visited">>You could go down that <span class="green">[[green brick road|see a witch]]</span> or you could seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]] Dorothy told you about.
<<elseif $witch isnot "visited" and $wizard isnot "visited">>Perhaps it's time to see where those alternate roads lead, the <span class="green">[[green|see a witch]]</span> and the <span class="yellow">[[yellow|see the wizard]]</span>. You could also dive right in to seeking out that [[Nightingale|find object]].<</if>>
<<silently>><<set $wizard to "visited">><</silently>><<if $toofast is "true">>The yellow brick road leads you back to Emerald City.
<</if>>The wizard herself seems the only person unaffected by rampant coughing. "I heard we had a visitor," she sighs at you. "I suppose you want to go home."
<<if $dystopia is "visited">>"I tried that already. It's a disaster zone, too. What happened here?"<<else>>"Probably. What happened here?"<</if>>
"I was born in 1913. Do you know what I <<link "lived through">>
<<script>>
Dialog.setup("The Wizard's Life", "cssstyle");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("wizLife").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>>
<</link>>? Finding Oz was paradise. Only after a while the sickness came, but I recognized it, and I brought back medicine."
"Uh-oh," you say.
"It worked, and they hailed me as their wizard." She begins to sob. "Then it didn't, and now the illness is worse than ever, and no one can save us."
It's clear the wizard is incapable of helping Oz; she can hardly help herself. <<if $dorothy is "visited" and $witch is "visited">>Your path is clear: you must seek out the [[Nightingale|find object]].
<<elseif $dorothy is "visited" and $witch isnot "visited">>You could go down that <span class="green">[[green brick road|see a witch]]</span> or you could seek out that [[Nightingale|find object]] Dorothy told you about.
<<elseif $dorothy isnot "visited" and $witch is "visited">>You could go down that <span class="red">[[red brick road|see Dorothy]]</span> or you could seek out that [[Nightingale|find object]] the witch told you about.
<<elseif $dorothy isnot "visited" and $witch isnot "visited">>Perhaps it's time to see where those alternate roads lead, the <span class="red">[[red|see Dorothy]]</span> and the <span class="green">[[green|see a witch]]</span>.<</if>>
<<silently>><<set $toofast to "true">><</silently>><<if $wizard isnot "visited">>You set out, <<if $witch is "visited">>muttering //"<span class="never">only... always... never...</span>"//, <</if>>but you still have no earthly idea how Oz got into this situation to begin with. You think you might want to <<link "check in with the wizard">><<if $emerald isnot "visited">><<goto [[Emerald City]]>><<else>><<goto [[see the wizard]]>><</if>><</link>> before setting on your quest.
<</if>><<if $witch isnot "visited">>You have no idea where to begin. Would the <<link "wizard">><<if $wizard is "visited">><<goto [[wizard2]]>><<elseif $emerald isnot "visited">><<goto [[Emerald City]]>><<else>><<goto [[see the wizard]]>><</if>><</link>> know where to find this object? What about a [[witch|see a witch]]?<</if>><<if $witch is "visited">>You ponder the task Glinda set you.
"You must see the three: the poet, the soldier, and the farmer. Each will give you a piece of the wisdom you need to find the object."
Once you have it, she told you, you must hold it in your hands and say these words:
<span class="only"><u>Only</u> cure as needed;
a pest wants a swat not a cannonball. </span>
<span class="always"><u>Always</u> follow the spell;
a saw won't drive a nail. </span>
<span class="never"><u>Never</u> arm the monster;
a wounded beast fights twice as hard. </span>
You set out, walking until you reach a crossroads: <<if $dorothy is "visited">>according to Dorothy, the Scarecrow now lives in [[Winkie Country|farmer]], the Lion in [[Munchkin Country|soldier]], and the Tin Woodman is traveling through [[Quadling territory|poet]].<<else>>arrows point you to [[Winkie Country|farmer]], [[Munchkin Country|soldier]], and [[Quadling territory|poet]].<</if>>
<</if>>
<<silently>><<set $object += 1>>
<<set $tinman to "visited">><</silently>>You find the Tin Woodman in an inn, sipping carefully on ale and squeaking a bit as he recites to no one in particular:
<em><span style="color:royalblue">The weariness, the fever, and the fret</span>
<span style="color:steelblue">Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;</span>
<span style="color:cornflowerblue">Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;</span>
<span style="color:steelblue">Where but to think is to be full of sorrow</span>
<span style="color:cornflowerblue">And leaden-eyed despairs,</span>
<span style="color:royalblue">Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,</span>
<span style="color:steelblue">Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.</span></em>
//Aha!// you think, //the poet! I wonder if he composed the "<span class="never">Only... Always... Never...</span>" bit.//
Over an ale and some sorrows, he tells you he knows the object is in Gillikin Country, but no more than that.
