The ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures: The Empire of the Plant People
Encyclopedia
The ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures: The Empire of the Plant People is a personal computer game
in The ClueFinders
series of educational software
.
Owen, Leslie and LapTrap discover that under the yard is a passageway that leads into an underground labyrinth inhabited by self-aware
, anthropomorphic
plant
s who happen to speak English
. They learn that the plants have captured Joni and Santiago, and are concocting a plan to attack the town above.
Mysterious Locks
This is the first obstacle that the player faces. It involves reading the map or text and scrolling for the three correct answers, unlocking the vine locked door.
Perilous Faults
The player is given a clue like a crossword and the first letter of the word. They must guide Owen by clicking the correct tile so he jumps onto it, cracking the tile. He will then need to be guided to spell the rest of the word, which when spelled correctly, deepens the cracks. When enough words have been completed, and the remaining tiles cannot be used to spell words, the layer of tiles will crack and collapse. There are 2 layers of these tiles that must collapse before the plank of wood is obtained.
Recipe for Disaster
A three-headed plant holds the plank of wood that is needed to enter the throne room. Combining several chemicals will help to put each of the three heads to sleep, but each head will only pass out for a certain chemical combination. Once each head is out cold, the plank can be taken.
of the plant empire for years. The ClueFinders are reunited in the "throne room
" of the plant empire, only to discover that Miss Rose is the plants' queen, having disguised herself as a human to go above ground. She explains that she doesn't want to attack the town, but feels like she has no other choice. Santiago informs her that polluting the environment is illegal. Santiago suggests the ClueFinders could track down the polluting factories and report them to the authorities, thus saving both the plant empire and the town.
Miss Rose agrees on the condition that they must also clean up the existing pollution. She demands a "hostage for security" and Joni promptly volunteers herself. As the user completes the activities that entail tracking down the polluting companies and cleaning up the plants' water supply, Joni starts to turn green and seems to begin transforming into a plant herself as a result of the pollution in the plant creatures' food supply. Once all the pollution is cleaned up, Joni is saved and the memories of the human hostages are wiped, leaving the other ClueFinders the only ones who know of the plant empire. Owen and Leslie promise to keep the existence of the empire a secret before they are transported back to the surface.
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
in The ClueFinders
The ClueFinders
The ClueFinders is a series of edutainment software aimed at children aged eight to twelve. The series is produced by The Learning Company as a counterpart to their Reader Rabbit series for older elementary-aged students....
series of educational software
Educational software
Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...
.
Premise
While playing a game of frisbee, Joni accidentally tosses the disc over the fence into the overgrown yard of Miss Rose, an apparently friendly old woman living next door. When Joni and Santiago enter Miss Rose's yard to find the frisbee, the ground literally opens up and swallows them. Owen and Leslie rush into the yard to find Joni and Santiago have vanished. They are able to make contact with them through the Red Videophone, and learn that they have been trapped underground somewhere.Owen, Leslie and LapTrap discover that under the yard is a passageway that leads into an underground labyrinth inhabited by self-aware
Self-awareness
Self-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to reconcile oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals...
, anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s who happen to speak English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. They learn that the plants have captured Joni and Santiago, and are concocting a plan to attack the town above.
Gameplay
For almost all of the game, the player guides Owen, Leslie and Laptrap around the Plant Kingdom as they try to rescue Joni and Santiago from the army of plants. For most of the game, the player travels around the underground kingdom to collect planks of wood to cross the perilous canyon. This is done three times before the player reaches Joni and Santiago.Mysterious Locks
This is the first obstacle that the player faces. It involves reading the map or text and scrolling for the three correct answers, unlocking the vine locked door.
Perilous Faults
The player is given a clue like a crossword and the first letter of the word. They must guide Owen by clicking the correct tile so he jumps onto it, cracking the tile. He will then need to be guided to spell the rest of the word, which when spelled correctly, deepens the cracks. When enough words have been completed, and the remaining tiles cannot be used to spell words, the layer of tiles will crack and collapse. There are 2 layers of these tiles that must collapse before the plank of wood is obtained.
Recipe for Disaster
A three-headed plant holds the plank of wood that is needed to enter the throne room. Combining several chemicals will help to put each of the three heads to sleep, but each head will only pass out for a certain chemical combination. Once each head is out cold, the plank can be taken.
Language Arts
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Steps of Expression | Reading Comprehension and Grammar |
| Mysterious Locks | Reading for Information |
| Perilous Faults | Spelling and Vocabulary |
| Pollution Detectives | Reading for Information |
Mathematics
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Cave of Danger | Whole Number Computation |
| Recipe for Disaster | Fraction and Decimal Addition and Subtraction |
| Bacterial Growth | Word Problems |
Social Studies
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Mysterious Locks | World Cultures and Geography |
| Chasm of Time | History and World Cultures |
Problem Solving
| Game | Skill |
|---|---|
| Bacterial Growth | Logical Reasoning |
| Pollution Solution | Logical Reasoning |
The game's conclusion
It turns out that the plants want to attack the town because various factories have been polluting the water supplyWater supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
of the plant empire for years. The ClueFinders are reunited in the "throne room
Throne room
A throne room is the room, often rather a hall, in the official residence of the crown, either a palace or a fortified castle, where the throne of a senior figure is set up with elaborate pomp— usually raised, often with steps, and under a canopy, both of which are part of the original notion of...
" of the plant empire, only to discover that Miss Rose is the plants' queen, having disguised herself as a human to go above ground. She explains that she doesn't want to attack the town, but feels like she has no other choice. Santiago informs her that polluting the environment is illegal. Santiago suggests the ClueFinders could track down the polluting factories and report them to the authorities, thus saving both the plant empire and the town.
Miss Rose agrees on the condition that they must also clean up the existing pollution. She demands a "hostage for security" and Joni promptly volunteers herself. As the user completes the activities that entail tracking down the polluting companies and cleaning up the plants' water supply, Joni starts to turn green and seems to begin transforming into a plant herself as a result of the pollution in the plant creatures' food supply. Once all the pollution is cleaned up, Joni is saved and the memories of the human hostages are wiped, leaving the other ClueFinders the only ones who know of the plant empire. Owen and Leslie promise to keep the existence of the empire a secret before they are transported back to the surface.