Explore the World of Software 2: Kids, Adults, Educational

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Text File | 1992-02-03 | 29.8 KB | 601 lines

WORDTRIX! USER'S MANUAL (C) Copyright 1992 by Tea Time Software Portions (C) Copyright Genus Microprogramming Inc., 1988-1991 Tetris (C) is a registered trademark of Spectrum Holobyte, Inc. by Joe Kretschmer, Ph.D. CONTENTS: Part 1 What is WORDTRIX!?........................1 Part 2 Installing WORDTRIX!......................2 Part 3 Playing WORDTRIX!.........................3 Part 4 WORDTRIX! and Your Child's Reading........6 Part 5 What is Shareware?........................8 Part 6 Disclaimer and Agreement..................9 Part 7 Registering Your Copy of WORDTRIX!.......10 Part 1: WHAT IS WORDTRIX!? WORDTRIX! is a game designed to help elementary school- aged children learn phonics concepts. It runs on IBM PCs and 100% compatibles with 256K memory, DOS 2.1 or later, and an EGA or VGA monitor. A hard disk is strongly recommended for best performance. The object of the game is to make words by guiding dropping letters that fall into "word frames". Examples of "word frames" are: b__d, j__, and t__ls. The letter groups that drop are two- or three-letter "phonograms" such as "an", "op" or "all", vowel pairs such as "ea" and "oo", or the silent "e" that ends many words. Word frames for the silent e game will have a single blank such as bik_ or rob_. A player uses the left or right arrow keys to move the letter groups over the word frame so that they make a real word when dropped. The down arrow key will drop the word immediately when the position is right. The score is increased by 10 points for each word made on the easiest level. If the letters are dropped into a frame that doesn't make a real word, the blanks are restored, and another line of word frames appears above the first one, and no points are scored. Lines of word frames will accumulate and grow upward with each wrong answer until they reach the top of the playing area. If this happens, the game is over. There are a number of options that can be set by the player, such as sounds on or off, pictures clues on or off, fast speed on or off. See Part 3 (Page 3) for more details. Page 1 Part 2: INSTALLING WORDTRIX! Wordtrix! uses about 800K of graphics (picture) files, so it requires a hard disk to install and run. To fit the program and all it's graphics files on a 360K floppy disk, most of the files are compressed. To uncompress the files and install them on your hard disk, do the following: (1) Turn on your computer and get the C:> prompt. (2) Insert the WORDTRIX diskette into drive A (or B). (3) Type A: (and press ENTER) to make Drive A the default drive. You should get an A:> prompt. (Substitute B: if you are using the B drive, which will give you a B:> prompt.) (4) Decide which drive you want to put the WORDTRIX! files on (such as C:, D:, E:, etc.). Type the following if you want WORDTRIX! on the C Drive: install c: (Substitute "d:" if you want the files on the D Drive, or whatever drive or partition you desire.) The installation batch file will automatically create a sub- directory called WORDTX, change to that subdirectory, uncompress and install the following files: WORDTRIX.EXE -- The executable file (the actual program) WDTX1.GXL -- Library of picture and font files WDTX2.GXL -- Second library of picture files WDTX3.GXL -- Third library of picture files WORDTRIX.DOC -- This manual WORDTRIX.FRM -- Form for registering the program README.COM -- Program to display installation instructions WORDTRIX! needs only the first four files to actually run. After the game is played once, another file, WORDTRIX.SCO, is created to hold the high scores and names for the high score list. To run WORDTRIX!, just type "wordtrix" (without the quotes) and press ENTER. The program will display "Please wait..." for a second and then go blank for about five seconds while it loads the graphics screens into memory. A Tea Time Software logo will appear--just watch the show and follow instructions. Wordtrix! is very easy to run and play. You can figure it out very quickly because there are always key prompts on the screen. One of the main menu choices, INSTRUCTIONS, displays enough instructions to play the game. For more detailed instructions, see the next section of this manual. Page 2 Part 3: PLAYING WORDTRIX! WORDTRIX! plays like the popular arcade game, Tetris, but is designed to teach selected phonic patterns. Most arcade games are far too frustrating for children in the primary grades (K-3), so WORDTRIX! has been programmed to provide enough difficulty to challenge but not frustrate kids at in this age group. As your child begins to learn the target words by heart, there are several options to make it more challenging. When you run Wordtrix!, a credit screen appears and prompts you to press a key. When you press any key, the main playing screen appears, and the main menu (the only menu) appears: +--------------------------------------+ | MAIN MENU +------------------+ | | Use the | 1. First Letters | | | arrow keys to | 2. Vowel Pairs | | | select a | 3. Silent 'e' | | | category, | 4. Instructions | | | the press | 5. Quit | | | ENTER. +------------------+ | +--------------------------------------+ The player selects an item by using the up and down arrow keys to move a outline box over the desired selection. Although they are not shown in the crude picture above, the up/down arrow keys are shown, and the outline box surrounds the first option, "First Letters". So the first action the player takes is to select a game. He or she may also see a screen of instructions (primarily for parents or older kids who can read) or, of course, quit the program and return to DOS. When the player selects one of the three games, the playing area of the main screen clears, and the first letter group (or an "e") begins to fall. The WORDTRIX! game screen is divided into four areas: +---------------------------------------+ |+---------+| ESC Sound Picture Fast <-- (4) OPTIONS ||WORDTRIX!