<<if $object gt 2>>That's it. That's the last part of the puzzle you needed. Eager to reunite with his old friends, the Tin Woodman joins you, and you all set off toward [[Gillikin Country|nightingale]].<<else>>Always willing to lend a kind hand, he joins you in your quest.
<<if $lion is "visited" and $scarecrow isnot "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>Scarecrow in <</if>>[[Winkie Country|farmer]] remains to explore.
<<elseif $lion isnot "visited" and $scarecrow is "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>Lion in <</if>>[[Munchkin Country|soldier]] remains to explore.
<<else>><<if $dorothy is "visited">>To the Scarecrow in <</if>>[[Winkie Country|farmer]] or <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Lion in <</if>>[[Munchkin Country|soldier]]?
<</if>>
<</if>>
<<silently>>
<<set $lion to "visited">>
<<set $object += 1>>
<</silently>>The Lion presides over a compound that reminds you of a model village, if model villages included army training exercises. Apparently, lacking though he is in the aggression needed to actually fight in battles, he is nonetheless very good at training others to do so – in this case, Munchkins, which explains the small size of the facilities.
//The one Glinda called a "soldier"//, you think.
"YES!" roars he at your request. "It would be wonderful to cure this illness – as you can see, it has wiped out all but a few of my soldiers."
He runs off, but quickly returns with a small wooden box. Carved into its lid are the words //"<span class="never">Only... Always... Never...</span>"//
"When we find it, we must place it in this to protect its power," says he, hefting a knapsack on his back so he can travel with you.
<<if $object gt 2>>That's it. That's the last part of the puzzle you needed. You rejoin the others and set off toward [[Gillikin Country|nightingale]].<<else>>You secure the box, and return to the crossroads.
<<if $tinman is "visited" and $scarecrow isnot "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>Scarecrow in <</if>>[[Winkie Country|farmer]] remains.
<<elseif $tinman isnot "visited" and $scarecrow is "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Tin Woodman in <</if>>[[Quadling Country|poet]] remains.
<<else>><<if $dorothy is "visited">>To the Scarecrow in <</if>>[[Winkie Country|farmer]] or <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Tin Woodman in <</if>>[[Quadling Country|poet]]?
<</if>>
<</if>>
<<silently>><<set $scarecrow to "visited">><<set $object += 1>><</silently>>Scarecrow, fittingly, is laboring in a corn crop. Crows hop around his feet, accepting his friendly offerings of corn.
"Oh, wonderful," cries he once you've told him what you are doing. "It's been awful since this sickness came, just awful. You know the cows have it too?"
He rummages around in the straw filling out his chest, and pulls out a scroll, you make out the words //"<span class="never">Only... Always... Never...</span>" //bordering a detailed map. "This tells us exactly where to get the object, but not which part of Oz it's in," says Scarecrow. "I don't know how we'll ever find it."
<<if $object gt 2>>"That's it. That's the last part of the puzzle!" you cry. You hug him, rejoin the others and set off toward [[Gillikin Country|nightingale]].<<else>>"It's okay," you say. <<if $tinman is "visited">>"It's in Gillikin!" <<else>>"Maybe someone else will know." <</if>>
Scarecrow hugs you in hope and excitement. He joins you in your return to the crossroads.
