Print this guide using your Browser's Print option.

A MAP of the ruins leading to the Hall of Dreams, and a map of Joseph's Maze can be printed from www.sundaysoftare.com/joseph/map.jpg

The end of this guide has some important tech tips.
For more tech help, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/joe2-tech.htm

Quick Version Note: 
We have created a free UPDATE to version 2.0 which takes your installed copy to Version 2.2. Version 2.2 makes some minor tweaks to the game, including improving the ending, making the Hall of Dreams a little easier to get through, and adding a Jump button in the ESC menu to jump past the hall of spiders if you're short on time. Go to  www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/joe2-tech.htm to download. If your Joe CD label does not say "2.2" you may not have the latest free update. If you think your installed copy may have been updated to version 2.2, check the version.txt file in the installed Joseph folder on your computer. That text file will read "version 2.2" if the updated version is installed.

Quick Tips:

• Joe 2 was made for students to play from start to finish to learn the whole scope & sequence of the story.
   
• It is one adventure that takes about 35-40 minutes to complete. You can skip sections or go back.
   
• Press the ESC key at any time to see a menu of the game and jump ahead.
   
• Listen and Read as you move through the ruins, that's how you know what to do. Sir Dabney is especially helpful with "what to do now" instructions.

Game Plot and Content:

Joseph has left his amazing story behind in his mysterious palace for future generations to discover. But he's also made getting through the palace rather challenging and mysterious.

Like it's predecessor, Joseph 2 is a 3-D style game that tells the whole story of Joseph. Your students guide "Robin MacTavish," a teenage archaeologist, through the underground ruins of Joseph's palace recently discovered beneath the Egyptian sands by her grandfather, Sir Dabney MacTavish.

Important First Things for Teachers to Know:

1)  It is Robin and Dabney's CONVERSATIONS during the game which tell you what to do next, help tell the story, AND provide points of reflection and life application. Dabney functions as the TEACHER. Your students will naturally favor 'action' over conversation, so be prepared to reiterate some of the dialog and points which Dabney makes.

2)  The key to finding your way around the ruins is to pay attention to Dabney.
If he's walking somewhere, try to follow him. Or if you get ahead of him, and see him coming up behind you, let him pass.

3)  If Dabney is standing somewhere, there's a pretty good chance that:

    a) He's told you do something and now he's waiting for you do it, find it, complete it, see it.

    b) He has something to say once he gets to the location where he wants to say it. Move out of his way so he can walk.

4)  Game events and narrations happen in a precise order. As you move through the ruins, events are triggered. So for example, if the next event is that Dabney has something to say, he may walk to a spot and be ready to say it, but only if Robin walks up to him and triggers the event. And unless you use the menu to jump around, you can't do things out of order because that would ruin the need to tell the story in a linear fashion. So for example, the Wheat dream room opens before the Sun/Stars dream room can be accessed.

5)  Because this is a Game With Content, there are certain "gamey" things which may challenge or slightly frustrate some players and slow them down. This is why it's important for the teacher to be present with this guide in hand, ready to help move them along where you feel the need.

Game Controls:

• Arrow Keys to steer.
• Spacebar to open doors/gates when possible.  Not all gates can be opened using the spacebar.
• Mouse to aim airblaster and to aim Robin's gaze.
• Left click mouse to fire airblaster or select items. Alternately, you can use the Ctrl key.
• F7 key will toggle Robin on/off the screen.
• ESC key for main menu and exit option.
• Home key to jump.  (in Potiphar's pool, press the END key to sink, Home key to rise).
• Shift key can increase Robin's walking speed in some levels.

OUTLINE TO JOSEPH'S STORY CD

1. Opening Dig Tent Level: 
   
   Robin first appears in the tent. Read the two chalkboards.  There's a post-it note telling Robin to meet Dabney outside. When they both get back in the tent, and after Robin talks to Dabney again, then you can grab the Airblaster and go down below. You can't grab the airblaster until Dabney has come inside and talked to Robin. You'll see a blinking ring underneath the blaster. Don't forget to view the presentation on the tent computer. The brief MOVIE INTRO gives an overview of Joseph's place in history and the Bible.
   
   Secret Tip #1:  Press the F7 key to toggle from 3rd person to 1st person view to easily read the note.
   Secret Tip #2:  Go behind the green chalkboard to see a hidden message.
   
