Voices of Spoon River Game
VOSR3D
About This Game
VOSR was originally created as an interactive fiction text-based game. This game is based on
Edgar Lee Master’s collection of poems, The Spoon River Anthology. Each poem is an epitaph of
someone from the fictional town of Spoon River. There are many connections and stories that
can be discovered from a careful reading of the individual poems. This is a game about resolving
conflicts and uncovering mysteries relating to these epitaphs. Solving these conflicts requires
good reading and problem solving skills.
As part of an instructional games class at Utah State University, graduate students designed and
developed the game with the intent to be use as an educational game for learning poetry. It was
implemented into a 9th grade English class as a teaching tool during a poetry unit. To find out
more about the text version of VOSR and the VOSR Project please go to the following URL:
http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_INST_Games_Learning.html
The text version can be found at:
http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_IF_VOSR.html
VOSR Authorship
Jared Bernotski
Tom Caswell
Marie Duncan
Marian Jensen
Jennifer Jorgensen
Jon Scoresby
Tim Stowell
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Brett E. Shelton
VOSR3D
VOSR3D was created by Tim Stowell, a recent graduate of the Masters program in the
Instructional Technology department. Tim created this game as the final project for his Masters
degree at Utah State University. Tim used the Quake III engine to develop the 3D version of
VOSR. Quake III was chosen because it is open source and has good support from other
developers. Using Maya, Tim created the models used in VOSR3D with support from Jon
Scoresby and Brett Shelton. Tim can be contacted through Brett Shelton at
brett.shelton@usu.edu
Teacher Resources
As in the text version, VOSR3D does not contain a help system for guidance during game play.
On the VOSR3D web page http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_VOSR_3D.html you will find teacher
resources that were used in the 9th grade English class during implementation. These resources
include:
VOSR Lesson Plan
VOSR Assessments
Epitaphs
Game Environment Map for Text Version
Where does the game take place?
The game takes place in the Spoon River Cemetery and the town of Spoon River. Players will
encounter ghosts and be able to read epitaphs throughout the game.
What can I as a player control?
You will be able to control the player character if you are in the 3rd person perspective mode. If
in the 1st person perspective mode, you will act as the player character and move around the
environment using the game controls.
What is the main goal of this game?
The main goal of the game is to help the ghostly citizens of Spoon River find resolutions to
issues that plagued their lives and left them in a restless state. Currently this game is not
complete. The original text-based game contains 8 issues that need to be resolved in order to win
the game. Currently, VOSR3D only contains 2 issues that are resolvable to win.
Contact Information
If you are interested in using this game or want to know more about it, please contact Dr. Shelton
of Utah State University. Please contact Dr. Shelton if you want to use it for educational
purposes, for fun, for further development, to report bugs, or to give feedback.
brett.shelton@usu.edu
Game Source Code and Release Date
VOSR3D source code is not available at this time.
If you have questions or comments about this game please contact Dr. Shelton at
brett.shelton@usu.edu
Released: August 6, 2006
Edited August 8, 2011
Getting Started: Instructions for Beginners
This readme file is packaged with the VOSR3D.exe installer in the zip file. This game is
currently only available for Windows. After you have downloaded and unzipped the file using
Windows XP to unzip or some other software like WinZip, you will need to extract the
VOSR3D.exe file to your computer. Double clicking VOSR3D.exe file will then start the
installation of the game. Once the game is installed, you will have two perspective options to
play the game. When selecting VOSR3D from the start menu -> programs, you can play
VOSR3D (Firstperson view) or VOSR3D (Thirdperson view). The game does not change
between perspectives. The controls remain the same in both perspectives.
Game Introduction
It has been years since anyone walked down Spoon River’s dusty Main Street. Only the sound of
the wind and the timeless trickle of the fountain in the cemetery make any noise at all. The town
of Spoon River sleeps. But not all are at peace. Some say the town slowly faded away as the old
people died and the young ones moved away. Others say it happened suddenly when the wells
dried up. Somehow, Spoon River became a ghost town. And all the secrets would have faded,
too, if it wasn’t for the epitaphs. You must examine the past, collect clues, and help find and
resolve the issues of those who are not at rest.
How do I play?
Movement
Look around Moving Mouse
Move Forward/backward W/S
Strafe left/right A/D
Turn left/right Mouse
Jump Spacebar
Use Items E
Drop Items Q
Run Hold Shift key while moving
Cycle Through Items []
Crosshairs
Eye Examine Object: Left Click
Fist Pick up Item: Left Click
Pointing hand Use item on Object: Letter E
Balloon Talk to ghost: Left Click
How do I quit the game?
By typing the ~ key in the upper left hand corner of the keyboard you will open the command
console. To quit type /quit and hit enter.
Getting stuck and unstuck
At this time there is no help system for this game. For help in solving the issues in VOSR3D refer
to the text version at http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_IF_VOSR.html