|+--------------------------+| || || ea || |+---------+| || (3) SCORING-->|Score 340|| <----- (1) PLAYING AREA |+---------+| || AREA || /.> || || (2) PICTURE ----> ( )- || || CLUE || \_( ) || s__l y__n t__k || AREA |+---------++--------------------------+| +---------------------------------------+ Action occurs in the PLAYING AREA. As the letter(s) fall, the player moves them left or right with the arrow keys. ln the example above, the "ea" needs to be moved to the left so it can fall into "s__l" and make the word "seal". There is never more than one word possible in any line. As soon as the player Page 3 moves the "ea" into the right position, he or she can either let it fall into the word frame, or push the down arrow key to drop it there immediately, (the same procedure as in Tetris). If this makes a real word, the player is rewarded by having the word flash three times, and having his/her score increased. As a bonus, if the line of word frames is the last one (at the bottom), the color of the entire playing area and the words will change. The PICTURE CLUE AREA will show a picture of the object or action represented by the word. For children who have not yet ac- quired a large sight vocabulary, these clues will be critical at first. (Besides, it's fun to see them appear!) Some children may need assistance at first, but most will learn very quickly. (See Part 4, "Wordtrix! and Your Child's Reading".) The PICTURE CLUE AREA will also show instructions from time to time. The SCORING AREA has two parts. The lower box shows the player's score, while the upper box shows what at what level the player is playing, and the number of points for each correct word. WORDTRIX! has four levels of play: 1. LOW difficulty - Normal drop speed with pictures clues (10 pts.) 2. MEDIUM difficulty - Fast speed with picture clues (20 pts.) 3. MEDIUM difficulty - Normal speed without picture clues (20 pts.) 4. HIGH difficulty - Fast speed without picture clues (30 pts.) Note that two of the levels are both called "MEDIUM", and have the same point value. This is to allow some flexibility in what constitutes difficulty. Some kids will rely more on the picture clues, while for others the drop speed will provide the greater challenge. Each game automatically starts with sound ON, pictures ON, and fast speed OFF, or LOW level of difficulty. (Having the sound ON or OFF does not affect the difficulty level.) When the game begins, there are only seven keys that are in operation: the left, right and down arrow keys, the ESC key, and the "S", "F" and "P" keys, which perform these actions: Left Arrow - moves the dropping letter(s) left. Right Arrow - moves the dropping letter(s) right. Down Arrow - drops the letter(s) immediately. ESC key - Pause/Quit: a small box menu will appear that offers two choices--return to game or quit to the main menu. Thus you can use this option to pause the game. "S" key - Toggles the sound ON or OFF. The game begins with the sounds ON. (To your relief, the sounds are very brief and low-level "chirps". But they may still annoy some people.) "F" key - Toggles the fast speed ON or OFF. The game begins with the OFF setting, or slower speed. At the faster speed, the letters drop much faster, providing less time for the player to decide where the letters should be moved. Page 4 "P" key - Toggles the picture clues ON or OFF. The game begins with the picture clues ON. When OFF, the picture clue area is filled with random designs in different colors. The game ends either when the player voluntarily quits or the lines of "word frames" reach the top of the PLAYING AREA. To quit voluntarily, the player presses the ESC key, and a box appears with two choices: CONTINUE GAME or QUIT TO MENU: +---------------------------------------+ |+---------+| ESC Sound Picture Fast | ||WORDTRIX!|+--------------------------+| || || +---------------+ || |+---------+| | Continue game | || ||Score 340|| | Quit to menu | || |+---------+| +---------------+ || || /.> || l__b c__k j__n || || ( )- || t__ls v__d p__k || || \_( ) || s__l y__n t__k || |+---------++--------------------------+| +---------------------------------------+ The player then uses the up or down arrow keys to move the box over the choice he or she wants. This same technique is used for the main menu, discussed later. When the player quits, his or her score is compared to the lowest score on the default high score list. The default high score list is a list of names and scores that WORDTRIX! creates the first time the game is played. This list is written to disk as a small text file called WORDTRIX.SCO. It has ten first names and scores ranging from 200 to 110, so a player will have to get over 110 to get on the high score list initially. Of course, as these scores get replaced with higher scores, this will change. Players who make the high score list will be prompted to type in their name (limit 12 spaces) then press the ENTER key. This will display the high score list. The high score list is automatically displayed at the end of each game, whether or not the player's score is eligible. One short note on the high score list: since children are somewhat unpredictable when typing on a computer, the high score list may become corrupted after a while. If the high score list looks odd (such as having numbers where names should be, etc.) it can be deleted after leaving the program by typing in the following command from the DOS prompt: del wordtrix.sco <press ENTER> The next time you run Wordtrix!, it will create the default high score list file, and everything will be O.K. again. (The previous high scores will be lost, however.) Page 5 Some children may find it tedious to type "wordtrix" every time they want to play, so you can create a "batch" file to make it easier. Do this: 1) Make sure you are in the WORDTX subdirectory. 