<<if $tinman is "visited" and $lion isnot "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Lion in <</if>>[[Munchkin Country|soldier]] remains.
<<elseif $tinman isnot "visited" and $lion is "visited">>Only <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Tin Woodman in <</if>>[[Quadling Country|poet]] remains.
<<else>><<if $dorothy is "visited">>To the Lion in <</if>>[[Munchkin Country|soldier]] or <<if $dorothy is "visited">>the Tin Woodman in <</if>>[[Quadling Country|poet]]?
<</if>>
<</if>>
<<silently>>
<<set $wizard to "">>
<<set $witch to "">>
<<set $dorothy to "">>
<<set $dystopia to "">>
<<set $instructions to "">>
<<set $object to 0>>
<<set $tinman to "">>
<<set $lion to "">>
<<set $scarecrow to "">>
<<set $wizard2 to "">>
<<set $treat2 to "">>
<<set $pamphlet to "">>
<<set $whoamr to "">>
<<set $tbinfo to "">>
<</silently>>You can't deny it any longer. The aches, the fever, nose like a faucet, throat on fire: you have most certainly been struck down by the flu.
You have nothing at hand to ease your symptoms. Groaning, you decide there is nothing else for it than to wander down to the [[corner shop]] for some liquid vitamin C and fever tablets.
With your not-so-merry band of travelers, you make your way to Gillikin country. From there, Scarecrow's map leads you directly to the object.
She's up a winding circle of crumbling stairs, and you all must climb above the clouds to reach her. You climb so high the air is thin and cold, and you all find yourselves wheezing and coughing just a bit. You begin to understand the pain of the illness consuming everyone's lungs.
You needn't have worried about putting a bird in a box: the Nightingale is not feathered, but cast. She is a filigreed brooch, her mouth open in song, her wings tucked around her.
The Lion moves to pick up the pin. "<<cyclinglink "$touch" "Hand it to me" "Scarecrow, have a look – is that it?" "Wait! Don't touch it" "Let Tinman give it a polish">>," you say, reaching for the Nightingale.
Once you've settled it in the wooden box, you all gather around it in a circle and repeat Glinda's spell.
<span class="only"><u>Only</u> cure as needed;
a pest wants a swat not a cannonball. </span>
<span class="always"><u>Always</u> follow the spell;
a saw won't drive a nail. </span>
<span class="never"><u>Never</u> arm the monster;
a wounded beast fights twice as hard. </span>
"Did it work?" asks Scarecrow?
"I don't know," you answer. "I suppose we'll just have to <<link "return">><<if $touch is "Wait! Don't touch it">><<set $touch to "N">><<else>><<set $touch to "Y">><</if>><<goto [[return]]>><</link>> to Emerald City to see if anything has happened."
It's a long walk to Emerald City, and you see very few people along the way. <<if $touch is "Y">>But once you arrive it's clear nothing has changed – if anything, it is perhaps worse than before.
<<if $dorothy is "visited">>"Oh!" you exclaim, horrified. "This is all my fault. Dorothy //told// me the Nightingale could not be touched by magic, but I forgot and let you all hold it!"<<else>>"It didn't work," you say miserably. "I'm so sorry, I must have gotten it wrong."<</if>>
All four of you hang your heads. The tragedy will continue unabated.
<<else>>But once you arrive it's clear the magic has healed everyone. You hear no coughing, and activity in the city is on a decided uptick. The Quadling you met when you first arrived in Oz emerges from an inn, cheers, hugs you, and offers you ale and hart pie for life.
"You did it!" exclaims the Tin Woodman. "You saved Oz!"
"//We// did it," you tell them, overjoyed. "I couldn't have done it without all of you."
<</if>>
There is nothing left for you to do in Oz. You say goodbye to your friends, and with the wizard's help, [[return home]].
<<silently>><<script>>$("img").remove("#fgimg");<</script>><</silently>>You step out of Oz and back into your everyday world – and as the magic of that otherland seeps out of you, the mucus and misery of your flu-ridden body seeps back in.
