Help me merge storytime with playtime on my kids' computer
May 21, 2010 3:25 PM Subscribe
I am looking to add some variety to story time and want to combine story and video game in a way that will help my kids with reading skills. There's a jungle of stuff out there, but it's a wide range of quality, formats, etc. So please help me identify the best digital interactive fiction/adventure games for use with school-aged children. (specifics inside)
1. I have Windows XP and Wii to work with.
2. I would like to stay away from branded products (Barbie, Disney, etc)
3. Many of the "interactive books" I found are just books loaded online and the "interactive" part is that you click to turn pages. I was wanting something more interactive than that.
4. Bonus for products that allow you multiple story lines based on choices.
5. Doesn't have to be free, but free is a plus.
6. Examples I can think of are like the old Myst games and Rockett games (would be new to them). Or any of the old adventure games, but...
7. Don't want to mess with CD-ROMs. Either online or a download to my machine, and
8. More modern format would be good -- more or less current levels of graphics and formats.
So can you help me find a way to play with my kids in a digital adventure that will satisfy their appetite for stories and exercise their reading, reasoning skills without them suspecting it?
1. I have Windows XP and Wii to work with.
2. I would like to stay away from branded products (Barbie, Disney, etc)
3. Many of the "interactive books" I found are just books loaded online and the "interactive" part is that you click to turn pages. I was wanting something more interactive than that.
4. Bonus for products that allow you multiple story lines based on choices.
5. Doesn't have to be free, but free is a plus.
6. Examples I can think of are like the old Myst games and Rockett games (would be new to them). Or any of the old adventure games, but...
7. Don't want to mess with CD-ROMs. Either online or a download to my machine, and
8. More modern format would be good -- more or less current levels of graphics and formats.
So can you help me find a way to play with my kids in a digital adventure that will satisfy their appetite for stories and exercise their reading, reasoning skills without them suspecting it?
Seconding 256; if it were my kids, I'd be thinking about interactive fiction. These are games you interact with solely through reading and writing, so they're great for building vocabulary, reading comprehension, and keyboard skills, and many of them are also full of great puzzles that will encourage critical thinking and problem solving.
They're a little hard to find now but I'd keep an eye out for Infocom games, specifically the most recent collection. All of the games were pretty great but three in particular were specifically aimed at younger players (ie, pre-teen to teen) - Wishbringer, Seastalker, and Moonmist. All of these have been out of print for years but they pop up occasionally on eBay or in the bargain bin of various online stores.
There are almost certainly new interactive fiction games that are suitable for kids of all ages, and these would be free and downloadable, but I haven't explored those for a while so I'd defer to 256 or others for those recommendations.
Outside of purely text-based interactive fiction, your traditional "game" options are going to be a bit limited. There are some great kids games out there, and some of them have great stories, but none of them are really going to do much to encourage reading. In the 90s there were a slew of adventure games that combined text with graphics, but I'm not aware of anyone really doing this now. There's a wealth of older games out there that might fit the bill - you might explore sites like Home of the Underdogs, an abandonware archive with a pretty comprehensive section of educational games. (Bear in mind that 'abandonware' is technically still under copyright even though it's no longer commercially available, so it's sort of in a legal gray area, but no one's going to come banging on your door for downloading Reader Rabbit as geodave suggests.)
Finally - I was thinking back over the kinds of books my friends and I were reading when we were kids, especially those friends of mine who were reluctant readers, and the Choose Your Own Adventure books keep coming to mind. Interactive fiction is pretty close to the same idea, though IF forces you to think a lot harder. But it looks like a bunch of folks are making CYOA-type browser-based games online, if you're looking for something simpler. (I haven't played any of these so can't specifically recommend any, but some of them look worthwhile.)
Hope this helps, and best of luck!
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 4:37 PM on May 21, 2010
They're a little hard to find now but I'd keep an eye out for Infocom games, specifically the most recent collection. All of the games were pretty great but three in particular were specifically aimed at younger players (ie, pre-teen to teen) - Wishbringer, Seastalker, and Moonmist. All of these have been out of print for years but they pop up occasionally on eBay or in the bargain bin of various online stores.
There are almost certainly new interactive fiction games that are suitable for kids of all ages, and these would be free and downloadable, but I haven't explored those for a while so I'd defer to 256 or others for those recommendations.