2) Type "copy con w.bat" (no quotes) and press ENTER. 3) Then type "wordtrix" (no quotes) and press the F6 key, then the ENTER key. A message will say: "1 file(s) copied". 4) Now you have a file called W.BAT in the WORDTX subdirectory. All your child has to do is type a "w" and press ENTER to start WORDTRIX! Part 4 WORDTRIX! AND YOUR CHILD'S READING Wordtrix! is designed to aid your child's reading develop- ment by helping him/her learn certain phonic patterns. Reading is a deceptively complex act, and learning phonics is only one part of learning to read. Besides learning to recognize the printed forms of words ordinarily used in speech, children also have to learn to concentrate and derive meaning from what they read. This comes only from wide reading in a variety of books and magazines over a period of several years. Phonics helps children to recognize the printed forms of words they generally use in everyday speech. English spelling, for all its strange exceptions, is about 85% consistent, and certain spell- ing patterns are used over and over. Three of these are particularly useful in teaching reading: initial consonants, vowel pairs or "phonograms", and the "silent e rule." These phonic patterns are even more useful in learning to spell. Wordtrix! has been designed to provide opportunities to learn some common patterns in these three categories while playing an arcade-type computer game. Once you install the game, play it a few times to familiarize yourself with it's controls and features. This should take just a few minutes, since Wordtrix! is basically very simple to operate. Then sit down with your child while he or she plays the first few games. Younger children may need help in recognizing the words at first, but most will learn very quickly. Although every effort was made to make the pictures as unambiguous as possible, some children may still misinterpret them, so they may need assistance from time to time. Each new game starts at low difficulty--slower speed with picture clues (see page 4). Don't stress scoring points at this time--the emphasis should be on having fun. Show him/her how to select a game from the menu, pause, quit, and type his/her name into the high score list. If he/she has played computer games before, you won't be needed for long. Don't be dismayed if your child doesn't seem interested at first. Children's moods are Page 6 changeable. They may reject the game at first, then a few days later say "where is that word game...?" If they see you playing it, they may want to "get in on the action." In terms of reading skills required, the First Letters game is probably the easiest, since most of the word consists of the falling phonogram--"an", "op", "ing", etc. Children eventually have to learn to visualize the falling phonogram behind each of the first letters, then recognize the word that matches the picture. When the response is correct, the whole word flashes three times so the image of the word is reinforced in the child's memory. Of course, with repetition, children eventually begin to recognize the word and no longer need the pictures. The vowel pairs and "silent e" games are harder because more of the word is missing in the case of the vowel pairs game, and because of the more abstract concept involved in the case of the silent "e" game. Children quickly learn that letters represent sounds, so they are understandably puzzled when they are told that other letters are "silent". At least the silent "e" has a mission --it indicates that the first vowel should make a long sound, or "say its name" as teachers say. Thus "cap" becomes "cape", "bit" becomes "bite" and so on. Your kids will probably need explanations such as these as they encounter each game for the first time. There are two "medium" levels of difficuly in Wordtrix!. Of the two, turning on the faster speed but retaining the pictures is probably easier than playing without pictures at the slow speed, but you may have to experiment a bit. Each child has his or her unique preferences for learning, so what can be hard for one may be easier for another. The highest level, fast speed and no pictures, is the hardest for all kids. Kids who have mastered this level will not only be able to recognize all the 104 words in the game, but will probably apply knowledge of these patterns to words that they see in books, magazines, signs and other sources. That' the REAL value of Wordtrix!! For your reference, here are the target words in Wordtrix!: First letters game: Vowel Pairs game: AT -- hat, bat, fat, cat, EA -- bead, lean, beak, leaf pat, mat, rat meat, seal AN -- can, fan, pan, ran OA -- coat, soap, road, toad, boat OT -- hot, dot, cot, pot AI -- hair, pail, tail, fail, AR -- bar, car jail, mail OP -- hop, top, mop, pop, cop OO -- book, hook, hood, foot, good ALL -- ball, fall, tall, wall OO -- moon, boot, tools, food, pool AND -- hand, band, sand AR -- harp, jar, barn, dart, card ILL -- pill, bill, mill OR -- cork, cord, corn, horn ING -- sing, wing, king, ring EE -- peek, heel, teeth, heel UMP -- hump, dump, pump, lump Page 7 Silent "e" game: