So, since I am currently unable to produce the video game I wanted, I am doing a play by e-mail roleplaying game instead. What you see on this website is both a player's manual and a blueprint for a video game.
Gardenia: The Video Game contains a mini-game involving barcodes. The player can type in UPC codes from soup cans, soda bottles and other items they find around the house by using a keypad within the game itself, or using a keypad-like peripheral, or a special peripheral developed for use with barcodes. The concept is similar to typing in a password, but requires you to look up actual product codes from items around your house. This idea comes from the LCD handheld game called Barcode Battler, in which you cut off labels of various products and run them through a UPC scanner to get characters, items, and power-ups.
When playing a roleplaying game, it's fun to start the game and just mess around for awhile. But eventually, you will find that reading the instructions is an enormous help.
Gardenia has a built in tutorial at the beginning of the game. I highly recommend it. In it you will find explanations of all the operations in the game, as well as a fun practice session.
Roleplaying games are about exploring everywhere, doing everything and talking to everyone. Explore every area and talk to every character multiple times or you might miss out on secrets, like items, plot points, or hints on how to solve puzzles or get to the next area. To talk to characters, press Q. You will also be using Q to initiate actions, to search the ground, to select menu items, to open things, to activate items, or to progress through a mini game.
To save the game, you have to find something with which to record your character's story. Depending on the location, you will be using camcorders, books, tape recorders, typewriters, or talking to certain individuals.
There are two different ways to acquire items in this game. You will find certain items by exploring and talking to people, and you may also create items in the item creation menu (a later chapter discusses item creation in greater detail). Your items are stored in your inventory. Certain items progress the plot, others serve varied purposes during gameplay. Your inventory has buttons to sort the items alphabetically, by type, or by size. Characters can only carry a certain amount of items in their inventory. The rest must be put in a bag or storage container, or traded to a different character. Items are sometimes found in battle instead of money, but they can be sold for an increase of wealth.
By selecting the character in the party menu, you access the equipment menu for the character. Every character has a special type of clothing or armor they can wear. The character menu displays anything the character can wear or carry as a tool or weapon.
Shops in Gardenia offer several different options. See the chapter on Shopping and Business for more information.
Characters in this game can be improved in two ways. Learning and experience. These are explained in greater detail in the combat and learning sections, respectively.
A character can study several disciplines. These disciplines are listed on a chart in the learning section. Each character begins with a set of skills he or she is good at, listed under the Favorites menu. Favorites begin at a higher level than other subjects. Discipline skills can be brought up with Learning Points. Learning points can be attained by visiting special areas and pressing Q, talking to special characters, attending classes or using the Learn command in battle. Disciplines can be combined to produce special skills which are described in greater detail in the Skill section and Character section.
Certain skills are battle related and can only be improved by Chart Points, which are acquired by reaching a certain number of combat experience points (EXP). While the original skill may have been aquired by learning, the point category can only be changed with Chart Points from battle. The Chart and Character sections explain this in greater detail.
Whenever you use a Whammy, it requires energy. Each character has a limited amount of energy they can use. This energy can be refilled by the combined effects of resting, eating, sleeping and recreation.
After periods of strenuous activity, some energy can be restored by simply stopping and letting characters rest. This is not the same as letting them sleep in a bed, so resting restores only a few points at a time.
Characters can't perform effectively if they don't eat on a regular basis. Eating provides a fair amount of energy.
Each character can function for about 18 hours without sleep before fatigue sets in and their energy level is cut in half. Characters are typically day or night `people,' waking at various times during the day or evening. Changing sleep patterns involves keeping the character awake during the desired time frame and allowing energy levels to temporarily drop.
As energy levels increase, characters require recreation to fully top out their energy levels. Try video games, dancing, watching TV and other things a character is interested in.
Not every character can eat every food or use every item. Some items will heal them, but others will cause damage.
Hold down all buttons (except arrow keys) simultaneously.
