I'm a lover of the classics; To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men are favorites of mine that I re-read each year and find something new to love each time. However, as this generation of learners is more demanding of interactivity, should classic novels such as these be re-imagined?
If you follow my blog, you may have noticed that I enjoy playing a few video games now and again. I certainly feel that video games possess elements of storytelling that sometimes surpass novels. In most cases, the level of interactivity allows the player to take part in the fictional world in ways a novel can never do. And it is with these ideas in mind that I re-imagine the classics.
Imagine Atticus Finch as a video game hero! Imagine George and Lennie's relationship put into the world of a video game! While these are just a couple of fun examples, there is an endless number of ideas available. But would it work?
I think the opportunity to interact with these novels and the characters in a new way would be beneficial to my students because gaming is something that many of them spend a lot of time doing. Reading, for many students, seems like a boring, tedious, and forced process. Why not bring these classics to a game world where the students are already comfortable? Teachers could still focus on ideas such as characterization, theme, setting, and conflict. Moreover, why not have the students play the game while reading the novel?
However, with the amount of controversy surrounding the recent changes to Huck Finn, I have to assume that making these classic novels into games would cause just as much controversy. Although I don't see schools using the games instead of classic texts anytime soon, it is difficult to deny the power of interactive storytelling and the unbelievable experience a gamer may have interacting with a game. I guess I can still enjoy the idea of my favorite classics gracing the Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360!
Take a look at this excellent documentary on Interactive Fiction that informed this post: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/02/01/new-documentary-takes-a-look-at-interactive-fiction.aspx
Happy reading...or gaming!
I like this view of gaming and bringing it to a mature level that helps others to enjoy what their doing while being educated on novel history. I like how you took characters from noveles and related them to superheros or ect. this truly shows a great positive out look on imagination. This is truly amazing stuff!
ReplyDeleteI certainly think Atticus Finch is a superhero! Thanks for the comment
ReplyDeleteI think this idea is very ambition, it would be a awesome idea where we as students could go and explore the world of To Kill A Mocking Bird or to see how animal farm really was. If this idea was to be put into schools then you would have to start small, like using games like sims to create charaters from book, the world that the charater living in, or how the interact with other charaters.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea. Creating a character in the Sims and watching how that character interacts with the setting and other characters would be interesting.
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of making classic novels more interactive through a game is very 21st century, and without a doubt could be something interesting to look into. This not only can help us students learn more about novels, but it could also help us get a more visual representation of the novel. I know seeing the story play out in front of me would help the story sink in and play a bigger role in the classroom experience.
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