cane, kite, bite, robe, pine, time, five, fire, cape, tape, file, same, note, cube, game, hose, cage, page, gate, line, pipe, cone, bike Finally, I would like to repeat that learning phonics is only one small part of learning to read and spell effectively. Wordtrix! was designed to make learning fun, so please don't defeat its purpose. Children can smell "educational" software a mile away, and avoid it like the plague--and often, with good reason. There are megabytes of boring educational software around, particularly in the schools where the old Apple II com- puters still abound. Many educational programs in the early 80's were little more than electronic workbooks. There was little creativity, and the limited memory and display of the Apple II series made it difficult to produce programs that had real teaching value. Today's kids have some genuine choices among really top-notch programs such as the CARMEN SANDIEGO series. At Tea Time Software, I would like to do for educational shareware what Scott Miller at Apogee did for gaming shareware, by producing educational analogs of shareware hits like Commander Keen. Since I don't have a string of programmers at my disposal, this is going to take a while, but I think you'll agree that Wordtrix! is a step in the right direction. Enjoy! WHAT IS SHAREWARE? Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. Individual programs differ on details -- some request registration while others require it, some specify a maximum trial period. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, Page 8 whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee--if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. DISCLAIMER and AGREEMENT Users of WORDTRIX! must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "WORDTRIX! is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse- quential, which may result from the use of WORDTRIX!." WORDTRIX! is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. If you continue to use WORDTRIX! after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $20 to Tea Time Software. The $20 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. ATTENTION TEACHERS!: Any accredited public or private school that registers its copy of WORDTRIX! may use AS MANY COPIES AS THE SCHOOL WISHES WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE SCHOOL ITSELF. Parents must register their home copies, however. Please do not allow copies of AFFIX (not a shareware program) outside of the school areas. Anyone distributing WORDTRIX! for any kind of remuneration must first contact Tea Time Software for authorization. This is auto- matically granted to distributors recognized by the Association of Shareware Professionals as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering WORDTRIX! immediately. (However, Tea Time Software must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version. This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you re- solve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. Page 9 REGISTERING YOUR COPY OF WORDTRIX! To register your copy of WORDTRIX!, just print the file on the disk called WORDTRIX.FRM. With the distribution disk in the A drive, type "copy a:wordtrix.frm prn". (Spaces are important! If the disk is in the B drive, just substitute "b:" for "a:".) You could also type "print a:wordtrix.frm" with the same results. If you don't have a printer, give the command "type a:wordtrix.frm" and copy the form from the screen. Filling out the order form will insure we have a complete record of your registration so that you can receive notices of new products, free updates, technical support and, of course, your 20% discount on all future Tea Time Software registrations. In addition, all registered users are entitled to the advanced version of Wordtrix!--AFFIX--absolutely free (except for $2 for Shipping and handling). AFFIX plays the same way as WORDTRIX!, but the similarity ends there. AFFIX is aimed at intermediate-level readers, typically those on the 3rd-4th grade level and above. It features prefixes, suffixes and roots. For example, instead of "oa" falling into "b__t", a prefix like "com" might fall, and players must select words or word parts like "___ment" or "___bat". Instead of picture clues, AFFIX has definition clues. It's the natural sequel to WORDTRIX!, and a great way to help your child make the difficult leap to learning longer words. But AFFIX is NOT shareware--it is a bonus program sent ONLY to registered users of WORDTRIX! So the bottom line is this: for $22 you get two great programs for eleven bucks apiece! Send the form with cash, or a check or money order for $20 (add $2 if you want AFFIX) made out to Tea Time Software. Ohio residents add $1.00 for sales tax. Send your registration to: Tea Time Software 92 Acorn Circle Oxford OH 45056 Soon after we receive your registration you will receive a letter with a registration certificate. If you've included the $2 for shipping and handling, you will receive a certificate and a diskette with AFFIX as well. (Specify the size of disk --5.25" or 3.5"--on the order form, WORDTRIX.FRM.) I'll mail your program and certificate the next day under most circumstances. If you have any problems or questions about WORDTRIX! or any Tea Time Software product, please contact Joe Kretschmer at the above address or via CompuServe at 71020,1350. Sorry, but I don't have telephone support yet--I haven't "quit my day job" as they say. WORDTRIX! was beta-tested by both adults and children, and I think it's generally bug-free, but you never know... Technical support is available for any Tea Time product for a full year after the software is registered. Page 10