Paper appears in Proc. SCCS'98, Fargo-Moorhead, April. pp. 378-392.
Planet Oit: a Virtual Environment
and Educational Role-playing Game
to Teach the Geosciences

Brian M. Slator, Donald Schwert*, Bernhardt Saini-Eidukat*, Phil McClean**, Jon Abel, John Bauer, Brian Gietzen, Nathan Green, Yongxin "George" Jia, Tammy Kavli, Lucas Koehntop, Bhaskar Marthi, Vidyalatha Nagareddy, Acey Olson, Kishore Peravali, Daniel Turany, Brad Vender, James Walsh

Computer Science, Geosciences*, Plant Science** Departments
North Dakota State University

The Geology Explorer Project

Educational game designed to provide authentic learn-by-doing experience:

Balancing Pedagogy with Play

Design Premises

The Geology Explorer is built to explore the following beliefs:

Technical Approach

Planet Oit is simulated on a MOO (Unix) server:

Client software is

The Game

Planet Oit --
very similar to Earth, and in the same orbit, but directly opposite the Sun.

Students "land" on the planet
to undertake the exploration

Given authentic geoscience goals,
e.g. to locate and report the position of potentially valuable mineral deposits

Accomplishing goals
requires mastering geoscience concepts and procedures

The Simulation

The planet was originally implemented as a class project and features

Locations
~50 places (rooms): playa, cutbank, mesa, cave, etc.

Rocks and Minerals
~90 different types, ~200 instances: outcrops, boulders, etc.

Instruments
~15 field instruments: rock pick, acid bottle, magnet, glass plate, etc. (plus ~25 laboratory instruments)

Software Tutors
tutoring agents for equipment, exploration, and deduction

Related NDSU Projects

The Retailing Game
to teach micro-economics

The Virtual Cell
fly-through experiments

The Visual Program
visualizing and tracing rule-based processing

VCSU Programmingland
programming lessons as a tour through a virtual museum

MOO Development Tools
so that subject matter experts (non-computer scientists) can build their own games

A Demo

GUMI -- Graphical User MOO Interface

A Transcript


	<the player logs on as demoplayer>

Welcome to the NDSU/CS Geology Explorer MOO

We are implementing Planet Oit for you to explore
in order to learn something about geology.
For more information on this project, point your web browser to:
     http://www.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~slator/
For an online user's manual, point your web browser to:
     http://www.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu/~slator/html/PLANETX/planet-x-userman.html

PLEASE JUST CREATE *ONE* CHARACTER FOR YOURSELF (TO USE EVERY TIME)

     Problems? email slator@badlands.nodak.edu

*** Connected ***
Planet-X
You are standing in the middle of the expedition staging area on the surface  of Planet Oit. You see a spaceship on the ground with its bay doors open,  exposing a laboratory within. A glorious panorama spreads out on all sides.
     There is a Way Station here
*    To the North is a Seashore
*    To the Northeast are the Hills
*    To the East are the Old Mountains
*    To the Southeast is a Laboratory
*    To the South is a Desert
*    To the Southwest are the Plains
*    To the West are the Young Mountains
*    To the Northwest is a Lake
Obvious exits are: Down Station North Northeast East Southeast South Southwest  West Northwest

As a player in the Geology Explorer
   You have reached no goals yet, and you are playing at the beginner level.
   You have a general goal: to 'report' all the rocks and minerals you find
       and a specific goal: to 'report' the location of Native Copper.
   Native Copper is a reddish metallic mineral.
   Native Copper is used in electronics.
     You can expect to find Native Copper in Desert (#147)
     In particular, you should look in Plateau with Fissure (#350).
To see this message again, type '@showgoal' or 'showgoal'

=> LOOK ME
demoplayer
You see a player who should type '@describe me as ...'.
It is awake and looks alert.

=> @DESCRIBE ME AS "AN INTREPID ADVENTURER BOLDLY GOING WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE
Description set.

