Jumpstart 3rd Grade
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JumpStart Adventures 3rd Grade: Mystery Mountain is a game in Knowledge Adventure's JumpStart Series. The game is set inside Mystery Mountain, a fictional mountain where an inventor, Professor Spark, has built a laboratory and home inside filled with Jetson-like inventions.
The game is set when the Professor leaves to go on a trip to the Inventors' Convention and leaves the robot Botley, programmed to be a combination of nanny and friend, in charge of keeping his bratty daughter Polly under control.
At school that day, Polly fails a test on history and decided the best thing to do about it is use her father's latest invention, the Time Machine, to send 25 robots back in time to make her answers right. The person playing on the program attempts to help Botley recover the robots and save the world.
This is the only version of this game created and, unusually for Knowledge Adventure, is still being sold, albeit as part of a larger package, ten years after its initial release in 1996. (Knowledge Adventure typically releases new version of its JumpStart products every few years.) Much of the information in the game has become dated since that time, but it is unknown whether Knowledge Adventure has remedied this in its later releases of the program.
Contents |
[edit] Subjects
- Math
- Spelling
- Grammar
- Art History
- Life Science
- Earth Science
- Constellations
- Logic
- Music
[edit] Characters
[edit] Botley
AndroidXL2 or "Botley," as he is better known, was built by Prof. Spark when he had trouble finding sitters for Polly (she kept scaring them away). Botley is a Prototype Champanion Devise, who is programmed to be Polly's friend. Note that Botley responds to Polly's behavior exactly the way in which it is recommended that children deal with bullies. For example, when Polly calls Botley names, the first couple times Botley tells her clearly that his name is "Botley" and afterwards, he ignores it.
Botley seems to be able to let his own conscience override his programming. For example, it is against Botley's programming to reveal the existence of the Time Machine, but he reveals it to the user under the circumstances that Polly is about to send the world out of control.
[edit] Polly
Polly Spark is similar to Angelica Pickles from the Rugrats, both in physical appearance and attitude, perhaps because one of the writers (Doria Biddle) also writes episodes for Rugrats.
The game designers went to every extant to not leave Polly with one redeeming quality. Polly calls Botley names such as, "Snotley," "Potley," or "Dotley." It seems Polly is most concerned with her image and blames other for her short comings. Though Polly attempts to destroy the world in Jumpstart 3rd Grade, she isn't truly evil, but is more likely too naive to understand the dangers of altering time. Under pressure, she decided to help Botley rescue Coach Qwerty in Jumpstart Typing. Polly can probably be better described as an anti-hero, as opposed to a true villain.
As is imaginable, Polly's behavior has "Spark"ed crictism, from some parents fearing their children may imitate Polly's bratty attitude, even to say that she was made that way just so the game would sell. It is more likely that the reasons for Polly's behavior are psychological; Polly always appears confident and never becomes upset. The user, naturally, would want to upset her, and the only way to do that is to bring all the robots back. In short, Polly uses reverse psychology to motivate the user.
Polly has blonde hair set in pigtails and she wears lab glasses and what appears to be a lab coat worn as a dress. The name Polly means "bitter."
[edit] Professor Spark
Professor Spark seems to be a world-famous inventor who is way ahead of his time. Prof. Spark has invented a Time Machine, a Shrink-O-Matic and a telescope that can look 300,000 light years away at least and has some way of seeing objects there as they are now, rather than 300,000 years ago.
Prof. Spark's robots have a great ability to think for themselves, and they seem to serve the professor out of loyalty, rather than by force. This has caused a few problems, but Prof. Spark handles this by locking rooms such as the Music Hall and the Time Machine Mission Control. Botley seems to be very admiring of Prof. Spark. Prof. Spark seems to avoid any rebellion by making the robots satisfied with the quality of their lives.
According to Polly, Prof. Spark's mother cooked "odoriferous" sausages. Since Polly speaks about her in the past tense, it suggests she is dead. Prof. Spark's first name has never been revealed.
