University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2017 School Has a Bad Storyline: Gamification in ducationalE Environments Irene L. Pynn University of Central Florida Part of the Game Design Commons, and the Instructional Media Design Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Pynn, Irene L., "School Has a Bad Storyline: Gamification in ducationalE Environments" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 5652. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/5652 SCHOOL HAS A BAD STORYLINE: GAMIFICATION IN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS by IRENE L. PYNN B.A. Florida State University, 2000 M.F.A. Seton Hill University, 2010 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Texts & Technology in the Department of Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2017 Major Professor: Martha Brenckle © 2017 Irene L. Pynn ii ABSTRACT School often has low engagement and frustrating or absent options for the kind of agency the Federal Government’s 2016 National Education Technology Plan now recommends educators include in their curriculum. Video games offer opportunities for people to participate in critical problem solving through creative projects. From balancing character statistics, to collaborating with other players, to making ethical and tactical decisions that can change the outcome of the story, successful games draw on the player’s interest in learning and analyzing numbers, locations, visual clues, narrative elements, people, and more. One useful example may be found in visual novels (VNs), a medium that pulls from narrative structures found in Choose Your Own Adventure Novels. These interactive narratives are a largely untapped resource (for educational uses) of guided critical thinking. My ongoing research explores the efficacy of implementing VNs into digital pedagogies to encourage the development of “creatigational skills.” This term is a response to the problematic wording already in use for skills such as creative thinking and collaborative abilities, skills encouraged by and developed through interactive activities, such as gaming and many of the arts. Current terminology labels them “soft” or “non-cognitive” skills, which are clear misnomers that passively diminish the importance of creative thought. This research explores how gaming, specifically so- called “narrative” gaming, of which VNs are one example, might contribute to the development of creatigational skills in students. Through the creation of VNs for this study, I examine both the ability of this genre to engage and encourage imaginative thought, as well as the practicality of designing and developing VNs for classroom use. iii To my family, of course. I could write volumes about my love and gratitude. It would never be enough. Particularly to Michaela O’Brien, who cheered me on when she was here – and continued even after she had gone. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A work like this cannot be accomplished alone. I would like to thank my committee, all of whom lent their expertise, creativity, and academic support as I planned, researched, and wrote this work. Particularly, I am indebted to my committee chair, Dr. Martha Brenckle, who talked me through countless intellectual tangles with unwavering positivity and patience over what felt like an unbelievably long period of time. This dissertation would likely not have reached completion without her encouragement. In addition, I must acknowledge three Florida Virtual School coworkers who offered their invaluable suggestions and brainstormed with me well past 5 p.m. on a Friday and over the weekend: Innovation Architects Joe Greaser, Mike Jarrell, and Michelle Lux. Finally, I owe unending thanks for the regular feedback and support from Kathleen O’Brien, Manning Pynn, Michael Pynn, and Robert Cunha, all creative professionals with backgrounds spanning writing, journalism, education, game design, and film/photography. It was these incredible people who helped me finesse my language, design, and logic over and over, even occasionally late into the night, when they faced daunting deadlines of their own. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Non-Cognitive, Soft Skills ................................................................................................................ 8 Creatigation .......................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................... 25 Text-Driven Literature .................................................................................................................. 25 Story-Driven Games ....................................................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER THREE: NARRATIVE CHOICE ..................................................................................... 33 Decision Paralysis ........................................................................................................................... 37 Game Design ...................................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER FOUR: NARRATIVE THEORY AND VNS .................................................................. 49 What is Narrative? .......................................................................................................................... 49 What is Engagement? .................................................................................................................... 54 The Impact of Choice ..................................................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER FIVE: HAMLET, THE VN ................................................................................................ 75 CHAPTER SIX: DRIVER’S EDUCATION VN.................................................................................. 81 CHAPTER SEVEN: VISUAL NOVELS AND STEAM RESEARCH ............................................ 85 vi APPENDIX A: HAMLET VN ................................................................................................................ 95 APPENDIX B: DRIVER’S EDUCATION VN .................................................................................... 97 LIST OF REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 111 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Screenshot From Analogue: a Hate Story. Screenshot permission: Christine Love ................................................................................................................................................. 72 Figure 2. Screenshot From Analogue: a Hate Story. Screenshot permission: Christine Love ................................................................................................................................................. 73 Figure 3. Screenshot From Analogue: a Hate Story. Screenshot permission: Christine Love ................................................................................................................................................. 73 Figure 4. Screenshot From my visual novel version of Hamlet depicting the branching story options ........................................................................................................... 76 Figure 5. Screenshot From my visual novel version of Hamlet depicting the multiple endings ........................................................................................................................................... 78 Figure 6. Screen shot from my visual novel version of Hamlet depicting an alternative scene students can choose. .............................................................................. 79 Figure 7. Visual Novel Script Flow Chart .................................................................................... 84 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Visual Novel Rubric ............................................................................................................ 89 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ARG……………..Alternate Reality Game NCTE……………National Council of Teachers of English VN………………Visual Novel x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION “We know where we’re headed – we want to solve the mystery – but we’re not sure how we’ll get there” (Heath 82). When I turned sixteen, I went through the common teenage ritual