//"<span class="chant">Only... Always... Never...</span>" //chases itself in a circle around your mind.
You need some relief, desperately. You could [[head to the GP for antibiotics|antibiotics]], or you could just [[take the day off for some much needed rest|better]].
<<silently>><<set $treat2 to "antibiotics">><</silently>>Your GP shakes her head. "I'm sorry you are feeling so poorly, but antibiotics are only for bacterial infections, not for colds or the flu."
She hands you a <<link "pamphlet">>
<<script>>
Dialog.setup("Only Always Never", "nobg");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("who").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>><<set $pamphlet to "visited">>
<</link>>. On the cover, you are surprised to see the words "<span class="chant">only</span>", "<span class="chant">always</span>", and "<span class="chant">never</span>" in bold.
"[[Go home|research]], drink plenty of fluids, and get some rest," says your doctor. "And feel better."
You don't feel amazing, the flu running rampant through your body, but you take the day to rest and recuperate.
You nap for a while, and then you do a little internet research: that refrain of //"<span class="chant">Only... Always... Never...</span>" //echoes in your skull, and you're certain you've heard it <<link "somewhere before">><<script>>
Dialog.setup("Only Always Never", "nobg");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("who").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>><<set $pamphlet to "visited">>
<</link>>.
What you read tells you you made a very good decision by coming home to rest: antibiotics would not have helped you, and by insisting upon them, you would be contributing to the global epidemic of [[antimicrobial resistance|research1]].You are shuffling back from the shop, popping a couple of tablets and guzzling your juice when your phone's light picks up a peculiar sparkle.
You stop and stare: before you lays a path of golden yellow brick.
You rub your eyes. If this delerium continues, you really must visit the doctor to <<cyclinglink "$treat1" "get some antibiotics" "reduce this fever">>.
Shaking yourself sober, you <<cyclinglink "$enterOz" "ignore" "follow">> the yellow brick road and <<link "march on">>
<<if $treat1 is "get some antibiotics">><<set $treat1 to "antibiotics">>
<<else>><<set $treat1 to "no antibiotics">>
<</if>>
<<if $enterOz is "ignore">><<goto [[ignore Oz]]>><<else>><<script>>$('<img id="farmimg" class="fade-in-out" src="fade.png" >').appendTo(document.body);<</script>><<timed 3s>><<goto [[farm]]>><</timed>><</if>><</link>>.
You pause with one chatty Munchkin who, luckily, shows no sign of the disease.
"It's because of my garlic," says she, waving a necklace of cloves and wafting a fetid exhalation over you. "Keeps them vampires away."
At your confused expression, she continues. "Oh, it's vampires all right. I know one family – the older daughter died, and they didn't do away with her properly, so she rose up and fed off her brothers and sisters for //years//. They wasted away, nothing anyone could do. By the time they finally dug up her body – in the daytime, of course – burned it, and fed the ashes to all her siblings, it was too late for them. They were too late."
She leans in closer, and you very much wish she wouldn't. She had to be eating garlic milkshakes and dowsing herself in garlic perfume to smell that strong.
"And when they dug up the body //ten years after she died//," she whispers, "it was like no time had passed. Her skin was smooth and pale. Her lips, though, they were cherry red. Plump, and red with blood. Vam. Pire."You do know – in the antechamber leading to the wizard's great hall there was an entire exhibition devoted to her background.
She was the early 20th Century personified. She was a teenager in the Great Depression, a volunteer in World War I, a medic in World War II.
When the consumptive disease that had taken so many soldiers and civilians reared its head in Oz, she had known just what to do: bring back the newly-developed medical miracle that was antibiotics.
She spread it over Oz like honey on toast. And it had worked. For a while. And then it didn't.<<silently>><<set $wizard2 to "visited">><</silently>>You return to the wizard, but she has no idea what you're looking for or how to go about it.
You suppose that leaves you with the [[witch|see a witch]].
<img src="https://www.iow.nhs.uk/Images/Press%20Releases/infographic-public.jpg" alt="''ONLY'' use antibiotics prescribed by a doctor, and don't pressure your doctor to prescribe them unless necessary.
