Features Try & Buy Screenshots FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS My work and Mazermind How do I know if Mazermind is useful for me? What are the differencies between Mazermind and a common text editor? Will Mazermind affect or limit my writing? Will it be faster to write with Mazermind? Do I need some kind of extra knowledge before using Mazermind? Try & Buy When will Mazermind be available? Is it possible to get a demo version? What will Mazermind cost? Technical What are the system requirements for running Mazermind? How are the manuscripts stored? How big manuscript can Mazermind handle and store? In what form do I get my manuscript from Mazermind? Other What languages is Mazermind available in? Does Mazermind rely on any scientific theories or practical research? How do I know if Mazermind is useful for me? If you are working with scripts for multimedia productions containing some kind of interactive storyline you will probably benefit very much of the help Mazermind can offer. In other words, if you are an author, interactive designer, information designer, programmer or test leader and work with the script for an interactive and storybased computer game, edutainment production, TV-show, movie, theatre play or (live) roleplaying game this is the tool you always have wanted. And the tool your project leader, colleague and customer always wanted you to have. [Back] What are the differencies between Mazermind and a common text editor? Mazermind is quite different from a common text editor. Mazermind lets you write and edit text much in the same way as you do in a text editor. But instead of putting everything on the same paper you now write your text in different boxes depending on what kind of text you are writing. This makes it easy to automatically construct prototypes and graphical representations of your script and to extract precisely the information you or your colleagues want from the script. An interactive script written in a common text editor is only a two-dimensional projection of a multi-dimensional story. Mazermind represents your script in more dimensions and therefore gives a more accurate picture of your story. [Back] Will Mazermind affect or limit my writing? Mazermind will affect your writing to be more precise – to write in Mazermind is perhaps more like writing and organizing at the same time. You will also make more associations and connections between objects, something that enhances navigation but is hard to do with common text editors. Mazermind will not limit what you can express, but instead offer a special way of viewing your writing. Maybe you will feel that Mazermind changes your way of writing. But the tool won't ever change what you are writing. You can always choose where and on which level you want to write – detailed or overview. You can choose which parts of Mazermind you want to use. Everything you can express in words on a paper you can express with Mazermind. [Back] Will it be faster to write with Mazermind? To write in Mazermind might at first feel just a bit more complicated than writing in a common text editor. This is because you have to think on what kind of text you want to write (perhaps a dialogue line, a character description or a document instruction...) before you decide where to put your virtual pen to the paper. But in the end you will save time on searching and extracting more precise information from the script, communicate your thoughts clearer and get a better overview of the story. This means fewer bugs and misunderstandings, more time to spend on creative work and easier construction of complex and compelling stories. [Back] Do I need some kind of extra knowledge before using Mazermind? Assuming you are familiar with interactive productions, the assignments of a scriptwriter / interaction designer and the work with production scripts – not much. Even if you are not familiar with this, Mazermind will probably help you get into it faster. Your computer skills do not have to exceed more than a basic level. (Except if you want to put scripts online or collaborate with other scriptwriters over a network.) Mazermind offers a more object-oriented way of thinking about your writing. Characters, items, dialogue lines etc. are handled as objects and not as just plain text, which may feel odd the first time but is so intuitive that it soon will be a natural way of working. Yes, you will need some time to get started with your new software. But this once spent time is highly exceeded by the time you save for you and your team in the end. [Back] When will Mazermind be available? Mazermind is available. Please contact us at info@mazermind.com if you are interested. [Back] Is it possible to get a demo version? Yes, it is possible to get a free 30-day full featured license to try out. [Back] What will Mazermind cost? Mazermind is sold as a license, and the price depends on the number of licenses and the type of usage (i.e. commercial/education). For closer information - send us your inquiry. [Back] What are the system requirements for running Mazermind? The system requirements are a standard PC with Windows 2000, XP or 2003. Mac is supported via the Microsoft VirtualPC program and Linux is supported via the VmWare Workstation program. Both VirtualPC and VmWare are sold separately by software retailers. Exact computer specifications are not available yet, but an estimate is that a 3 years old computer is sufficient for running Mazermind. [Back] How are the manuscripts stored? Your scripts are stored in a database either on your own computer or on a specified network server. Microsoft Access is used as default database software and works without any extra licensing costs (apart from Windows itself). Mazermind also supports Microsoft SQLServer which is a bit faster, but this software must be purchased separately. [Back] How big manuscript can Mazermind handle and store? There is a theoretical limit to the size of the default database (which is Microsoft Access). However, that limit should not be relevant in practice. Mazermind can handle millions of objects before reaching that limit. [Back] In what form do I get my manuscript from Mazermind? The best way to view a script written in Mazermind is as webpages. This is supported by an in-built interpreter which transforms your script to a whole site. The webpages can be emailed to a client or collegue who can then browse through your script independently of Mazermind. This is extremely useful for testing purposes and overview. Another way to get your script is to export the data as XML for use in other applications. A third way if you have Microsoft Word installed is to export your script into a MS Word document, which can be handy if you want to check or print smaller parts of the script. [Back] What languages is Mazermind available in? Mazermind is available in English and Swedish. Scripts in Mazermind can be written in any language, including Asian and Arabic languages, if your computer supports it. More languages may be available at a later time, depending on demand and if we can find any person willing to translate the software for us. [Back] Does Mazermind rely on any scientific theories or practical research? Mazermind was initiated as a part of a Master Thesis at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. The main subject was human-computer interaction and the thesis focused on how to support the writing process for authors writing scripts for interactive productions. The Master thesis is written in Swedish (summary also in English) and can be found here. Mazermind has evolved quite a bit since the thesis was written, but the theories and the working process still resembles the origin. [Back] Contact us at info (at) mazermind.com