   *Please note: Dabney is old and walks slow. Sometimes Robin has to wait for him to catch up. If she stands too close to him when he's walking, he'll stop and not say anything. After he gets up to walk, let him get inside the tent. Give him room to go where he wants to go.
    

2. The Dream Level: 

   This level is more simple that it looks. There's a short spider maze to blast through (see map), then it's up the long stairs and into the Hall of Dreams. There are two side rooms in there to learn about the two dreams. Then the gate opens leading down to the Well Room.

   a. Robin blasts spiders in the hallway. Dabney opens the gates (sometimes you have to wait for him). Don't stand in front of him or near him when he's walking because he'll stop to look at you. Stay out of his way and let him pass... he may just be going to open a gate for you! Dabney also doesn't like to walk where spiders are active. If Dabney doesn't open the final gate leading into the Hall of Dreams, go back and finish off a spider or two you may have missed, or get out of his way and let him pass to the gate. www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/map.jpg



In version 2.2 of Joe, you can press the ESC button and click "Jump to Hall of Dreams" and it will bypass the spider hallway. In version 2.0 and 2.1 the jump to Hall of Dreams does not bypass the spiders.

b. Follow Dabney into the Dream Hall where he will stop and talk in front of the Coat of Many Colors.

c. Dabney leads Robin to the the First "Wheat" Dream Room, then sends her to the Sun/Moon room:

>>Wheat room -which she must walk into after the Wheat narration is complete and stand on the blinking circle to activate a reflection from Robin. When she exits down the steps, Dabney has a comment for her, then Dabney tells her to find the Star/Moon room.

>>Stars/Moon room -after the narration in the Stars room she must stand on the blinking circle to activate her comment. Afterwards, Dabney meets her at the entrance to the short maze that leads down to the Well Room. The printable map shows you how to get downstairs. It not a complicated maze.

**One of the three study question scrolls now appears in the scaffolding.** View/Discuss it before you go down to the Well Room, or come back to it after the end of the game.

>>Well Room --Dabney sends Robin out of the Dream Hall through the now open hallway, through a small maze which goes down to the Well Room.** Once in the Well Room, Robin approaches Dabney who tells her the story of Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery. He then tells her not to go near the well, which is a hole in the floor covered by boards. But of course, your kids will be curious and thus, **Robin must go fall into the well to advance the story.**
 
e. Robin climbs out of well and the slave traders appear and take her away.

To get downstairs to the Well Room: Go into the hallway, turn right, and turn right again, and go down the stairs.  There you'll find a corridor which leads to the Well Room. Dabney will be standing there and there's a glowing spot on the floor where Robin needs to go stand in order for the next narrations/activity to commence. Don't worry about getting lost in the hallways leading down to the Well Room. They aren't very complicated.

             Print a map to the Hall of Dreams and to Joseph's Maze at www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/map.jpg

Pharaoh's Palace & Dream

a. Robin must first approach Dabney, then on to Pharaoh to hear his dream questions. These must be answered correctly in order to exit. If you get the answer wrong, you are 'thrown in prison' then immediately returned to Pharaoh to try again.

If you approach the guards, they will mumble taunts at Joseph/Robin.

b. Dabney meets Robin at the Palace exit. What he has to say there is important, as he begins to summarize and segway into the next long part of the story about the brothers.
 

The "Joseph's Song" Movie... a reflection/discussion movie

When you press "Esc" a menu appears. You can jump to different parts of the story. One of the options is a music video montage featuring the ballad "Joseph's Song" performed by recording artist Chandler Wright. It's a good piece to come back to, listen to again, and discuss. If you select to return to the Dig Tent, the Joseph's Song video can be played when you walk up to the tent computer. The music will sound familiar to you as an instrumental version plays at the opening of the CD and in the final level.

The 4 minute song and video titled "Go Where the Spirit Says Go" summarizes the meaning of both the game and the Bible passages for today's students. If you click the screen while the video is playing, the music video will stop/disappear. It can be viewed at anytime during game play. btw...the vocalist is Chandler Wright, recording artist and lead singer of country band Jacked Up.

Here are the lyrics:

Go Where the Spirit Says Go
My brothers and my sisters, O they do not understand, 
I have these dreams and visions like great grandpa Abraham
Their jealousy and anger, O they wish me well and dead,
But even at the bottom, there's this voice that's in my head, saying...
Go, where the Spirit says Go, And Dream what the Spirit says Dream,
And Love, what the Spirit says Love.    God has a plan for you.

