NATIONAL
CHENGCHI UNIVERSITY
SCENARIOS

Here are various scenarios created by my students. Some are HTMLized others are still in text format - eventually they'll all be Webized. Please remember while reading these, they have been written by English as a FOREIGN Language students in Taiwan. Most files have only undergone a small amount of editing so may need major tinkering before play. If you would like to put any of these through a major edit, feel free to email me at director@interactivedramas.info and I'll most assuredly get back to you as quickly as possible.

These Interactive Drama Freeforms, mostly of the Murder Mystery Minigame variety were written as part of class assignments various of my English as a Foreign Language classes at National Chengchi University where I am an Associate Professor (in Taipei, Taiwan). The scenarios here have undergone a bit of cleaning up and editing by me before being posted here but are essentially intact. The scenarios were originally written by students for their classmates to play but may be played by those reading these pages. Feel free to use these as you like as long as the original author and copyright notices are left in place and no fee is charged or monies exchanged when you run the game. All rights are held by the authors.

Each student in the classes was asked to use the Freeform Evaluation Form and review three Freeforms (students evaluated their own Freeform and two by their classmates). The authors supplied copies to the members of the class for purposes of review. The reviews were then given to the authors as soon as was possible - but no later than a preset due date. Students then used the feedback to change and modify their games - they also had feedback from their playtesters.

One nice way we have of ending the semester is to have a party in my home for some of my classes. For a few classes where I have multiple sections, we will combine the classes and play a student-written freeform. It works out very well in terms of allowing students a chance to practice their English conversation skills and it's a lot of fun! For a number of classes, we will combine classes with those of Michael Cheng . . . creating opportunities for large-scale scenario-based learning situations.

SPOILER ALERT: If you intend to participate in any of these interactive drama scenarios as a performing player, you should not read them beforehand. If you intend to direct, run, or host a scenario as a non-participating player, then feel free to proceed. While some scenarios can be run without a director, others require a referee.

• Haunted Ship by Nora Teng, Theresa Tseng, and Robin Li (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1996). 6 players (2 male, 4 female). Someone is slowly killing off the crew of a luxury cruise ship and it's up to the players to find out who the killer is before they become victims. While there are a few holes in the plot of this scenario, it is an excellent example of how one can realistically structure the multiple-act scenario in which players receive new clues with each act. Rather than the typical, yet unrealistic, method of the clues being about the original inciting incident, the clues in this scenario relate to new events so that the story builds in a logical manner. Students in my classes are encouraged to employ this method of plot and scenario construction.

• The Notice of Murder by Rebecca Chao (English Conversation, Minors, Fall, 1998). 18 players (7 male, 11 female). 5200 words. Someone's hired a murderer for the Chicken Village costume party as a joke, but the joke's gotten out of hand. Who will the next victim be? (Note to Potential Players: There are a lot of clues in this scenario that don't work - such as the victim not knowing he's dead - so you'll need to do some rewriting to get things into playable condition. Caveat Emptor and all that.)

• The New Snow White by Judy Huang, Stephanie Wu, Sue Yeh, and Janis Chen (English Conversation, Minors, Fall, 1998). 13 players (5 male, 7 female). 4800 words. Prince Charming and Snow White are married and have a beautiful life together . . . or so we've all been told. However, life isn't so wonderful in Fairy Tale Land. Someone has stolen the royal baby and it's up to the Dwarves and the rest of the royal household to uncover the culprit so that that things really can turn out happily ever after. This is a great scenario for costume roleplay.

• Mulan by Allison Tsai (English Conversation One, Freshmen, Fall, 1998). 6 players (3 male, 3 female). 1800 words. Someone has stolen important military documents. The players must discover who the spy is or China may fall to the barbarians.

• Where's the Will? by Tony Thamsir, Maxine Perong, Holly Yu, and Danise Lee (English Conversation, Minors, Fall, 1998). 13 players (2 male, 11 female). 4700 words. It's Christmas and the Chairman of the Board is about to announce the new president of Takashimaya Insurance Company when murder occurs. Who will the next president be?

• The Hollywood Mystery by Joy Pan, Green Lin, and Colin Li (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (2 male, 7 female). 4600 words. Someone has killed famous Hollywood director James Kameraon while he was celebrating the premiere of his latest smash hit. Which of the Hollywood stars or hangers-on at the party could have it in for the tinsel town icon? This very clever scenario can be a lot of fun.

• Blood in NCCU by Jessie Huang, Ryan Lee, Erin Zong, and Luke Hsu (English Conversation, Minors, Fall, 1998). 13 players (9 male, 4 female). 4400 words. Someone's started a killing spree on campus and players must find out who it is before becoming the next victim.

• At the Jewell Exhibition by Anne Chen, Andrea Wu, and July Huang (English Conversation, Minors, Fall, 1998). 13 players (10 male, 3 female). 3100 words. Someone has stolen a priceless gem and the players need to find the thief.

• The President's Lover by Annie Chang, Christine Wang, and Jean Chang (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (2 male, 7 female). 3100 words. The First Lady is away and the President has decided to play . . . now his staff must scramble to conceal the identity of the presidential lover or the White House could fall. This delightful little scenario can be a lot of fun.

• Deadly Orange Juice by Lily Wang, Jenny Hung, and Grant Wu (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (2 male, 7 female). 3000 words. Someone put poison in the Orange Juice served at a posh party. Poor Adela drank the deadly juice and died. It's up to the players to find out who the culprit is.