In order to summon powerful allies in this game, you need a cell phone. You can call on a cell phone at any time, but it may not always work in every situation or area. More information can be found in the Cell Phone section. Characters in this game use cell phones and radios, but you do not actually type in their numbers. Instead, you will have to traverse through the world of Gardenia, uncovering objects that display phone numbers, which will be put in your Little Black Book automatically. Only then will a number appear in the book.
In towns, you can rest at hotels and houses, but while traveling, you may not always be near a place to rest. During these times, you will need to camp. Camping requires either tents and a supply package, or a vehicle and a supply package. These items can be found, earned, or purchased or traded for in towns. More information about this can be found in the Items and Camping sections on this website.
This game will involve many battles. To be successful, it helps to understand the battle system.
When you encounter an opponent, you are presented with a screen showing either an opponent's picture or a question mark, and the opponent's name, or a series of question marks. A known or an unknown opponent. A star next to their picture indicates that they have initiated the battle. A star next to your character indicates that you have the jump on them. If you have no choice in the matter, as the opponent is hostile, unintelligent, or both, you will immediately go to the battle segment the opponent has selected. Otherwise, you are given these three options: Compete, Fisticuffs, and Peace.
Competition is a non-violent alternative to fisticuffs. Competition can take on a variety of forms, depending on the area you are in, and the type of opponent. Se the Competition and Opponent section for more details.
Before battle, you may opt out by selecting `peace.' Sometimes this is free. Other times it may require tribute in items or money, or the use of a character with special skills. Sometimes an opponent will opt out before you do.
At the beginning of fisticuffs, you may experience the following situations: First Strike, Surprise Attack, and Ambush. In First Strike, you can attack first. Surprise attack is when the opponent hits first, and ambush is a hidden or rear attack. You have better odds avoiding a comprimising situation by building up stats, establishing repartee with people in your black book, or using special items. If not surprised or ambushed, you will be presented with the Strategy Menu.
Before your characters make a move, you have the following options:
If an enemy offers you no threat, they may agree to peace before you do. Otherwise, to surrender the battle, you can select this option. The peace menu offers you these five choices:
Battle is turn based. You will be asked for input during your turn. When you defeat an opponent, you are awarded with points and items, including money.
Whammies are special abilities that attack, heal or protect characters, at the cost of energy points. A Whammy can be a magic spell, but not always. Not every Whammy works on every monster. Some affects groups, some affect individuals. Whammies are explained in greater detail in the Whammy section.
Certain monsters will talk to you as you do battle. Depending on the monster, this can be a tremendous help. Talking takes no turns and can be done whenever the enemy is listening.
If you have someone in your little black book, you can call them to help you in battle, and to stand between you and the enemy. However, there are three things you must remember to do. First, you must be within the coverage area, or else you will only get a 10% chance of getting aid. Secondly, you have to have a phone or radio with a charged battery. Third, and lastly, you must wait for the guy at the other end to pick up the phone, answer, arrive on the battle field, and actually perform an attack. Response time varies depending on your repartee with the individual, and the priorities of the individual. Not every entity will be effective on every monster. Certain entities are weak to certain types of monsters, have allergies, or have a personal conflict with the monster which causes it to skip out of battle unexpectedly.
When you want to call a party member to replace another in battle, use this command and pick out the character from the menu to trade them out. No turns are used to speed dial a character, and you don't need a phone or batteries.
Trade: Move item into inventory of another character. Uses no turn unless done twice in a row.
Use: Uses items that are usable in battle. Displays messages about items that aren't, but those messages do not use up a turn. Only battle items can be activated within a turn.
A macro is a set of commands which you select and save as a shortcut in fisticuffs. When you start out, the macro is empty, and you can choose either new, review, delete or cancel. The macro menu can hold up to 20 macro strategies.
When the P.O. Hothead Meter on a character maxes out, they can do a special attack unique to that player. This will require a button combination. For a Strategic or Heroic Hothead setting, the character must be damaged to the maximum level of Pissivity. For Protective or Assist Hothead settings, however, the other party members must be damaged or in danger. For Escape Hothead setting, you must be trapped in a conflict you cannot escape, and pushed to at least the Upset range. For details on individual hothead moves, go to the character section.