''ALWAYS'' take the full prescription – leaving any disease vectors alive in your system is what helps them develop defenses.
''NEVER'' use leftover medication, from yourself or others.
...and practice good hygiene (washing your hands and keeping up with vaccinations)!">Grumbling, you go home and start googling, trying to find evidence against your GP's anti-antibiotic stance.
What you find instead shocks you.
The world has been in the middle of a pandemic for years, and you had no idea.
What you learn is [[this|research1]]."I can hardly remember the time before," a Quadling tells you between coughs. "You know we used to grow all kindsa crops? Corn and wheat and cattle. Now it's just poppies. All anyone ever wants is poppies."
You wait for the end of her coughing fit, offering her a cloth napkin from a nearby table. "What happened here?" you ask.
"Started in the livestock and then in farmers, but nothing like it is now. Witches were powerless – nothing they did worked. Then //she// –" she waves a hand toward the palace. "– brought a new magic. Gave it to everybody – cow, sheep, Munchkin, Quadling."
You nod sagely.
"Only it came back worse than before. Magic didn't work anymore, and now we can't do anything but eat poppies to make ourselves feel better."<span class="t1">only</span>
<span class="t2">always</span>
<span class="t3">never</span>
<hr>
<div class="author">
by Lyle Skains</div>
<div class="subauth">for the //<<link "Infectious Storytelling">>
<<script>>
Dialog.setup("Infectious Storytelling", "nobg");
Dialog.wiki(Story.get("project").processText());
Dialog.open();
<</script>>
<</link>>// project
<<button "Play the Game">><<goto [[start]]>><</button>>
</div>
<<button "Title Card">><<goto [[title]]>><</button>> <<button "Play Again">><<goto [[start]]>><</button>>
<h1>Support</h1>
The //Infectious Storytelling// project was made possible by the [[Welsh Crucible|http://www.welshcrucible.org.uk/]], [[Aberystwyth University|https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/]], [[Cardiff Metropolitan University|https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/]], and the [[University of South Wales|https://www.southwales.ac.uk/]].
<h1>Fonts</h1>
Google Fonts used: [[Asul|https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Asul]], [[Gatu|https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Gotu]], and [[Lato|https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Lato]].
<h1>Images</h1>
''Backgrounds/Frame''
Title passage - biology pop. 2017. "Cellular-virus-wallpaper.jpg" [image]. Available at: [[Wikimedia|https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cellular-virus-wallpaper.jpg]]. [[CCBYSA|https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode]].
Dystopia passage - PxHere. 2017. Untitled photograph [image]. Available at: [[PxHere|https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1408604]]. [[CC0|https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/]].
Avatars: Dorothy, Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Glinda, Wizard - Denslow, W.W. 1900. Illustration in Baum, F.L. //The Wonderful Wizard of Oz//. Chicago: George M. Hill Company. [[CC0|https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/]]
Nightingale - Clker-Free-Vector-Images. 2012. Untitled [image]. Available at: [[Pixabay|https://pixabay.com/vectors/bird-perched-tail-wings-feathers-48016/]]. [[CC0|https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/]].
Oz medallion - Neil, J.R. 1908. //Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz//. [illustration] Available at: [[Wikimedia|https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dorothy_and_the_wizard_in_Oz_(1908)_(14566422008).jpg]]. CC0.
<h1>Platform</h1>
The great and wonderful [[Twine Sugarcube 2|http://twinery.org/]] was used to create this story.
<h1>Information</h1>
Information about antimicrobial resistance was drawn from research with Drs. [[Carmen Casaliggi|https://www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/education/staff/Pages/Dr-Carmen-Casaliggi.aspx]] (Cardiff Met), [[Emma Hayhurst|http://staff.southwales.ac.uk/users/2422-ehayhurs]] (Uni of South Wales), and [[Kate Woodward|http://www.welshcrucible.org.uk/kate-woodward/]] (Aberystwyth Uni), as well as from the archives at the [[National Library of Wales|https://www.library.wales/]], and the [[World Health Organization site|https://www.who.int/health-topics/antimicrobial-resistance]].
