Interactive Fiction in the Classroom
Interactive fiction sharpens close reading and writing, and logical and critical thinking. It also reinforces design thinking skills.
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Essentially text-based, interactive fiction is a genre of games with roots that predate the internet. The player/reader makes choices that determine the outcome of the narrative. It鈥檚 like a digital version of Dungeons & Dragons, the paper-based role-playing game set in a medieval fantasy world. It鈥檚 also similar to choice-based fiction, like the book series that began in the late 1970s.
Because player choice changes the narrative arc, interactive fiction can be used to teach empathy鈥攚hat it鈥檚 like to be in someone else鈥檚 shoes. For example, Begscape (built with Twine, which I鈥檒l discuss later), puts the reader in the role of a beggar. Another intriguing text-based game is , an addictive resource management game. In 2015, a
A Brief History of Text-Based Gaming
Computer-based interactive fiction began in 1975 with Infocom鈥檚 Adventure. Next came the Zork and Ultima series. In the mid-1980s, Douglas Adams adapted his best-selling book The Hitchhiker鈥檚 Guide to the Galaxy as an interactive title. It鈥檚 still .
The 1990s introduced the world to text-based MUDs (multi-user dungeons) like Ultima Online. The web enabled multiple players to join together in online virtual worlds. Present day massive multiplayer online (MMO) games like World of Warcraft stem from MUDs.
In 1996, designer Richard Bartle published an influential paper titled . According to Bartle, there are personality types (Bartle鈥檚 Player Types), each of which must be considered by a game鈥檚 designer. In other words, people play games for different reasons鈥攕ome to socialize, others to collect objects, and others who compete to win. When designing virtual worlds, all player types should be considered. Similarly, when teachers design lessons, multiple modalities should be addressed.
Interactive Fiction Today
The descendents of text-based adventure games include games with threaded conversation trees. The story decisions are often presented as multiple-choice responses, which are coded as conditional loops, or 鈥渋f-then statements.鈥� (Incidentally, interactive fiction is often abbreviated as IF.) The educational role-playing games rely on the choice-based mechanic.
One of the leaders in choice-based gaming today is . It adapted The Walking Dead (2013), The Wolf Among Us (2013)鈥攂ased on the Fables 肠辞尘颈肠蝉鈥攁苍诲 Game of Thrones (2014). Each title features animations followed by dialogue choices. The direction of the story arc hinges on player decisions. Telltale Games is currently developing for Mojang (developer of Minecraft, the popular block-building game).
Interactive Fiction as a Teaching Tool
There are several free authoring tools to write interactive fiction. Some have an easier learning curve than others. One example is , a 鈥渘atural鈥� programming language. Inform games are typically single-player鈥攖he player types after a command prompt. For example, one might read, 鈥淭he door ahead of you is closed.鈥� To advance the story, the player might decide to type, 鈥淥pen door.鈥�
In 2014, GlassLab鈥檚 lead designer, Erin Hoffman, and I used Inform to create Time Society Chronicles: Independence. The objective was to give students the feeling of living in British-occupied Boston during the American Revolution鈥攊nteractive historical fiction. After playing, I asked students how it inspired them to create their own interactive stories. Here, my role was not just to have students play a game, but to contextualize their learning.
is an increasingly popular application for creating stories with multiple endings. It鈥檚 available as a free download and features a vibrant community, as well as a story database showcasing best practices. Completed stories can be posted anywhere online. Twine is effective as a tool that teaches reading and writing. For more on games made with Twine, check out .
The authoring tool works right in a computer鈥檚 browser and features a simple-to-follow tutorial for new learners. Aspiring writers can share links to stories or export to a Kindle device. Inklewriter won 2013鈥檚 Best Website for Teaching and Learning award from the American Association of School Librarians. The developer, inkle, had previously published , a tablet game based on the classic Jules Verne novel. It was considered the 产测听Time magazine. Inkle next adapted Mary Shelley鈥檚 as interactive fiction. is its online anthology of shared stories, used to celebrate exemplary works.
Using interactive fiction in the classroom sharpens close reading and writing, logical thinking, and other critical thinking competencies. It also reinforces systems thinking and design thinking skills鈥攊n which interconnections are mapped and user experiences are considered. The low barrier to entry makes interactive fiction a natural fit for any student-centered classroom.