[edit] Ms. Winkle
Ms. Winkle is Polly's schoolteacher who teaches in a space-age schoolhouse on a hill near Mystery Mountain. At her schoolhouse, everything is state-of-the-art, and she even uses a device called a TransQuizzer to record tests. Ms. Winkle is not married (Polly sometimes refers to her as "Miss Winkle") and she tends to get a bit overenthused. Ms. Winkle may be named for Rip van Winkle. A "winkle" can also refer to a periwinkle. As with Prof. Spark, Ms. Winkle's first name has never been mentioned.
[edit] Mort
Mort "The Bottomless Pit" appears in the kitchen activity. Mort is noted for having an unusally large appetite, which is saying something, as we are told all robots love to eat. Despite this, Mort seems to be very polite by robot standards. Mort doesn't have an obvious "purpose" in the Mountain, but Mort says he knows a lot about mathematics.
[edit] Mrs. Beasley
Mrs. Beasley is the archivist of the Art Gallery and the "resident art expert." Mrs. Beasley loves organizing (Botley calls her a "neat freak") and has little patience with Polly, who freqently leaves the digital art in the Virtual Collection unorganized. Botley often calls her "Mrs. B." for short. Mrs. Beasley is probably named for Richard E. Beasley.
[edit] The Maestro
Maestro Trombot is the maestro and head of the All-Winning, All-Robot Chorus, who resides in the Music Hall. Polly has weekly music lessons, which are presumably taught by Trombot. Trombot believes that if Polly were to pay more attention to her music lessons, she wouldn't be such a rotten person. Polly resents this. "Trombot" is an alteration of "trombone."
[edit] Egbert
Egbert is the "resident egghead." Egbert manages all the specimens in the Shrinking Machine Room and is so deeply attached them he calls them his "lovelies" and his "babies." Egbert is very insulted when Polly makes fun of them and his care of them. Egbert was made out of recycled tin cans, a fact which he's proud of.
[edit] Floors of Mystery Mountain
The entire game is set in Mystery Mountain. The game is divided into 25 missions (one for each robot) where the user attempts to rescue one of the reprogrammed robots. At the start of a mission, the user, selects a question from the TransQuizzer, a futuristic device Ms. Winkle, Polly's teacher, uses to videotape tests. There are five disks, each with five questions. After the user has used up all five questions on a disk, they are presented with the next disk. The user selects a question by clicking the "play" button. Ms. Winkle reads the question, Polly responds and Ms. Winkle (because Polly has changed history) says she's right. Polly's answers are often humorous.
The user then searches Mystery Mountain for Mission Clues and Invention Points. The user needs to get four Mission Clues for each mission. The number of Invention Points needed varies based on which TransQuizzer disk they are on. It starts off at 1,000 and increases by 500 for every disk. To get Mission Clues, the user has to play one specific game for each of them, and only that particular game will give the user that particular Mission Clue. Botley will use his powerful sensory device to tell the user which games to play. Invention Points are rewarded if there are no Mission Clues hidden a particular activity. Polly remains in her father's secret chamber for the entire game with a little robot that looks somewhat like a shark. She occasionally drops from monitors which seem to be in every room to talk to Botley, give game instructions, etc.
There is a limited amount of "power" in the game. Using the odd inventions in the Mountain wastes electrical power. When the power is low, the user must go to the Jumbo Electro Generator to juice up. The lower the power, the fewer activities are available. When there is no power, no activities are accessible, and Botley tells the user to go to the Generator.
[edit] Basement
[edit] Jumbo Electro Generator Room
When the electrical power is low in the Mountain, the user must go to the Jumbo Electro Generator to increase the power. In this game, television monitors rise out of a tube with a number on it, and mathematical sign (+, -, x, or /). The user is presented with a group of batteries. The user must place the batteries on the monitors so that when magnified together they will produce electricity. For example, if the number on a monitor was 7, and it had a "+" sign on top of it, the user could place batteries with 4 and 3 on the monitor. Obviously, there is more than one correct answer. The batteries could go dead if they have to wait for too long.
Once this game has been completed, there is no point in playing it again, because there is no increase in power, due to the fact that you cannot have more than 100% energy.
[edit] First Floor
The first floor is the first room entered. This room has a door leading outside, a staircase to the Second Floor, the door to the Jumbo Electro Generator, and doors to an assortment of rooms.