Outside of purely text-based interactive fiction, your traditional "game" options are going to be a bit limited. There are some great kids games out there, and some of them have great stories, but none of them are really going to do much to encourage reading. In the 90s there were a slew of adventure games that combined text with graphics, but I'm not aware of anyone really doing this now. There's a wealth of older games out there that might fit the bill - you might explore sites like Home of the Underdogs, an abandonware archive with a pretty comprehensive section of educational games. (Bear in mind that 'abandonware' is technically still under copyright even though it's no longer commercially available, so it's sort of in a legal gray area, but no one's going to come banging on your door for downloading Reader Rabbit as geodave suggests.)
Finally - I was thinking back over the kinds of books my friends and I were reading when we were kids, especially those friends of mine who were reluctant readers, and the Choose Your Own Adventure books keep coming to mind. Interactive fiction is pretty close to the same idea, though IF forces you to think a lot harder. But it looks like a bunch of folks are making CYOA-type browser-based games online, if you're looking for something simpler. (I haven't played any of these so can't specifically recommend any, but some of them look worthwhile.)
Hope this helps, and best of luck!
posted by Two unicycles and some duct tape at 4:37 PM on May 21, 2010
Also echoing the interactive fiction suggestions. A game called Lost Pig would be a great place to start. Older kids might enjoy Broken Legs or Spider and Web.
Depending on the age of the child, you might want to have a play through or a look through the walkthroughs -- not so much to check appropriateness as to be able to give hints to alleviate frustration, which might be counter-productive. (Also, it will make you look like a GENIUS, but might detract from having fun together)
Oh, and make maps! Kids can have a lot of fun with that, and learning note-taking skills would not hurt at all.
posted by Dolohov at 5:27 PM on May 21, 2010
Depending on the age of the child, you might want to have a play through or a look through the walkthroughs -- not so much to check appropriateness as to be able to give hints to alleviate frustration, which might be counter-productive. (Also, it will make you look like a GENIUS, but might detract from having fun together)
Oh, and make maps! Kids can have a lot of fun with that, and learning note-taking skills would not hurt at all.
posted by Dolohov at 5:27 PM on May 21, 2010
6. Examples I can think of are like the old Myst games and Rockett games (would be new to them). Or any of the old adventure games, but...
7. Don't want to mess with CD-ROMs. Either online or a download to my machine, and
Many older adventure games are available in a downloadable format, though I'm not sure how much they help with reading.
I'll put in a vote for bookworm adventures and its sequel.
posted by juv3nal at 5:39 PM on May 21, 2010
My 6-y.-o. has been enthralled by the BBC's "Horrible Histories" games. One is set in Tudor England and the other in ancient Rome and both involve facts as well as farts, leeches, beheadings, Roman sewers and other gross/horrible matter.
(Dolohov's point is well-taken. I sort of wish I had done the games beforehand so I could have dropped hints, but honestly, I had almost as much fun as my son did in figuring out what to do and where to go next. It's choose your own adventure with, well, blood and guts.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:54 PM on May 21, 2010
(Dolohov's point is well-taken. I sort of wish I had done the games beforehand so I could have dropped hints, but honestly, I had almost as much fun as my son did in figuring out what to do and where to go next. It's choose your own adventure with, well, blood and guts.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:54 PM on May 21, 2010
I'm not sure exactly how old your kids are, but the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games just hit WiiWare. Might not be an exact fit if your kids couldn't deal with cartoony murders, or the occasionally difficult logic problem, but I figured I'd throw it out there. The games are pretty much nothing but reading and deductive reasoning, but might skew a bit older than what you're looking for.
posted by yellowbinder at 6:07 PM on May 21, 2010
posted by yellowbinder at 6:07 PM on May 21, 2010
Textfyre is a company writing interactive fiction specifically for schoolkids. They do charge, but there's different price ranges available depending on feature set, plus free demos.
posted by Sparx at 7:27 PM on May 21, 2010
posted by Sparx at 7:27 PM on May 21, 2010
There are a lot of tools for making your own interactive fiction. Perhaps your children might be excited by the idea of creating a video game with you.
It will get them thinking about story, and consequences, and logic, and imagination.
And who knows, maybe it'll be the next Axe Cop!
(It won't be the next Axe Cop, but that's not the point :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 1:36 PM on June 3, 2010
It will get them thinking about story, and consequences, and logic, and imagination.
And who knows, maybe it'll be the next Axe Cop!
(It won't be the next Axe Cop, but that's not the point :-)
posted by -harlequin- at 1:36 PM on June 3, 2010
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If you give me an idea of their ages and reading levels, I might be able to recommend some specific games.
posted by 256 at 3:47 PM on May 21, 2010 [1 favorite]