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From Fable to Game: Plan for an Engaging Gamification Project By Kathy Strickland, Boise State MET Candidate

Learning Goal

At the end of this project, learners will be able to transform a story or fable into a simple

Scratch game.

Learning Objectives

There are seven key learning objectives related to the learning goal:

1. Given a story map template, identify the story’s character(s), setting, problem, and solution.

2. Working in pairs, recall story events. 3. Sequence story events in a logical order using a story board template. 4. Identify key character(s) and event(s) to be used in game design. 5. Design a working game in Scratch based on story map and story board created. 6. Given explanations and examples of game mechanics and aesthetics, apply these

principles to the design and development of an original game. 7. Compose detailed instructions and rationale for the game, including moral.

Matrix of Objectives and Assessment Plan Learning Objective

Bloom’s Taxonomy Classification

Format of Assessment

Description of Test Form

Sample Assessment Items

1 Comprehension Interactive Whiteboard; Pencil-and-Paper

Mapping Fill in sections of story map with details from chosen story

2 Knowledge Performance Observation Brainstorm and list all events

3 Synthesis Interactive Whiteboard; Pencil-and-Paper

Sequencing Construct series of events in pictures and/or words

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4 Comprehension Performance Observation Pinpoint key characters and events to use in game

5 Synthesis Web-Based Technology

Trial and Evaluation

Design and execute game using Scratch

6 Application Web-Based Technology

Trial and Evaluation

Apply game mechanics and aesthetics to game design

7 Evaluation Pencil-and-Paper (typed)

Interpretation Write game instructions and rationale

These objectives and assessments work together to create a meaningful learning

experience and achieve the learning goal. Achieving these objectives requires “game thinking,”

which is “perhaps the most important element of gamification” (Kapp, 2012, p. 40), and will

enrich students’ understanding of storytelling.

Objectives #5 and #6 in particular involve problem solving in order to apply concepts

and characters to a game format, in which the story is essentially retold in an interactive,

player-controlled way with variable endings.

“The real power of game-based thinking is in … engagement, storytelling, visualization

of characters, and problem solving” (Kapp, 2012, p. 41).

Target Audience

The target audience for this project is students who are 10 to 12 years old and enrolled

in a program of study in the Vedic sciences, including Sanskrit, art, and math-based astrology.

This project will be part of a unit where students study stories and fables from ancient Indian

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texts, including the Mahavakya, the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesha, the Mahabharata

(including the Bhagavad Gita), and various Vedic astrology texts.

Working in pairs, students will choose the topic of their game from among the stories

previously studied. Prerequisite knowledge and skills include:

• Familiarity with story choices

• Understanding of basic story elements (character, plot, conflict, setting, motive,

goal/resolution, moral/theme)

• Proficiency searching the Internet (for background information and public

domain images as needed)

• Ability to use a computer with keyboard

This course of study will not teach English Language Arts concepts, nor is it tied to any

established school or curriculum. But, according to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS)

for Reading: Literature, target students will be familiar with the terms and concepts used to

discuss and plot the game story board. For instance, by age 10, these students should have

mastered the following CCSS Grade 3 Key Ideas and Details:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2 Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3 Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events Students will be developing basic Sanskrit vocabulary at this point in the broader Vedic

sciences program, having taken a course in Sanskrit speech sounds in their first semester. They

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may be translating some passages from the stories and learning to read Devanagari script. This

knowledge could be incorporated into their game design but is not a project requirement.

Materials and Media

The instructor will use the following materials and media when implementing the Fable-

to-Game project:

1. Story map template: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/collateral_resources/pdf/l/lessonplans_graphicorg_pdfs_storymap.pdf

2. Story board template: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/sites/default/files/asset/file/story-board-reading-comprehension-graphic-organizer.pdf

3. Interactive whiteboard or projector 4. Example of fable-turned-game: http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/21404567/ 5. Scratch game-design program: http://www.scratch.mit.edu/ Story Map Template: This will be used to help students identify the key characters and

props (any objects essential to the problem/solution) to use in their games. These characters

and props are called Sprites in the Scratch program. The story map template will also help

students identify the setting for their games (the Stage and Backdrops in Scratch).

