Narrative Games in Education

Narrative games create a rich experience through the power of words.  The text in these games visually guides you in creating your own adventure through imagination and cleverness. They give you a sense of accomplishment once you solve your dilemma and require more than just quick typing skills. Here is an example of the cleverness and fun narrative games can be.

In Zork (which you can find below) I tried to find my way out of a forest. I typed East and Zork responded there are impassable mountains. I then without hesitation typed Climb Mountains. Zork Responded with "DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME? THE MOUNTAINS ARE IMPASSABLE!" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Well played Zork. Keep in mind Zork was published in 1981! Zork like an interactive book lets the player immerse themselves in the events and world around them. To me text adventures have the very best in graphics since it is all up to you and your imagination. How can you use text based adventures in the classroom? While reading and writing are a staple in most elementary grade levels, the power of text based gaming during these times could help shine these early education lesson in a whole new light. Not only will the learning of typing skills, grammar, and reading be more interactive and fun, but the building and fostering of imagination cannot be understated. If you do not believe me play Zork below for 30 minutes bring your spelling though! When you are done share your thoughts below on how narrative games can best be introduced into a classroom and what other grade levels and lesson plans narrative games could be used for.

Zork flash | Free games with Games68.com