In this option, you can choose settings for a character's P.O. moves in battle. The options are:
During battle, boxes on the screen will tell you vital information about your characters. It shows HP, Energy, and your PO Meter. When a character's HP reaches a critical low, it will change color.
Each player has a phone with a set amount of charge. If it goes to 0, you cannot call out.
When you equip an Entity Scanner, you can read the stats of that enemy during battle. This will make it easier to find weak points in your enemy, or to see if it's a good time to cut and run.
If you don't have an Entity Scanner, the Announcer Guy is the next best thing, giving a running commentary on the fight.
Both you and the enemy can use skills that cause disabilities for the other. These disabilities sometimes will clear up after battle. But others will not. Doctors, special items, and clerics can cure these problems, but their services are not always free.
| Status | Effect | Cure |
| EMF Disruption | Cannot use phone or certain Whammies | Mechanic skill and tools, pixie juice |
| Mute | Cannot use phone or certain Whammies | Pixie juice |
| Blinding | Weakens attacks | Eye drops |
| Sleep | Unconscious. Cannot do anything | Coffee or taser |
| Poison | Lose HP every turn | Antidote |
| Petrification | Turned to stone, immobile | Aslan's breath |
| Freeze | Frozen in ice, immobile | Heat pack |
| Confusion | Attacks self, party and enemy, wanders map aimlessly | Antidote, sedative or taser |
| Berserk | Will only attack, nothing else | Sedative |
| Mesmerise | Character is in hypnotic state. Hurt by curative spells or heals | Taser |
| Slow | Makes it slower to get your turn | Coffee, pixy juice |
| Curse | Random combination of other status effects | Pixie juice |
| Stun | Immobile with fear or electrical current | Time, sedative |
| Dizzy | Reverses button controls | Penicillin, pixie juice |
| Nausea | Character turns green, delayed reaction time | Stomach cure, salt water, soda |
| Chicken Pox | Character scratches. Delayed reaction time. Has red dots all over | Calomine lotion, pixie juice |
| Were Beast | Turn into wolf or other beast. Alters conversations. Monster diet required. May attack friends | Moonbane, cheese bane |
| Toasty | Steam rises from character, clouding enemy vision | N/A |
When you defeat an enemy using more force than is actually required, you can do special bully moves, which increase your points, or may decrease them. See character sections for more information.
When your HP goes to 0, it's a knockout. When your whole party is wiped out, the game may end, depending on your situation. Phoenix Lips can resuscitate a character, as well as life potions, athelas, medical and clerical skills. To revive a whole team requires healing orb, advanced medical or clerical skills, or phoenix ash.
There are some skilsl that you can only be born with or receive by extraordinary means. They cannot be learned in schools or taught or learned from a book. The only way to build up these skills is to perform a certain action specific to each character to increase the skill level, one point per action. These are described in the character sections.
In the area of taste, opinions vary wildly. The primary concern, therefore, is to be able to sell whatever it is. A good salesman can sell an ice chest to an Eskimo.
Someone who is resourceful can be aware of their surroundings and use them to their advantage.
An individual can paint, sculpt, or whatever, but without a vision of the end result, without an eye for composition, the only thing that can save the piece of art is overcompensating with salesmanship.
In battle, a person who isn't paying attention often loses. But it is difficult to cultivate this skill.
The ability to maneuver the body and fingers precisely. Some are too clumsy to gain this skill.
Some Whammies require fast talking. A difficult ability to learn.
Certain individuals can build up a resistance to pain. This is cultivated, not learned.
The ability to move quickly in battle. Difficult to teach.
The ability to keep in tune with a group, tune instruments and hear music that is written on paper. Difficult to teach.
The ability to charm and make friends, to get on people's good side, as well as calm beasts.
It takes a special person to persist in an endeavor. Not a thing that can be taught.
The ability to wait for long periods without losting temper and/or causing problems.
The ability to work hard to achieve results.
The ability to conceive of items that are useful.
Confidence, and the ability to remain cool under pressure.
The ability to deny oneself for the greater good, and to resist the temptation to do evil.