[edit] Robot Kitchen
In order to enter the kitchen, the user has to solve combination locks using addition, subtraction and multiplication. The Kitchen Door game features 3-digit addition, 2-digit subtraction, and 1-digit multiplication. After solving the three locks, the user has to try to feed Mort. Using the Feeding Machine, the user uses Metric, Molecular, and Standard forms of measurement to make Mort's meal. When Mort has been successfully fed he will award the user Invention Points/a Mission Clue.
[edit] Art Gallery
The Art Gallery is the only room with more than one game; the Virtual Collection and the painting gallery.
In the Virtual Collection, the user tries to find the work of art that matches Polly's clue. The art is organized into categories, three works in each category. To change the category one clicks the lever. If the user wants to find out more about a work of art they click on it and Mrs. Beasley tells them more. To see the work of art on the digital display they click it again. If it matches Polly's clue, then Polly will present the user with another challenge as "lucky guess don't count" according to "Polly's Book of Rules" by "yours truly." (In the Biosphere game Polly sometimes passes off answers as lucky guesses, but allows them to count, suggesting Polly invented this rule on the spot.) In this activity students rearrange boxes so that all their sides match. The puzzle can use art, synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and math. After this activity is completed, the user is awarded the Invention Points/Mission Clue.
In the Painting Gallery activity, students create a painting to illustrate a crazy story written by Polly. The user starts by selecting an appropriate background and then adding stamps. Music/Sound Effects may also be necessary. When Polly is satisfied, the user receives the Invention Points/Mission Clue.
[edit] Music Hall
Like with the kitchen, the door to the Music Hall must be unlocked. The door to the Music Hall opens with a password. To discover the password, students rearrange 4 words on the left side of the door. After completing each one, at least one letter from the password will appear on the other side; letter(s) will always appear. For example:
RAIN SNOW HEAT SLEET
WEATHER
When the letters of the password are reorganized, the door will open. Students are helped in this activity by Bothoven, the door-knocker-robot.
Inside the Music Hall, the user meets Maestro Trombot. Here we find out that Polly wants us to play a particular song for her. However, she has mixed up the chips. The user must reorganize them; when they are correct, the Maestro will play the music for Polly and the student will receive the Invention/Mission Clue. But apparently, he repeats the lines 'The music is all mixed up!' this is because the writers wanted to focus the game on school subjects, and focus less on Music.
[edit] Second Floor
On the second floor there is a staircase leading back to the First Floor, and a tram that takes the rider to the Third Floor. There are two rooms on the Second Floor.
[edit] Biosphere
In the Biosphere, Prof. Spark can grow anything he wants from any part of the world. There are five environments in the Biosphere; a desert, a rain forest, a savanna, a mountain range and an ocean. To protect the Biosphere from outside contamination, he invented a remote-controlled way of working inside it; tiny little rockets called Explores that can be remotely flown in the Biosphere. However, there is a cavernous maze of airlocks that must be traveled through first.
Naturally, Polly has hidden Invention Points/a Mission Clue in here. The user must fly an Explore into the Biosphere. Flying the Explore requires "arcade-styled" maneuvering. If an Explore crashes into the wall too many times, it will explode, and the student will have to start with a new Explore. There are an unlimited number of Explores. When the Explore comes up to an airlock, Polly will appear on the monitor and ask the user a question involving life science, if they are correct Polly will open the airlock, and the student may proceed if not, they will have to try again, but with a different question.
The correct answers from Polly's questions appear on a panel. When the user finally reaches the Biosphere, they must find the environment which matches the answer. In that environment, they land on the designated landing pad and click on a key. If it's wrong, it will open revealing nothing. If the user is wrong twice they will have to go back to the beginning. If it's right, the user will be awarded with the Invention Points/Mission Clues.
[edit] Shrinking Machine Room
The Shrinking Machine Room is home to a device Prof. Spark calls a complicated name that Botley can't remember and everyone else calls the Shrink-O-Matic. It can be used to reduce anyone or anything to the size of a medium-large molecule with the help of Egbert. In the game, Polly has shrunken the Invention Points/Mission Clue and hidden in one of Egbert's specimens. Polly gives the user a hint, and they attempts to find the appropriate specimens. The user uses Egbert's analyzer to find out about the specimens. When they think they've found the correct specimen they place it on the ground and click on the microscope, which will shrink Botley. Then they play a game where they bat Botley into the molecules until they break open a large orange one. If it is the correct specimen, they are given the Invention Points/Mission Clue. If not, Botley is returned to his regular size and the user must try again.