Story Board Template: This will be used to help students identify the actions that will

take place in their games. Based on the problem and solution identified in the story map,

students will break down what happened in the story into a logical sequence of events, which

they will draw or write on the story board template. They will then consider cause and effect

when isolating the key event in the problem and the key event in the solution. These will

become the actions in the game and how the player wins or loses. The game mechanics can be

created with a variety of Scratch functions, including Motion, Events, Control, Sensing, Data,

and Operators. See “Gamified Content and Mechanics” below for how this will be taught.

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Interactive Whiteboard or Projector: An interactive whiteboard or projector will be

used to model the story map and story board tasks with the whole class.

Example of Fable-Turned-Game: “The Thirsty Crow” game I created in EdTech 597 will

be used as an example of how to (1) identify and create the key character(s) and prop(s), (2)

identify and execute the key events that will make the game function, (3) explain game

concepts such as winning/losing, earning rewards, advancing levels (not required for this

project), and (4) explain game aesthetics, including Costumes, Sounds, and Looks. See “Gamified

Content and Mechanics” below for how this will be taught.

Scratch Game-Design Program: Scratch is an open-source program developed by MIT.

For this project, students will use the most current online version rather than downloading the

software. Students will be able to access and edit their game from any computer with Internet

access, which is necessary because class meets just once a week. In addition to the online

tutorials and help forum within Scratch, the instructor will offer support outside of class.

Gamified Content and Mechanics

This project incorporates a variety of gamified content and mechanics, including those

involved in game development itself. The learning goal of this project is for students to

transform a story or fable into a simple Scratch game. Students will gain experience with basic

programming, and the logical, creative “game thinking” involved in this process will prove

useful in any school content area and in the working world of the 21st century.

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As Marc Prensky points out in the Educational Leadership article titled “Listen to the

Natives,” “programming is perhaps the key skill necessary for 21st century literacy” (Prensky,

2005/2006).

This gamification project can be broken into two parts: (1) the story and (2) the game.

Part 1: The Story

The first part of the Fable-to-Game project focuses on the story on which students will

base their game. Working in pairs, students will choose a story or fable from the course

readings, which include selections from the Mahavakya, the Panchatantra, the Hitopadesha,

the Mahabharata (including the Bhagavad Gita), and various Vedic astrology texts.

Part 1 instruction and practice will achieve the first four objectives identified in

“Learning Objectives” on page 1 of this document:

1. Given a story map template, identify the story’s character(s), setting, problem, and solution.

2. Working in pairs, recall story events. 3. Sequence story events in a logical order using a story board template. 4. Identify key character(s) and event(s) to be used in game design.

After students choose their story, they will read and discuss it with their partner. They

may consider at this point what they think the moral of the story could be, as this may help

them determine the goal of their game and a reward for achieving it in Part 2.

The first task for each pair of students is story mapping. The instructor will read or re-

read the story of “The Thirsty Crow.” Using an interactive whiteboard or projector, the

instructor will then model the story mapping activity (Objective #1), asking students to help fill

in the character(s), setting, problem, and solution. Students will then complete their own story

map with their partner.

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The second task in this project deals with the events of the story. Using an interactive

whiteboard or projector, the instructor will model how to recall the story events (Objective #2)

and fill out the story board (Objective #3). The whole class will participate in calling out all the

events that happened in the story, referring to the problem and solution identified on the story

map, and then sequencing them in a logical order. The instructor may ask for student

volunteers to draw or write on the story board template. Students will then complete their own

story board with their partner.

The final task in Part 1 is identifying the key character(s) and event(s) to be used in game

design (Objective #4). Student pairs will examine the sequence of events laid out on their story

board and determine if there is a key event that leads to resolution of the problem. For

example, in the fable “The Tortoise and the Hare,” the rabbit’s decision to take a nap resulted

in his losing the race. In “The Thirsty Crow,” it was when the crow dropped a stone into the

pitcher that the water level began to rise, thus sparking the solution to the crow’s problem.