• Life is a Mixture of Love and Hate by Carol Yeh, Iris Liu, and Stephanie Chang (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (2 male, 7 female). 2500 words. There is murder afoot in the Grant Hotel.

• New Mother by Allison Tsai, Tien Chao, and Jill Chan (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (4 male, 5 female). 2400 words. Someone has killed the promising younger son of a millionaire. It's up to the rest of the family to discover who.

• The Sacred Ball by Ellen Li, Helen Tsai, and Fiona Cheng (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 10 players (5 male, 5 female). 2300 words. Someone has stolen the Sacred Ball of Tibet . . . was it a Chinese Spy, a traitor among the Lamas, or worse?

• Sunset Hotel by Jessica Lai, Christy Chung, and Frank Wang (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (3 male, 6 female). 2200 words. A class reunion at the Sunset Hotel goes terribly wrong when a young woman is found murdered.

• Death Behind the Masque by Ugiene Lin, Robert Chang, and Jacob Huang (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (4 male, 5 female). 1600 words. Someone has killed Duke Williams. Who will be next?

• The Desires on Campus by Mandy Wang, Vicky Lu, Irma Chang, and Ellen Lia (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 9 players (3 male, 6 female). 1600 words. Someone is killing high school students on campus.

• Fashion Mystery: Who Did It? by Rebecca Wu, Ted Huang, and Frank Liu (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 10 players (1 male, 9 female). 1400 words. When clothing giants do battle, someone has to die. Now, who did the deed? One of the high fashion designers? A model? A corrupt competitor? Who did it?

• The Wedding by Claire Chang, Karen Chang, and Vincent Lu (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 10 players (7 male, 3 female). 1300 words. Someone's killed the blushing bride on her wedding day. This scenario concept makes a wonderful formal costume party with everyone dressed in wedding atire. Unfortunately, this scenario has too many problems to play straight. It needs a lot of work - this version is actually a much cleaned up version of the original file which was a formatter's nightmare and it's still a mess.

• Father and Son by Susan Lin, Carol Tseng, and Eunice Wang (English Conversation One, Freshman, Fall, 1998). 10 players (4 male, 6 female). 1100 words. Raymond Babbit has been poisoned. Oh my! This scenario was an utter mess when I tried to format it, it was a classic attempt at padding in that each character had the same character list and no substance (an effort by the authors to artificially increase the word count of the piece without actually doing any writing). If you wish to play this one, good luck.

• Burning Hatred by Vivian Hsiao and Gloria Hung (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996). 11 players (7 male, 4 female). Alston Edwards, the wealthy San Francisico tycoon hosts a party to celebrate the twelth anniversary of his wedding to Nora. Well, while making a toast the host falls over dead in front of his guests, blood streaming from his eyes and mouth. One of the people present is the murderer.

• Debut by Joey Chen and Peter Hseh (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996). 11 players (7 male, 4 female). Superstar Alanis Morgan is found dead in her dressing room moments before scheduled to perform her first public concert - a knife protruding from her heart. Who is the killer?

• Mystery in Tamshui by Irene Teo and Daphne Fung (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996). 11 players (7 male, 4 female). A naked female body, mutilated beyond recognition, was found lying in a garbage heap in Tamshui, Taiwan. The girl's heart and brain had been removed from her body. Now it's up to Chief Inspector Shu Guo Rong to find out which of the kindly neighbors is also a raving lunatic.

• Superstar Murder Mystery by Janice Chung and Tony Wang (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996). 11 players (5 male, 6 female). Singing sensation Mariah Carley has died in her Tokyo hotel room. Medical examiners have found poison in her bloodstream. Now the members of her entourage have to work quickly to reveal the murderer.

• The Vampire by Maggie Wang, Sylvia Wu, Shirley Tseng, and Veronica Wu. 6 players (5 male and 1 female). English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1997.

• Demon on the Angel Boat by Crystal Huang, Eileen Lin, and Jack "Scott" Jan (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1996).

• Hospital Murder by Anna Chang, Alexandra Kao, and Vicky Lin (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1996).

• On the Way to Sydney by Delicia Chu (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996).

• The Price of the Prize by Alex Hung (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996).

• Shanghai Memories by Vanessa Chang, Anne Yien, and Jackie Lin (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1996).

• Treasure Island by Fay Ni, Grace Suang, and Claire Sin (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1996).

• Who is the Spy? by Gillian Yu and Peony Chan (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1996).

• Bloody X'mas by Gwen Wu (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1997).

• A Rich Man's Homicide by Tracy Wang (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1997).

• The Murder on Train Number 76 by Camille lin (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1997).

• The Red Rose by Sylvia Sia and Suzie Gan (English Composition Two, Junior, Spring, 1997).

• Bloody Night by Cherry Huang and Simon Sung (Role Playing Games, Junior, Spring, 1997).

• Trista's Freeform by Sherry Wei, Brenda Wu, and Sharon Hsu (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1997).

• The Betrayer by Ariel, Wendy, and Zoe (English Conversation One, Freshman, Spring, 1997).

• The Role Play by Ariel (English Conversation , Spring, 1997).

• Who Stole the Test Papers? by Maria, Yvette, and Sarah (English Conversation, Fall, 1996).

• A Day in the Life by Anne, Angela, and Christina (English Conversation, Fall, 1996).