[edit] Third Floor
On the Third Floor, the user can take the tram back to the Second Floor, or enter the Time Machine Mission Control, if they have enough Mission Clues and Invention Points.
[edit] Observatory
The Observatory is where Prof. Spark performs all his top secret astronomical experiments, which are way ahead of his time. Polly tells the user and Botley they can get their Inventions Points/Mission Clue here but "it's not exactly in this room. In fact, it's not even in the Solar System..." because Polly has launched it/them into deep space. Polly has decided to give the user a hint because she is such "nice girl," but the hint is on a series of radio transmissions that have been launched into a black hole.
In the first part of this activity, the student tries to blast the radio transmissions out of the black hole. They use a series of "probes" in this arcade game. Each time a transmission is hit it is knocked one light year away from the center (this is impossible, however, because if this was actually true, all the probes, radio packets, etc. would be larger than the Solar System).
After the entire transmission is recovered, the user plays a grammar game to rearrange a scrambled sentence using the Alien Signal Decoder (Prof. Spark built it to translate messages from extra-terrestrial beings, however he hasn't yet found any alien transmissions to decode - this seams to contradict with Jumpstart Typing, which has Interplanetary Keyboarding Events). On Level 3, they also have to remove a word that doesn't belong. When the hint is unscrambled, they use the clue to figure out which constellation Polly sent the Invention Points/Mission Clue to. Once the correct constellation is picked, the rocket returns and user is awarded with the Invention Points/Mission Clue.
[edit] Robot Maze
According to Botley, the Robot Obstacle Course is the most dangerous part of the Mountain. Prof. Spark has taken advantage of the treacherous paths to test out new robots, and to work bugs out of a robot. Botley compares it to a robot boot camp. It is too dangerous for Botley and the user to go down there themselves.
Down in the Maze there is a robot (according to the user's guide this robot is named Buster, but he isn't named in the actual game) which is apparently a new robot. Polly programmed him to put a box containing the Invention Points/Mission Clue on the edge. She then scrambled them. The student attempts to unscramble them, so that the robot reaches the box and the user receives the Invention Points/Mission Clue.
[edit] Time Machine Mission Control
It is here that the mission finishes. The Time Machine Mission Control can be entered only if the student has enough Invention Points and Mission Clues. Prof. Spark built an obstacle to the Time Machine called the Wheel of Invention where a robot named Monty Monitor quizzes the person (or robot) who is attempting to use the Time Machine. He built it avoid problems with robots time traveling back in time to taunt the early computers.
The user must solve this challenge in order to get a "time key" which allows them to enter the Time Machine; however Polly reprogrammed it so it's not just a quiz, but a quiz show called Pollywood Squares (a play on Hollywood Squares). In this game, the user answers several questions, three for each Mission Clue. The first question is related in some way to the Mission Clue, and the answer to the final question is information needed for the time trip, such as a date or place.
After this activity is completed, the user and Botley travel back in time to rescue one of the robots, and brings them back to the present. The rescued robots are stored in the "robot roost." After a robot is rescued, the user begins a new mission. Once all 25 robots are rescued, the program is completed.
Once all the robots are rescued, Polly reveals her ultimate plan, to send Botley back to the Big Bang, as she said for the extra credit question that the universe began with a robot named Botley (Polly calls this the Big Bot). Botley would be destroyed, and, since Ms. Winkle's extra credit questions more than make up for the entire quiz, Polly would still pass.
However, Prof. Spark arrives back from the Inventors' Convention. Polly tries to worm her way out of trouble, but finds herself caught in her own web of lies. Ms. Winkle and Prof. Spark make a deal with Polly; she can take the quiz over again. However, Ms. Winkle will not use the same questions, because she already took that quiz. The quiz she'll take now is on Latin, which Polly doesn't think is fair. Polly's last words are, "You just wait 'till next time, Snotley". The story ends, but the player is allowed to play the activities like the Shrinking Machine, Robot Maze, Painting Gallery for studying purposes.
