How to use Items

Introduction

Before you start learning about and using items, you should know what they are. Items, in chooseyourstory.com definition, are objects that are found throughout a game and are held in an Inventory until further use of them is made. If your game is going to have an item, you should make sure that the item is used for something. Whether it is being able to buy something and the item is a credit card, or using it to open a door and the item is a key. If you still do not know what an item is hopefully you will by the end of this section.

Creating your Items
 
When you click the “Items” link from the menu at the top of the editor, you will be brought to a page and button that says, “Create New Item”. When you click this button, you will be taken to an Edit Item page. This is where you can enter the details of your item:
 
- First we have the title. The title of your item should not be long. Since this is what your player will see first, they should be able to easily figure out what the item is.
 
- The next thing is the description of your item. Here you can go into detail about the item. For example, your item is a credit card and your description reads: maximum of $1000 can be spent with this card.
 
- The next thing is the page your item will be found on/picked up. If your item is a credit card, you can have the page it’s found on entitled “You received a credit in the Mail.” This is simple right?
 
- Next is the number of times your item can be used. If you want your user to use an item only once, then you need to specify this. If your item is a whole cookie, you will have the player use it once because one same whole cookie cannot be used twice, it may be half eaten, but cannot stay whole. You specify this as one time. If your item is a key, the key can be used an unlimited number of times and will never disappear from the players inventory of items.
 
- You need make sure your item is associated with a picture because having this is much more fun and much less dull then having the generic picture item that is common among games.
 
- Allowing users to drop items makes a difference in the game. For example, if the player has a ‘gun’ item and needs to get rid of it before entering an airport, but then you have not given the player this option, the player is stuck. All items do not need to have this option and this option should be used only when needed.

Using your Items
 
The item effects section is the main part of items. This section defines what your items will do when the player decides to use them and what page the player is taken to. You are allowed to have multiple effects and different page use and destinations. When adding an item effect, you need to select the link “Add effect” and it will open a window. There will be two boxes. Both boxes contain pages within your game. The first (top) boxes function is to define what page the item will be used on. The second (bottom) boxes function is to define where the player will be taken to when the item is used on the specified page above. In smaller words, if used on page selected in first box, go to page selected in second box.
 
A default effect is when the item is used on a page not specified in the item effects section. A default effect happens like so: The player uses a credit card item while the page says he is in the washroom. Now, I do not think there is anyone out there who uses their credit card to purchase something while in a washroom. If you have a default effect, the player will be taken to a page specified in the default effect section. For example, “You cannot use the Credit Card right now, try at another page”. The reason I did not say “You cannot use the card in the washroom” is because since it is a default effect, whenever it is used in the wrong place it will be taken to that page.
 

These are the basics for using Items in your storygames.