You pass through trial, temptation, search your heart and speak the truth,  
Share your gifts with others, no excuses for your youth.
And when the time is ready to forgive and find the cup,  
Remember, what others put down, God surely raises up!  When you...
Go, where the Spirit says Go, And Dream what the Spirit says Dream,
And Love, what the Spirit says Love.    God has a plan for you.

Preparation to Play:

Test the software thoroughly on your computer to make sure it can handle its requirements. For more tech help and answers to game questions not found in this guide, go to www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/joe2-tech.htm

Print this guide and the STUDENT WORKSHEET (www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/worksheet.pdf). The Student Worksheet also contains some game hints.

Prep your students with a brief Bible Study:

Introduce where Joseph can be found in Genesis (37-50), some of the key characters in the story, and its overall meaning for us. Ideally, the game REINFORCES your previous Bible study of the story. But the game itself is a very good introduction to the overall story, --as it plays through all the major elements of Joseph's story in the Bible. Before they dive into the program, tell them what you hope they will see, hear, find and learn. Tell them at the beginning what you hope they will know about this story's meaning for THEIR life. 

• Follow up game play with discussion.
  Don't be afraid to go back and hear a key narration again.
  Go to the Joseph's Song music video for further discussion.

Bible Background

When did this story occur? The dating of Joseph in Egypt is subject to much debate. If you approach the computer in the Dig Tent it will offer a brief presentation to your students on this.

What is the story of Joseph trying to teach us?  The answer is "Many things" --as you would expect from a story that covers 17 chapters of scripture!

Our Joseph's Story CD emphasizes these points:

1. Joseph stayed faithful to God and his godly values -even though bad things happened to him.
    
2. Joseph's faith allowed God to use his life and circumstances to bring good out of a bad situation.
    
3. Joseph freely shared his faith and gifts with others.
    
4. God was behind the events of Joseph's life with a great purpose: to place Joseph in a position of authority so that he might rescue his people from famine, and continue his promise to raise up a people and nation dedicated to God.  (reminds me of the Esther story)
    
5. Joseph forgave his brothers for the great wrong they had done, and made peace with them. Time had changed the brothers.
    
6. Our Values and Reconciliation are choices we make. At every turn of his life, Joseph could have forsaken his values. Joseph decided to remain faithful to God and his values, which led him to reconcile with his brothers.
    
7. God has a plan for each of us. God gives gifts to each of us to help his plan. What are your gifts?

Age Range Notes:

Optimally: Grades 3 through Teen.
With Help: K through 2nd.  They will have trouble steering with the keyboard arrows, so do this:  let them press the arrows and have a helper "steer" using the mouse.

The Joseph's Story game is somewhat challenging but the player cannot be "defeated" and there are no "lives" they can use up. Older children and youth will need about 30 to 40 minutes to play through it. The teacher should be ready with "helps" for players who get stuck, or for short class times.

The kids will enjoy playing the game TWICE over two class periods. The first time to learn it, the second time to show how fast they can get through it! ...and leave them time to play in certain places.

Teachers:

We highly recommending playing through the game WITH your students. Make comments as you go. Don't be afraid to pause to discuss something. Because much of the story and meaning is narrated, if you JUMP ahead in the story you may lose some of the gist of the story or threads of its meaning which Sir Dabney and Robin are talking about.

 Student Worksheet and Dabney's Bible Study Scrolls

Click here for a PRINTABLE STUDENT WORKSHEET   (www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/worksheet.pdf)
Or go to www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph and click the worksheet link.  It's a one page pdf for your kids.

The Student worksheet contains the three sets of "Dabney's Bible Study Questions" found on scrolls in the program. You can have the students answer them as they find the scrolls, or after the game is over. Feel free to modify the questions or add your own to the handout.  The worksheet also has some navigational notes.

Robin sees a Bible Study Scroll at these locations:

 

 

Dabney's Bible Study Scroll #1: found in the scaffolding of the Dream level.

1. What could Joseph have done differently to avoid conflict with his brothers?

 

2. Reuben was the oldest brother and kept the others from killing Joseph.

If you were Reuben, what would you have said to the brothers?   to Joseph?