<<button "Title Card">><<goto [[title]]>><</button>> <<button "Play Again">><<goto [[start]]>><</button>>
<<timed 5s>>
<<script>>$('<img id="farmimg" class="fade-in-out" src="fade.png" >').appendTo(document.body);<</script>>
<<next 3s>>
<<goto [[enter Oz]]>>
<</timed>>
<h1>Summary of the project</h1>
“Infectious Storytelling” is a joint project between Dr. Lyle Skains at Manchester Metropolitan University, Dr. Emma Hayhurst at the University of South Wales, Dr. Carmen Casaliggi at Cardiff Metropolitan University, and Dr. Kate Woodward at Aberystwyth University. The project is supported by the Welsh Crucible.
“Infectious Storytelling” aims to increase public awareness of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through interactive narrative (“storygames”). The project centres on effecting positive behaviour change regarding antibiotic use; this focus group is an initial measure of the storygame’s efficacy.
The eventual aim of this initial pilot project is to expand use of the storygame intervention to patient populations through local surgeries, as well as to develop further storygames for use with policymakers, pharmacists, and prescribers.
<h1>What data is being collected?</h1>
This focus group will first ask the participants to respond to an initial questionnaire regarding your current level of awareness of AMR, and your behaviour with regard to antibiotic use. You will then be asked to review the storygame, and participate in a researcher-led discussion about the storygame and your responses to it. You will be asked to complete a post-focus group questionnaire; the researchers will also retain your email address for follow-up questionnaires. We will use this data to evaluate the efficacy of the storygame with regard to AMR-awareness and behaviour.
<h1>How will we use the data?</h1>
All data will be used to enhance the storygames and evaluate the impact of the storygame on the participants. The data will be stored in a secure and locked location on an encrypted drive within Bangor University for three years. All data collected will be anonymized prior to publication in academic journals, white papers, and reports. All participants may withdraw their data at any time during or after the focus group.<h1>Storygame Content</h1>
The storygame is aimed at an adult audience, and addresses themes of illness and death through infectious disease. User participation is required to progress the narrative, through the selection of story options through hyperlinks or other digital command interfaces. It may include images, audio, animation, and gameplay.
<h1>Contact Details</h1>
If you have any questions about the research project and how your data will be used, or if you would like to withdraw from the process at any time, please contact the project lead, Dr. Lyle Skains:
>Email: l.skains @ mmu.ac.uk
If you are contacting the researcher to withdraw your participation, please indicate your participant ID, noted on the first page of your information sheet.
<h2>For beta-testers only</h2>
The game is recording the links you click (and //only// that data), so that I can see where/if you had problems.
Please enter your name so I can match your gameplay with your feedback.
<<textbox "$betatester" "" autofocus>>
The anticipated primary device and environment for this game will be mobile devices in GP surgery waiting rooms. Imagine a 5-10 minute wait for your appointment or prescription, seeing a poster with a QR code and link on the wall. Using surgery wifi or your mobile data, you scan the QR code, and it takes you to the title page.
<h1>Your instructions</h1>
<ol><li>Please play the game on your mobile device. (It is expected to be played almost exclusively on mobile devices.)</li>
<li>Please open this [[Google Form|https://forms.gle/JAfUsoTvh3oA6Yp46]] now (in a new window/tab) - this is where you will submit your feedback (don't worry, I give you the link at the end, too).</li>
<li>Please take SCREENSHOTS for anything you want to feed back on, and send them to me.</li>
<li>Please give your feedback after ONE PLAYTHROUGH. You can play as many times as you like, but given the anticipated scenario for the game, I want to know how it works at first glance.</li>
<li>Please make a note of the TIME now: I'm interested in how long it takes for one playthrough.</li>
</ol>
As always, thank you for your efforts and help and support! I owe you one. :)
<<button "Begin Betatest">><<if $betatester is "">><<replace "#textbox-reply">>\
Please enter your name.\
<</replace>>
<<else>>
<<goto [[start]]>>
<</if>>
<</button>>
<span id="textbox-reply"></span><<silently>>
/* Put this code in a Twine passage designed for the purpose of sending data
This will call the jQuery $.ajax() function to send the data to the Google Sheet. If no errors have occurred, the new value will appear in the sheet within seconds of the call.