[edit] Graphics
All the characters are animated in the traditional cartoon style with two main differences. The first being that the outlines are almost always one pixel in length and the second being that the characters are almost always depicted with shadows. Except for Polly, all characters are outlined mostly in black.
There is wide use of computer generated imagery in this game, often to animate background elements. The backgrounds look as though they were created with computer generated imagery, though we can't be sure.
[edit] Architecture of Mystery Mountain
The architecture of Mystery Mountain seems to be a cross between the whimsical nature of "retro-future" and the imposing nature of a castle. All this is set on top of caverns and rock formations. There seem to some recurring forms in the architecture.
One of these is what resembles a giant ball on a stick. These objects are presumably some kind antenna and are seen also in Jumpstart Typing. There are also frequent appearances of swirl-shapes, which are not continued in Jumpstart Typing, along with what resembles a double helix shape.
[edit] A Note about Time Travel in this Program
If one were to think of time travel in the traditional manner, we can see a problem. Apparently it takes about twenty-four hours before the world is completely changed forever (from Polly's statement "In another day, the world will see the dawning of Polly's Planet.") So if we were to imagine the change coming through time, when the robot responsible is rescued, the change doesn't disappear, it just stops at its source. The result would be that there would be a short period in which Polly's answers were correct.
However, if we were to apply the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics to the model, it works better. First we have to exclude the fact that it takes a day before the world changes, because obviously the user needs time to save the world. According to this theory, when the robots were sent back in time, they created a parallel universe and when each robot is rescued a new universe is created. This will eliminate the short period in which Polly's answers are right. However, there will still be a parallel universe in which Polly's answers are right, and a parallel universe in which twenty-three of the twenty-four questions are right and so on.
Under the one-world interpretation, of course, it is still highly doubtful that all of Polly's answers would be correct in the new present after simply simultaneously sending back 25 different robots. Polly sent one robot off to change the "invention of tools" so that people invented tools to fix their television sets. This could prevent Edison's invention of the phonograph, and Polly also changed that. Heck, Polly herself might not even have been born. Of course, Polly isn't particularly known for her brightness, in fact Botley tries to point at the latter saying "you could destroy us all", and Polly refuses to listen.
Not only that, a great deal of Polly's answers involve her because she is extremely self-centered. For example, Polly sent a robot to make it so paper was invented to make spitballs, paper airplanes and "paper Polly dolls". But Polly wasn't even born yet. It must have been quite an event when Polly was born, considering all the historical events were connected to her. But considering how crazy she would make the world, it's not surprising.
Also, it is highly doubtful that world acclaimed inventors and discoverers would fall for the robot's stupid tricks. For example, one robot convinced Copernicus that the world revolved around Polly by painted her portrait on a model of the sun!
Not to mention that what we have seen in Time Machine's window is, in some cases, historically inaccurate. For example, in the Olympic Games played in ancient Greece, the athletes performed in the nude, but in the game they are depicted with clothing.
Also note, Polly said she already knew all the answers on the quiz, but she had just made up her own answers for fun. However, if this were true, then when Polly changed history, it had no effect on her grade. Therefore, Polly must be lying, which is implied anyway.
There does seem to be a possible explanation for how Prof. Spark's time machine might work. It is believed, by some scientists, that entering a black hole, can take a person through a wormhole into a different time, possibly in a parallel universe. We know, from the Observitory activity, that Prof. Spark has recently discovered a black hole, and that he is capable of sending radio waves to it in within a minute or so. We also know, from the robot maze, that Prof. Spark has also developed teleportation. Therefore, he might be able to teletransport the time machine, and its passenger(s), into the black hole and back in time. Botley says that the professor recently sent a series of probes into the black hole. Possibly for a reason involving the time machine? However, traveling at the speed required, the passengers would age at slower rate than the rest of the world, thereby landing in the far future, instead of the present, upon his or her return. This obviously doesn't happen in the game, so therefore it is a problem.