 

3. Why didn't Reuben confess to his father Jacob what the brothers had done?

Dabney's Bible Study Scroll #2:  Found in a jail cell in Pharaoh's Prison

1. Joseph has been sold into slavery, and thrown into Pharaoh's prison.
How do you think Joseph was feeling about God's plan for his life?

 

2.  List 3 things that Joseph could do in prison to help strengthen his faith in God during these difficult times. 

Dabney's Bible Study Scroll #3: found in the Obelisk Level ...seen after Robin talks to the brothers.

1. Name two strengths or qualities God saw in Joseph.

 

2. Name two strengths or qualities that God sees in you. (Or you want God to increase in you).

 

3. How could God use your strengths and qualities (existing or hoped for)  to change something in your family, church, and world?

 

4. Name someone you are not getting along with. What can you say and do to begin making peace with them

The Baker's Tech Notes: 

Go to www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/joe2-tech.htm for detailed help.

If the opening video of Robin standing on the pillar looks blotchy or green-screenish, update your free copy of Windows Media Player to version 10 or higher.

If your Desktop Icon gives you an error at startup, Right click it, select Properties, and type c:\joseph in the "start in" field, then OK. This will correct an installer error related to some versions of Vista.

If you press ESC and jump forward in the game, some strange things can happen, depending on what you were just doing and seeing. For example, if you jump ahead into the Hall of Reconciliation from Potiphar's room, the onscreen text will accidentally carry forward, and Dabney may fall off the scaffolding. Wait for all onscreen text and activities to stop before selecting ESC and jumping around.

If Robin ever appears to be stuck, try backing her away or jumping away.

Joseph 2 Update:  Just after we released 2.00, I modified a couple of files to change an option at the END of the game. In 2.0.1 and later, after you meet the third brother, you are given the option to STAY in the obelisk level and go to the study note. In 2.0 you had to go to the study note before getting to the third brother. I also fixed a minor error in a graphic. Download www.sundaysoftware.com/joseph/2.0.1update.zip  In version 2.0.2, I adjusted the installer process related to the desktop icon. Other than that, 2.0.1 and 2.0.2 are the same. In November 2009 we will release a final update at our website.

How do you know which version you have, 2.0 or 2.0.1 or 2.0.1? There's a text file in the installed joseph directory titled "version.txt". Or you can look at the setup.exe file on your CD. If it is dated before Sept 16, you have 2.0 and might want the download.  Undoubtedly we'll release more free updates as this original version gets used and suggestions get back to us. These will be announced via our email newsletter (www.sundaysoftware.com/subscribe.htm)

Performance Enhancers: Turn off all other programs and set your Display Resolution to as close to 800x600 as you can to save RAM and videoram for the game. In certain levels, Robin may move slowly on some computers. Use your pagedown key or mouse to tilt her gaze slightly to the ground as this will help her move a little more quickly. If  graphics appear stretched on your wide aspect monitor, open your graphic properties and select "maintain aspect ratio."

There are three Windows Media Videos in the game: The Main Title video (opening.wmv), the Tent Computer Video (intro.wmv) which gives the kids a timeline of Joseph's story, and the music video "Go Where the Spirit Says Go" (josephsong.wmv). If you click the screen or hit a key while the video is playing, the video will end and the game will continue on. Each can also be played outside the game in your Windows Media Player.

The "windowed" mode you can select in the start up screen will start Joe in a window. That window can be dragged to your preferred size by pulling it's sides with your mouse. We put it there for those who have wide aspect monitors and need an option to drag the game screen to a proper proportion.

SOUND: Relative Sound Volumes are variable from computer to computer. Some speakers can reproduce lower tones better, such as Dabney's voice. In addition to controlling your master volume, when the game is running, you can click ESC to adjust relative sound/music volumes. In Vista, at least, you will ALSO notice that your can click the Master Volume icon on your desktop while Joseph is running, and click "Mixer" ...and see that the Joseph game engine has it's own master volume you can toggle. Laptop speakers are notoriously soft. Use external speakers for best experience.

In Vista, if you have a problem getting the game to start:  First, be patient for it to load. Second, try RIGHT clicking the Joe desktop icon and selecting "Run as Admin." Third, try turning off Vista's annoying User Account Controls. Visit www.sundaysoftware.com/support for any details and updates that may be available.

For teaching and technical help, email neil@sundaysoftware.com

View Ideas for Creating an Egyptian Village in your classroom at www.sundaysoftware.com/articles/village.htm