Week 6 - StoryTelling in Educational Games

 My second mentor game is Type:Rider and I believe it's main intended learning objective is to inform players of the history and background information on the various types of typography / calligraphy invented and used throughout history. 

Type:Rider navigates players through challenging puzzles with breathtaking imagery of various famous pieces of art in relation to typography. Below are a couple examples of some art pieces I was blown away by in the first couple levels.

The goal in Type:Rider is to navigate two small spheres, that travel as one but also still independently of each other, around various obstacles, finding the letters of the alphabet hidden throughout the level. Each level highlights a different famous typography from history, so the alphabetic letters throughout each level are different with each level. You are also meant to explore the level to find other various typographical symbols. The main symbol hidden within each level, the asterisk, unlocks information about the typographical elements of that level. Each asterisk you collect in a level gives you more information on that specific image, font, or symbol.

Examples of information unlocked with found asterisk

Game Storyline

Type:Rider does not have any cut and dry "characters" per say, the closest thing to this is that you, the player, control these two ball spheres, navigating them through the game's landscape, solving puzzles to collect all level items (letters, symbols, and a white sphere). These collectable items are actually referred to as "characters" within the game itself.

As for the plot of the game, the real "story" is in unlocking the history of the various typographical examples of history, through tracking down all asterisks within a level. Each level is separated into four chapters, with the different "characters" (letters, asterisks, and ampersand) hidden across them. If you complete a level having found all characters, you receive a grade Aa on the level.

There is a large amount of tension within Type:Rider as the game is fundamentally a puzzle game. As previously mentioned, to receive an Aa on a level, you must collect all "characters" within the level. To do this, you have to complete a series of precise moves and timing to get through certain obstacles and climb / bounce to certain ledges.

Challenge examples

In addition, each level ends with the most challenging puzzle in which you must track down, free, and force the singular white sphere into a nestled area as your two black spheres enter their own spots. The resolution comes when the player has successfully figured out how to navigate this white sphere to it's necessary location, unlocking the next level. A player may also choose to return to older levels at this stage if they missed any "characters" in order to have the resolution of completing the level at 100% or Aa rating.

Puzzle example for white sphere

Decisions

There are many decisions to be made within the game. If you miss a letter do you restart the chapter immediately to obtain it, return to the chapter after finishing, or go on having not received an Aa rating? How do you approach a life-threatening obstacle if it has a letter? Do you go straight at it, getting the letter, knowing you will die but not have to obtain the letter again or do you take your take to safely obtain the letter and play through without dying. Do you choose to actually read the provided material on the history of the level's typography or just play through the levels, collecting and progressing to the end. These decisions are connected to the storyline in that the way a player makes decisions will alter their path within the game. A player who strives to navigate through the landscape safely will have a different experience then one who embraces the risk with perilous obstacles.

 

Perilous obstacle examples

Relating to my Twine Game

There are some advantages to incorporating decisions similar to the ones laid out in Type:Rider within my own Twine game. I can include puzzles within my game to encourage engagement, retention, and ramp up the difficulty a little. I can make some of my paths that ultimately lead to a fail state frustrating enough that it tempts players to return and finish the game with a different path. I can also find some ways to encourage some of this idea that embracing failure isn't a bad thing within a game, including some benefit that a player who did not reach a fail state did not receive. Potentially some information that would benefit them later down the road or something similar.

I think the objective I would like to pursue with my Twine game will be in relation to modeling the creation of a unique Choose Your Own Adventure game. Through my design, I intend to use it as an example product of what I expect my own students to create. This model would include every criteria that I would be assigning in the overall design of the Choose Your Own Adventure game.