Of course, it is highly doubtful that the program's designers thought this far. More likely, they assumed that third graders wouldn't notice the problems, or else they didn't notice them themselves.
[edit] Spin-offs
[edit] Jumpstart Typing
In this game, the user helps Botley free Coach Qwerty, who has been locked in the Trophy Room by Polly because he didn't like her "Untapped Typing Talent". Botley convinces Polly to help rescue Coach Qwerty by threatening to tell her father what she did.
The user's goal is to unlock the seven locks on the trophy room door by activating power cards, which is done by increasing the user's WPM (words per minute) typing speed. Note this the first time Botley and Polly are seen together in person, as Polly spent all of Jumpstart 3rd Grade in her father's secret laboratory and contacted Botley was a series of monitors.
[edit] Characters (who did not appear in Jumpstart 3rd Grade)
[edit] Coach Qwerty
Coach Qwerty is the coach of the Sparks keyboarding team, presumably hired by Prof. Spark. Coach Qwerty is said to be the best typist in the galaxy, and Prof. Spark was very excited about winning a new trophy to put in his trophy room. Of course, when Qwerty was locked in a trophy room, this created a little problem. It was Polly's fear of her father's reaction that caused her to help free the coach. "Qwerty" comes from "QWERTY" keyboards. Just like with Prof. Spark and Ms. Winkle, Qwerty's first name has never been revealed.
When Qwerty was freed, he heard Polly argue that since she helped free him she shouldn't get in as much trouble as she would otherwise. The coach said, "Polly, if it takes locking me in the trophy room to get you to practice your keyboarding skills, then so be it" and he agreed not to tell Prof. Spark.
[edit] Games
With Coach Qwerty locked up, the user will have to play the games at Sparks Stadium by leading the Sparks team. The user receives three different medals based on their performance; gold, silver and bronze.
Naturally, the user has a limited amount of "strength" and when it is too low, they will have to take lessons and timed typing tests to earn more. The user loses strength through bad performance, rather than by simply playing the games.
[edit] Roller Racer
In this game, the user helps the Sparks player skateboard down a track, while avoiding floating balls and the Track Trickster, who skates the wrong way on the track in an attempt to knock over the people (er, robots) skating in the proper direction. The user has to help the Sparks player avoid the obstacles by typing lettera that appear on the balls or on the Trickster.
[edit] Keyboard Kicks
This is a foosball-like game where there are twelve players; six Sparks players, and six of their rivals, the Galaxy Gladiators. The user types the letter(s) that appear above a group of players to activate them. Once they kick the ball, they will need to be reactivated. The game is over when one team gets ten goals.
[edit] Trail Blazer
In this game, the user helps fifty Sparts snowboarders make it to the bottom of a mountain. To do this, the user types the letter(s) that appear on each player to make them safe from dangers such a polar bears.
[edit] Cliff Hanger
In this game, the user types the letter(s) on different nodges to help the Sparks player climb Mount Keys. They have to watch out for Wall Crawlers, which throw slime (perhaps that same kind of slime used as topping in the kitchen activity of Jumpstart 3rd Grade?) on the Sparks player. However, there are special "power-up" nodges that make the Sparks player "invisible."
[edit] The Fans Go Wild
This is the only activity in which a medal is not earned. The user types letter(s) that are on cards so that they turn over and form an animated message.
[edit] Mystery Mountain Munchies
In 1999, Entertainment Publications's Summer Vacation workbooks featured the Jumpstart series. The short story featured in the third grade version was "Mystery Mountain Munchies," which fiercely contradicts with the actual program. Though the author, Allison Gladwell, managed to successfully capture the character's personalities, she made some major mistakes about the world of the game. For instance, she didn't seem to realize that Polly, Botley and company live inside the Mountain.
In the story, Polly, in an attempt to rid herself of boredom, heads down the "Princess Path," a hiking path created for her by Professor Spark. She makes a deal to go back with Botley, if he climbs a tree with her, but he didn't realize the path changes to match whatever Polly imagines it to be (though it is never explained why).
As is predictable, this ability eventually goes against Polly when she loses control of her imagination, due to eating too many sweets (Polly imagines the path to have candy trees, etc.) Botley and Polly manage to escape the path return home.