This is when students will begin to apply “game thinking.” As game designer and

gamification expert Amy Jo Kim suggests in her Google TechTalks speech titled “Smart

Gamification: Designing the Player Journey” (Kim, 2011), the instructor may begin to replace

the term “character” with “player,” shifting the focus from story to game and the control from

the author (what has been written) to the students (what will be created).

When isolating the key event in the problem and the key event in the solution, students

will examine cause and effect and what will become in the game mechanics “if/then” scenarios.

Students will also determine the action that will solve the problem they identified in their story

map and ultimately result in the player winning the game.

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Part 2: The Game

The second part of the Fable-to-Game project focuses on designing a game in Scratch

based on the chosen story. This is where students really develop their strategic “game thinking”

and are introduced to game mechanics and aesthetics. Apart from the literal meanings of these

terms, students will be introduced to the definitions Amy Jo Kim gives in “Smart Gamification:

Designing the Player Journey” (Kim, 2011):

• Game mechanics: “the systems and features that make progress visible” • Game aesthetics: “the overall experience that yields emotional engagement.”

Part 2 will begin with a whole-class discussion about what games students like to play

and what makes them engaging. This will not only put students (aka “players”) in a gaming

mind-set, but will also potentially bring up terms and concepts (including achievements and

rewards) that apply to the game students will create. Part 2 instruction and practice will achieve

the last three objectives identified in “Learning Objectives” on page 1 of this document:

5. Design a working game in Scratch based on story map and story board created. 6. Given explanations and examples of game mechanics and aesthetics, apply these

principles to the design and development of an original game. 7. Compose detailed instructions and rationale for the game, including moral.

After brainstorming what makes their favorite games engaging, students will be

introduced to terms and concepts related to game functions and features. Referencing the

work students did in Part 1 of the project and looking inside “The Thirsty Crow” for parallels in

the Scratch program, the instructor will demonstrate how games include the same elements as

stories: characters and props (Sprites), setting (Stage and Backdrops), actions (Scripts involving

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Motion, Events, Control, Sensing, Data, and Operators), problem (what the player must

do/overcome in the game), and solution (how the player wins the game).

Students’ first task in meeting Objectives #5 and #6 will be working in pairs to create the

Sprite(s) to be used in their game. They can choose from Sprites in the Scratch library, paint

their own, or upload an image (original work or public domain only). The instructor will model

how to create Sprites before the students do it themselves.

For their second task in Part 2 of the project, students will consider the context in which

the key story events they identified in Part 1 occur. They will set the Stage for action by creating

one or more Backdrops in Scratch. The instructor will again model the task before partners

begin working together.

The third task, developing Scripts, is perhaps the most complex and will likely require

multiple class periods as well as work outside of class. Students will determine which functions

in Scratch (Motion, Events, Control, Sensing, Data, and Operators), can be used to create a

Script that allows the player to solve the problem and win the game. This involves determining

how the player will control the Sprite(s) from the computer keyboard. For instance, if the player

wishes to move left, he/she will push the left arrow key. This task also involves designing into

the game a distinct event that indicates to the player when he/she has won or lost. The

instructor will use the scripts from “The Thirsty Crow” game to explain the logic behind the

game mechanics. The instructor will spend the rest of the class time helping students as they

work in pairs.

Once the game is functioning, students can incorporate aesthetics, including Costumes,

controlled from the Looks functions, and Sounds (not required).

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The final task in the project (Objective #7) is one that allows students to reflect on and

evaluate the work they have done. Students will summarize their game and write detailed

instructions to be included on the “Project Page” in Scratch. Each pair of students will also

compose a rationale for the work they did, which will include what they consider to be the

“moral” of the game.

Being able to look at a story—whether something that happened in the news, in your

own life, or in a work of literature—and think strategically about how and why the events

unfolded is an invaluable skill for school, career, and life in general. It is hoped that this project

will help students develop this type of “game thinking” while empowering them with basic

programming skills that are necessary for 21st century literacy.

References

Kapp, K. M. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Kim, A. J. (2011, February 16). Smart gamification: Designing the player journey

[Google TechTalks]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/B0H3ASbnZmc Prensky, M. (2005, December/2006, January). Listen to the natives. Educational

Leadership, 63(4), 8-13.