=> LOOK ME
demoplayer
an intrepid adventurer boldly going where no one has gone before
It is awake and looks alert.

=> HELP ME
The Geology Explorer is a game and a "learn by doing" environment
  for teaching the Scientific Method and deductive reasoning
  in a synthetic exploratory virtual world.
To play the game, you identify rocks and minerals on Planet Oit
  and you score points for each one.
Normal game play will include the following steps:
    1. You log on to the game using a name and a password
         this transports you to the surface of Planet Oit
    2. You are assigned a general goal and a specific goal
    3. You acquire the tools and INSTRUMENTS you need
         from the STORE on your space ship
    4. You explore the planet, seeking your goals
    5. You REPORT the rocks and mineral to score points
Hints:
    You will find the "help" system very useful
      See especially: "help instrument" and "help <verb>" 
        (where <verb> is one of hit, pour, scratch, streak
          touch, view, taste, or smell)
    If a tutor visits you, pay attention
    Watch out for wild animals
Welcome to Planet Oit!

=> HELP NATIVE COPPER
Native Copper (mineral)
  color: reddish
  heft: very heavy
  texture: smooth
  acid reactive: 0
  streak: Faint, copper-colored
  luster: Metallic
  hardness: from 2.5 to 3.0
a soft reddish metal that is a simple substance (ELEMENT), easily shaped, and
 allows heat and electricity to pass through it easily (LDOCE, 1978)

=> SOUTHEAST
Laboratory
You are standing in the laboratory of a spaceship, you are surrounded by many
 instruments.
A sign on the wall says,
    'You can buy field instruments to the East.'
     The sign continues:
        'You can use these lab instruments by bringing samples back here.'
*    To the East is a Shopping Center
*    To the South is a Rock Museum
*    To the Northwest is  Planet-X
Obvious exits are: East South Northwest
You see Thin Section Machine (#365), Bunsen Burner (#576), Rock Powdering
 Machine (#603), X-ray Fluorescense Spectrometer (#590), Rock Crusher (#753),
 Laboratory Densitometer (#714), Mass Spectrometer (#763), Aqua Regia (#566),
 X-ray Diffractometer (#299), Heavy Liquids (#604), Magnetometer (#578),
 Atomic Absorbtion Spectrometer (#592), and Derrick Drill (#586) here.

=> EAST
Crazy Eddie's Geology Equipment Emporium
Crazy Eddie's is the place to go to fill all your geology field equipment
needs.  Aisle after aisle of merchandise makes this place into a maze.
You could easily get lost in here without assistance.

A large sign on the far wall reads:

         Trouble finding what you're looking for?
                Look it up in our catalog!

         (Never mind the cost -- everything is free)

Obvious exits are: West
You see Crazy Eddie and Catalog here.
Crazy Eddie says, "Hello, demoplayer.  Welcome to Crazy Eddie's Geology
 	Equipment Emporium!
Crazy Eddie says, "I've got the best deals on Planet X!"
Crazy Eddie asks, "Can I get you anything?"

=> LOOK CATALOG
                **** Crazy Eddie's Mail Order Catalog ****

           Item            Price   |            Item          Price
Acid Bottle (#597)       $    1.00 | Light Meter (#556)       $25.00
Altimeter (#675)         $  100.00 | Magnet (#580)            $1.00
Anemometer (#568)        $   30.00 | Microscope (#612)        $25.00
Barometer (#410)         $   50.00 | Rock Pick/Hammer (#370)  $40.00
Black Light (#625)       $   30.00 | Sextant (#554)           $100.00
Compass (#561)           $  200.00 | Sonar (#593)             $200.00
Flowmeter (#598)         $  100.00 | Spirit Level (#335)      $5.00
Geiger Counter (#751)    $  178.00 | Streak Plate (#542)      $0.50
Glass Plate (#583)       $    0.50 | Tape Measure (#626)      $10.00
Goniometer (#613)        $    1.00 | Thermometer (#223)       $5.00
Gravimeter (#708)        $10000.00 | Transit (#364)           $10.00
Jack Hammer (#368)       $  300.00 | Water Level Gage (#615)  $5.00

