Show HN: Mazetec – Create text-based adventures with a timer and points

The failure states seem quite harsh though when I'm trying to explore the paths. For example, while playing through the "How a Bill Becomes a Law" example, if I make the mistake of introducing the bill to the house before a committee, I get a warning "WHAT BILL ARE YOU INTRODUCING? What could you possibly be introducing?". The all caps part is a font choice, so it doesn't look like users could disable it which might scare some players. I would have expected a much calmer explanation of the problem.

The other thing I would have liked is an easy link to a study guide or external resources. I know the whole point is to learn by exploring the decision tree, but I would have liked to stop and read more about what a committee is, or to learn what a "rule" is that I'm assigning to a bill (I still don't know). It seems like it's easy to get a rough overview of a process, but not to dive deeper than that.

How do you teach someone something they think they already know or who is ADHD and can't focus?

You make them do it, but what if doing it is dangerous or puts someone else at risk?

You create a safe environment for them to do it and practice.

Overview

The original goal of Mazetec was to make online learning more engaging. Rather than telling the learner what to do, create a scenario and let them try it for themselves.

For example, you're a knight, do you fight the dragon or run from the dragon? What are the consequences of each decision? Give points for different choices.

Application Features

Build branching scenarios in the visual editor that people can play with a link.

Ability to limit the time, thus creating a race against the clock and time pressure.

Pressure changes the way people make decisions, give ppl 5 seconds to make a decision or 50 seconds or no timer at all.

Create your own points you can have prefix and suffix on your scenario credits and you can start a user with 100 and only subtract and fail them when they reach 0.

e.g. points can be

50 Latnum

10 knuts

$5.00

100 Points

Life force 100%

Node types

Scene - branching node

Warning - sends the user back and subtracts points or time.

Hint - can pause the timer if enabled, sends the user back to the previous node. This is meant to serve as a point of reflection.

Form - collect data using a survey or form at any point

Fail - Fails the user, but encourages them to restart.

Finish - The user finished the scenario successfully.

Scenario player try an example below. You can have custom branding.

Collaboration, Roles, and Permissions - invite other users to your account and share your scenarios or keep them private or invite others to edit.

Privacy controls - on the links, set a password, set expiration dates, add tags, require name and email.

Analytics - build your own visualizations and add them to a custom dashboard.

Individual decisions or aggregate basis, time it took, bonus and penalty

Device type, region, plays, etc....

Here are a few examples:

Player tester: https://app.mazetec.org/player?uuid=04f42f51-d295-4a53-a909-...

How a bill becomes a law: https://app.mazetec.org/player?uuid=1c852406-8570-4af9-9afe-...

Slow the spread of COVID: https://app.mazetec.org/player?uuid=007a7134-168d-4eb8-87f6-...

Trout Fly Fishing Recognition Challenge: https://app.mazetec.org/player?uuid=a73f2afa-51bf-498d-98db-...

Courtesy of a beta tester: Malware Disaster Recovery Scenario: https://app.mazetec.org/player?uuid=acf5b1e6-e298-4a9b-92c5-...