Mazes
From Maze
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It would be a mistake to assume that all computer and video game mazes operate according to the same principles. A useful way to think about the differences between various digital mazes is to consider the perspective each maze affords—and which consequently structures the encounter with the maze. Roughly speaking, it is possible to conceive of mazes as first-person, second-person, or third-person mazes, a framework with roots in narratology but which has also been commonly applied to videogames (for example, the first-person-shooter): | It would be a mistake to assume that all computer and video game mazes operate according to the same principles. A useful way to think about the differences between various digital mazes is to consider the perspective each maze affords—and which consequently structures the encounter with the maze. Roughly speaking, it is possible to conceive of mazes as first-person, second-person, or third-person mazes, a framework with roots in narratology but which has also been commonly applied to videogames (for example, the first-person-shooter): | ||
| − | * First-person mazes are partially represented mazes, in which the maze walker is confronted with a subjective perspective of the maze; nothing can be seen of the maze except the wall or passageway directly in front of the maze walker; | + | * First-person mazes are ''partially represented'' mazes, in which the maze walker is confronted with a subjective perspective of the maze; nothing can be seen of the maze except the wall or passageway directly in front of the maze walker; |
| − | * Second-person mazes are textually represented mazes, in which the maze walker is hailed by a second-person mode of address (“you”), and is fully at the mercy of the textual descriptions on the screen; nothing about the maze can be known unless “you” are told it; | + | * Second-person mazes are ''textually represented'' mazes, in which the maze walker is hailed by a second-person mode of address (“you”), and is fully at the mercy of the textual descriptions on the screen; nothing about the maze can be known unless “you” are told it; |
| − | * Third-person mazes are fully represented mazes, in which the maze walker maintains an omniscient view of the maze, a panoptic perspective that nonetheless does not guarantee safety or solvability. | + | * Third-person mazes are ''fully represented'' mazes, in which the maze walker maintains an omniscient view of the maze, a panoptic perspective that nonetheless does not guarantee safety or solvability. |
====Second Person Mazes==== | ====Second Person Mazes==== | ||
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W_______________________E |PIRATEDEN| | W_______________________E |PIRATEDEN| | ||
| − | Downloaded From P-80 Systems 304-744-2253 | + | Downloaded From P-80 Systems |
As noted above, ''Adventure'' inspired ''Zork'', designed by several MIT students who had become enamored of Crowther and Wood's game. When When Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, and Dave Lebling programmed ''Zork'', they made sure to include a maze. Its complexities are most evident when fully mapped, as in this ASCII map: | As noted above, ''Adventure'' inspired ''Zork'', designed by several MIT students who had become enamored of Crowther and Wood's game. When When Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, and Dave Lebling programmed ''Zork'', they made sure to include a maze. Its complexities are most evident when fully mapped, as in this ASCII map: | ||
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element of surprise to the game! | element of surprise to the game! | ||
| − | Downloaded From P-80 Systems 304-744-2253 | + | Downloaded From P-80 Systems |
Both of these maps utilize the standard ASCII character set---especially underscores and pipes---to "draw" the maze, and in this way they seem to be precursors to the 10 PRINT maze, which appears to use slashes and backslashes for its wall. This comparison is not strictly true, as the Commodore 64 maze relies on non-standard graphical characters that only resemble typographical characters, a topic that will be covered later in this volume. | Both of these maps utilize the standard ASCII character set---especially underscores and pipes---to "draw" the maze, and in this way they seem to be precursors to the 10 PRINT maze, which appears to use slashes and backslashes for its wall. This comparison is not strictly true, as the Commodore 64 maze relies on non-standard graphical characters that only resemble typographical characters, a topic that will be covered later in this volume. | ||
