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?
posted by cross_impact to Media & Arts (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
You may well be looking for interactive fiction. It's the interactive book that's actually interactive. And there's a really vibrant ongoing community producing tons of new work right now. And it's pretty much all free. The only real trick is that a lot of it is aimed at an adult audience (not as in pornographic, just adult reading level and heavy themes).

Get started here.

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]


READER RABBIT.

Wait, is it still 1993?
posted by geodave at 3:51 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



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


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


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


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


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