=> HELP HARDNESS
hardness: Mineral's resistance to scratching on a smooth surface. Mohs scale
 of relative hardness consists of 10 minerals, each scratching all those below
 it in scale and being scratched by all those above it: 1) talc, 2) gypsum, 3)
 calcite, 4) fluorite, 5) apatite, 6) orthoclase, 7) quartz, 8) topaz, 9)
 corundum, 10) diamond
Crazy Eddie twiddles his thumbs.

=> SAY SELL ME A ROCK PICK
You say, "sell me a rock pick"
Crazy Eddie quickly disappears for a moment.
He reappears carrying a Rock Pick/Hammer (#2757), which he gives to you.
You have accumulated $40.00 in charges.

=> SAY SELL ME A GLASS PLATE
You say, "sell me a glass plate"
Crazy Eddie quickly disappears for a moment.
He reappears carrying a Glass Plate (#2758), which he gives to you.
You have accumulated $40.50 in charges.

	<the player travels back to the Plateau with Fissure>

Plateau with Fissure
You are in an exotic place with a great view of the surroundings. This
 plateau, sometimes called tableland, is a large level area raised above the
 adjacent land.
There is a fissure here (a narrow opening or crack) -- it is dark within, you
 cannot see inside. You see wild flowers and green trees here. A condor
 circles lazily overhead.
*    To the South is a White Dune
*    To the Southwest is a Desert
*    To the West is a Cinder Cone
Obvious exits are: South Southwest West
You see dark green-grey coarse-grained outcrop (#1902), light green granular
 medium-grained outcrop (#1905), reddish metallic crystal (#2008), black
 opaque submetallic crystal (#2019), dark brown opaque submetallic crystal
 (#2021), light gray banded granular outcrop (#2046), dark greenish-black
 coarse-grained outcrop (#2077), and dark gray fine-grained outcrop (#2083)
 here.

=>WEST
Cinder Cone
You are standing at the base of conical hill formed by the accumulation of
 cinders around a volcanic vent. The landscape here is brown and black, there
 is very little in terms of green growing things. The air smells faintly of
 sulphur.
*    To the East is a Plateau with Fissure
*    To the Southeast is a Desert
*    To the South is a Reddish Butte
*    To the Southwest is a Cave
Obvious exits are: East Southeast South Southwest
You see dull reddish porous medium-grained outcrop (#1923), dark gray
 fine-grained outcrop (#2082), black smooth glassy block (#2087), and grayish
 white rough glassy porous block (#2100) here.

	<the player is visited by the tutor>

A clap of thunder splits the air, and a tutor appears in your midst
  The tutor appears to be speaking to demoplayer
TUTOR: You just left Plateau with Fissure containing your goal: Native Copper
The TUTOR bends at the waist and disappears in a puff of smoke

	<the player returns to the Plateau with Fissure>

=> HIT REDDISH CRYSTAL
You hit reddish metallic crystal (#2008) with your hands. Nothing happens

=> SCRATCH REDDISH CRYSTAL WITH GLASS PLATE
reddish metallic crystal (#2008) does not scratch Glass Plate (#2758)
    Note: reddish metallic crystal (#2008) is soft enough to bend. Is is very
 malleable.

=> REPORT REDDISH CRYSTAL AS NATIVE COPPER
Checking: reddish metallic crystal (#2008) against Native Copper (#673)
You are right! reddish metallic crystal (#2008) IS native copper
You score 10 points!
You have satisfied your primary goal! You score 500 points.

	<the player is assigned a new goal, and continues the game>



Comments? e-mail: slator@badlands.nodak.edu