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Welcome to SemesterQuest.
SemesterQuest is the gamified digital environment where your Collaborative Writing Practices - Game Writing (355:375) course will take place this semester. Yes, you can always access your traditional course syllabus on our Canvas course page, but where’s the fun in that?
Read on to learn more about our course requirements (i.e. what you must do in order to pass this course), and all about how SemesterQuest works.
Earning Points.
Your participation in this course, and especially in SemesterQuest, will allow you to earn two different kinds of points: Experience Points (XP) and Rupees. The difference? At the end of the semester, Experience Points (XP) translate directly into your semester grade, whereas Rupees simply allow you to accrue benefits from the item shop along the way.
ADVENTURES (i.e. the major projects you’re required to complete as part of your coursework) are worth the bulk of your XP. The Design Dungeon, for instance, is worth up to 3000 XP on its own. Take a look at the XP Conversion Scale below for a better idea as to how these points will translate into your final course grade.
Experience Points (XP)
- A: 9300+
- B+: 8900 - 9299
- B: 8100 - 8899
- C+: 7700 - 8099
- C: 7000 - 7699
- F: Below 7000
Other facets of your coursework, such as your participation in class and online, will allow you to earn and accumulate Rupees. Here’s what you need to know about Rupees in a nutshell:
Rupees
- Earn Rupees by successfully completing Quests.
- Earn Rupees in other ways detailed on SemesterQuest.
- Use Rupees to buy perks from The Item Shop.
- Total earned Rupees are a reflection of Playership.
If you're wondering some of the ways you can earn Rupees throughout the course of the semester, here's a live table of the current automated ways in which you can earn Rupees:
| Instance | Amount | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Rupees for registering for this course | 200 Rupees | - |
| Rupees for visiting SemesterQuest daily | 5 Rupees | - |
| Rupees for posting comments | 5 Rupees | Maximum 3 times per post and Maximum 3 times per day |
| Rupees for viewing select videos in full | 25 Rupees | - |
| Rupees for posting to the forum | 5 Rupees | Maximum 30 times per week |
| Rupees for your content submission | 50 Rupees | Maximum 2 times per day |
Although the various components of SemesterQuest are interwoven and play interconnected roles on your progress, the following graph provides a simplified view of how your gameplay (and your points) impact your course grade.
Now that’s enough about points and grades. Let’s get on to the good stuff… the stuff that SemesterQuest is made of…
Quests.
Once logged in, you’ll notice the first item on the menu at the top of your screen is “Quests.” Each week, new quests will be posted that you can participate in to earn both XP and Rupees.
It’s important to note that not all Quests will be created equally. What that means:
- Some Quests are closely tied to Adventures, and as such, can have an impact regarding the total number of XP you can earn. Other Quests are tied to XP that's par tof Playership or to Side Quests. Long story short, ditching these Quests is an easy way to give up important points! Be the hero — complete your quests!
- Some Quests are only worth Rupees. These Quests are likely to have a lesser impact on your end-of-game XP total, but provide a valuable opportunity to rack up Rupees that can be used in The Item Shop.
- Quests may also have tiered opportunities to earn varying amounts of Rupees — depending on how ambitious you’re feeling on the given occasion.
A Word of Caution
At the start of SemesterQuest, you have two lives. If you’re "absent" from class (e.g. if you don't participate in a weekly quest), you lose a life. If you lose two lives, it’s game over.
Miss a class, lose a life. Miss a Quest, lose a life. Lose two lives, game over.
Adventures.
The next item on your menu, Adventures, is arguably the most important. These are the major projects that you must complete in order to beat this game (and pass this course). You must complete every adventures in order to “win.”
You will also notice that some Adventures may be locked. Two things unlock Adventures: time and progress.
- TIME. In due course, each adventure will become unlocked. This is how assignments and deadlines traditionally work. Not very exciting.
- PROGRESS. Complete level one, immediately gain access to level two. There’s nothing holding you back. Feeling particularly ambitious? Get to it then!
Item Shop.
The item shop is where you’re given the opportunity to spend those hard earned Rupees on perks and power-ups of your choice. (No, spending Rupees in The Item shop will not affect how they reflect on your Playership at the semester’s end.) Over time, new items will appear and disappear, and prices may fluctuate… so be sure to keep an eye out for any particularly appealing opportunities.
Leaderboard, Ranks, and More.
You'll find that additional game elements may be incorporated into your experience as the semester unfolds. You may notice a "leaderboard" of top Rupee earners... you may notice that your "rank" increases with your accumulation of Rupees... and you may notice additional perks along the way.
Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy everything that this course has to offer you.
You are a game designer.