XplanaZine

It should come as no surprise that the popular Zelda series’ latest installment for Gamecube has powered that console platform back into prominence against Microsoft’s Xbox.

Zelda: Windwalker features Link as the protagonist who travels to a chain of islands, locating mystical pearls and saving his little sister as he prepares to battle the evil Gannon. Throughout the adventure he is armed with a sword, boomerang, and grappling hook. The environment he moves looks like a three-dimensional, though crudely drawn, Saturday morning cartoon, and the unique look gives the game a free-flowing feel.

So is this the best gaming has to offer? Cartoonish fantasy? In a way, yes. Because Zelda shows clearly what drives the successful games — story.

If Zelda, which has been continuing its saga since 1987, doesn’t convince you of the power of story in games, you might take a look at two other new releases, Indiana Jones and Pokemon. These two game/stories add another three decades of lasting popularity to the mix.

At their core, these three are quite similar. The player/user becomes involved (interactive) with the game by playing a major character and by collecting objects, weapons, talismans etc. to achieve a stated goal or rescue. There are other elements that add to the success of this formula.

• Character role play — players assume the role of a well-defined character within the narrative
• Task-oriented — player must find some thing or things to proceed or improve chances for survival
• Goal-oriented — there is an ultimate goal and reward
• Advancement — players must evolve in their knowledge and skills
• Story Expansion — the story is “set” but players can improvise to some extent and “change” history.

These elements of play make a good beginning for a checklist of elements to include when trying to use narrative in educational settings as well. In fact, if we look at current games, we see that they are naturally evolving learning platforms.

In addition to the “go-out-and-gather-objects” narrative that drives many games, there are other popular story frameworks that effectively advance users through a framework of learning and knowledge.

• Gather Objects — As described above, these stories involve collecting prescribed objects of value. Each object presents a different challenge and need for learning. Combining objects is part of the learning curve. The typical genre for this story is Fantasy.
• Find a Talisman — Different that fining objects because it puts the focus on finding one object in particular. That object, generally, results in saving the world or universe. The typical genre for this story is Fantasy.
• Who Dunnit? — These stories are often traditional mysteries with the user playing the role of the detective trying to solve a crime. They focus on interviewing suspects and examining evidence. The typical genre for this story is mystery although it is frequently used in conjunction with fantasy , science fiction, and romance.
• What Dunnit? — These stories are more flexible than the Who Dunnit? because they focus less on the solution and more on the process (what was done and how did they do it?). The What Dunnit? (and Why Dunnit?) is an excellent teaching platform. The typical genre for this story is mystery although it is frequently used in conjunction with fantasy , science fiction, and romance.
• Build Something — Think The Sims. Build Something narratives can be adventure, fantasy, or real-world role playing that ask players to create an environment, structure, or entire civilization. This story platform really lends itself to multi-layered learning and sequential tasks.
• Fall in Love — You gotta have some romance, right? Never underestimate the importance of this genre when it comes to reaching students of all ages. Structurally, these stories are nice because they allow two or more strong characters and the ability to offer multiple perspectives in the narrative process.

The bottom line is that we all know how popular stories are in the classroom. What we forget, at times, is that they can also provide the most effective format for non-mediated instruction and learning on the Web.