KGB (Killer Green Blasts) Lazer Spy Adventure has been a laser tag park for many years, but business is not as good as it once was. Its owner, Ken GB, is worried. He realizes that laser tag is losing popularity due to all the new technologies that have emerged recently. KGB Adventure has had a Web site for some time, but Ken hadn't seen any need for the site to provide much more than location, hours, and prices for the park... until now. He decides it's time for an update, so he calls his Web Developer, Cindy. Ken tells Cindy that he wants the site to be interactive and he wants feedback. He wants visitors to be able to take surveys, as well as rate the experience they had at the park. Ken is hoping to gain some insight into how he can grow his business again. "And while you're at it," he tells Cindy, "let's add some sly effects." Cindy is on a mission. She crafts a wily Web persona fit for a spy. She makes a clever game where the user can follow clues and discover the undercover location of the park. She places hints for cunning visitors to pilfer top-secret information about park events. And she creates stealthy characters to guide the user through the site if he can trust them. She also posts interrogations for the site visitors: Quizzes that assess their detective work, surveys that prod for their interests, and a covert ratings page that allows them to say what they really think about the laser tag park if they dare. Cindy shows Ken the shrewd new site demo, and Ken gives a furtive smile. "It's great," he says as his smile fades, "but you should not have made it more fun than the park... "

Discussion Points:

Consider this scenario and answer the following questions.

• Many new technologies are available to make Web sites fun, but Cindy wants to use JavaScript to develop more robust content for the KGB Adventure site, and to keep it low-key, not flashy. How does JavaScript compare with some other technologies when it comes to making a site both fun and interactive?
• How could Cindy change HTML on the fly to simulate a character guiding the user through steps in the site?
• How could Cindy change HTML on the fly in the survey to make it more interesting to users? What are some ways she could use this type of scripting to persuade the user to take the survey in the first place?
• Ratings are important to businesses. How would a JavaScript form be able to help? How would on-the-fly updates make it more interesting for the visitor?
• How can Cindy use JavaScript to give the site a stealthy look and feel on the fly?
• Scope this project for Cindy. How long do you think it would take, and why?