The Passage: should be near the end, or at least a passage that appears after all variables have been set. It needs to be one that “completes” the playthrough - putting the code on Ending1 if they get to Ending3 won’t record the data.
*/
<<script>>
var sendData = JSON.stringify({
"betatester": state.active.variables.betatester,
"treat1": state.active.variables.treat1,
"enterOz": state.active.variables.enterOz,
"dystopia": state.active.variables.dystopia,
"emerald": state.active.variables.emerald,
"varCL": state.active.variables.varCL,
"wizard": state.active.variables.wizard,
"wizard2": state.active.variables.wizard2,
"touch": state.active.variables.touch,
"pamphlet": state.active.variables.pamphlet,
"whoamr": state.active.variables.whoamr,
"tbinfo": state.active.variables.tbinfo,
"pnumber": state.active.variables.pnumber,
"treat2": state.active.variables.treat2
});
$.ajax({
url:"https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycbxu5te0P1_s3yNRvluWMi7A889XIatYTVV8yWVtcnm65ebdeZI/exec",
method:"POST",
dataType: "json",
data: sendData
}).done(function() {});
<</script>>
<</silently>>If our current medicines become useless against these "superbugs", we will no longer be able to protect ourselves – or animals such as pets and livestock – from infections. That means no more surgeries, no organ transplants, and a much higher likelihood of becoming very ill from infections and sepsis.
We can all change what we do to make a difference. Remember <span class="chant">Only, Always, Never</span>:
<span class="only">ONLY use antibiotics prescribed by a doctor, and don't pressure your doctor to prescribe them unless necessary.</span>
<span class="always">ALWAYS take the full prescription – leaving any disease vectors alive in your system is what helps them develop defenses.</span>
<span class="never">NEVER use leftover medication, from yourself or others.</span>
<span style="color:slateblue">...and practice good hygiene (washing your hands and keeping up with vaccinations)!</span>
[[Play the game again|start]]
[[Credits|credits]]
<<silently>>
<<set $pnumber to "">>
<</silently>>Please enter the participant number that appears on your Participant Information Form.
<<textbox "$pnumber" "" autofocus>> <<button "Start the Game">>
/* Try to convert the String value into a number. */
<<set $pnumber to Math.trunc($pnumber)>>
<<if $pnumber == "">>
<<replace "#textbox-reply">>\
You must enter your participant number to continue.\
<</replace>>
/* Check that the number is an Integer. */
<<elseif not Number.isInteger($pnumber)>>
/* Show error message. */
<<replace "#textbox-reply">>\
Your participant number must be a whole number.\
<</replace>>
<<elseif $pnumber < 1 or $pnumber > 50>>
<<replace "#textbox-reply">>\
Your participant number must be a number between 1 and 50.\
<</replace>>
<<else>>
<<goto [[title]]>>
<</if>>
<</button>>
<span id="textbox-reply"></span>
The [[World Health Organisation|https://www.who.int/]] identifies <a target="_blank" href="https://www.who.int/health-topics/antimicrobial-resistance"><<link "antimicrobial resistance (AMR)">><<set $whoamr to "visited">><</link>></a> as one of the biggest challenges in global health.
<span style="color:mediumblue">Antimicrobial resistance happens when microorganisms (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) change when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs (such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics).</span>
As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.
Diseases like the one you encountered in Oz (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis"><<link "tuberculosis">><<set $tbinfo to "visited">><</link>></a>) have become resistant to the medicines we use to cure them. As a result, TB continues to infect and kill hundreds of thousands of people worldwide //every year//.
//Whoa//, you think. //[[How do we stop it?|epilogue]]//