I’ve always had a passion for reading. It began with Hardy Boys and Enid Blyton books and evolved into fantasy epics like Dragonlance and The Dark Elf Trilogy. I vividly remember “watching” the adventures of Drizzt Do’Urden unfold in my mind, eagerly anticipating each new instalment. Even now, in my fifties, those stories remain fresh and unforgettable.
My journey into interactive storytelling began with “choose your own adventure” books. Flipping to different pages based on my choices allowed me to immerse myself in the story as a participant, not just a reader. The thrill of role-playing the hero and exploring various outcomes made these books memorable. It wasn’t just reading; it was living the adventure.
So, what does this nostalgic trip down memory lane have to do with RPG-based gamification in digital learning? It turns out, the elements that made those books so engaging can be harnessed to transform eLearning experiences.
Storytelling As Base
To leverage RPG elements in eLearning, start by crafting a compelling story. A strong narrative is crucial for an engaging RPG-based learning module. The right story can significantly enhance learner engagement.
Here are some effective storytelling frameworks to consider:
- The Hero’s Journey: This framework involves a hero who undertakes an adventure, overcomes challenges, and returns transformed. It’s widely used in novels, films, and mythology—and one of our favorites!
- Three Act Structure: Divides the story into Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. Commonly used in screenwriting and novel writing.
- Freytag’s Pyramid: Features Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Denouement. Useful for creating a dramatic narrative arc.
- In Medias Res: Starts in the midst of the action and provides background through flashbacks or dialogue. Great for grabbing attention and creating intrigue.
- The Seven Basic Plots: Includes Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Each plot type offers a unique narrative structure.
- The 4 Cs: Focuses on Character, Conflict, Climax, and Conclusion. Essential for creating a compelling story with well-developed characters and engaging conflicts.
- The Snowflake Method: A detailed process for developing a story, starting with a simple summary and expanding into a comprehensive outline.
- The Kishōtenketsu: A Japanese storytelling structure with Introduction, Development, Twist, and Conclusion, creating narratives with surprising twists.
- The Five Act Structure: An extension of the Three Act Structure, adding Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.
- Epiphany Plot: Centers on a character’s personal transformation or realization, leading to a moment of clarity that changes their perspective.
The Power of Entertainment in Learning
Next, consider how the story can be turned into an RPG-like game to involve and engage the learners. This process of gamification is often one of the secret ingredients that turns learning experiences into captivating journeys.
Learners are now taking on the role of the hero in the story, embarking on adventure-filled quests where every decision made and every path chosen, would shape the learning journey. This shifts learning from a task to be completed to an experience to be enjoyed. This approach is particularly effective in addressing the challenges of modern eLearning, where keeping learners engaged is more critical than ever.
Here are some examples of how to do it.
#1 Character creation. The hero does not have to be a fixed character, the learner can take their own characteristics and attributes that are uniquely configured by each learner. This gives the learner ownership into what they’re doing in the learning module.
Sample RPGs in 3D. Click the scene above and use the keyboard to navigate.
#2 Quest and missions. Design the learning content as quests or missions that learners need to complete with their character/hero. Each quest can focus on a specific learning objective or topic, making the learning process more structured and goal-oriented with order hidden in the world of chaos.
#3 Levels and Progression, rewards and achievements. Implement a levelling system where learners gain experience points (XP) for completing tasks, answering questions, or achieving milestones. As they level up, they can unlock new content or abilities. Which brings us to the next point.Provide rewards such as badges, points, virtual currencies or even quest items related to their profession for completing tasks or reaching certain milestones. Achievements can be displayed on a learner’s profile to acknowledge their progress.
#4 Progress Tracking and Leaderboards. Implement a system to track learner progress and compare it with others through leaderboards. This can motivate learners to improve their performance and engage more deeply with the content.
#5 Feedback and Iteration with multiple outcomes. Provide multiple outcomes for the “game” impacted by the actions and decisions of the learners.,Allow for iterative learning where they can revisit and improve upon previous quests or challenges. This repetition helps to reinforce the level of retention and also increases the chances of actual practice and implementation of the knowledge obtained.
Aside from what’s listed above, arcade-like games relevant to the learning objectives can be used as well. For example, in the context of a topic related to mental health, a series of words affecting the mental well-being of someone can be dropping from the sky and the learners will have to catch the positive ones to gain health and penalise for catching words that negatively impact on the mental well-being.
Or imagine a corporate training module focused on crisis management. Instead of passively reading about how to respond to a data breach, you (the hero) find yourself with a fire extinguisher and running around in a virtual office, alarms blaring, as you race against time to protect sensitive information by putting out “fires of crisis” around the office.
Each decision or whatever the learner does will impact the outcome, turning every mistake into a lasting lesson. This level of immersion, where learners are deeply involved in the story, makes RPGs a powerful tool for knowledge retention.
3D and VR Immersive Learning Environments
With the level of technological improvements and availability made to 3D and VR environments, you can consider its use to take the already immersive experience to the next level. Using the crisis management example, what if we presented the environment where the user is seeing from the first person point of view and their physical actions impact on what’s happening in the environment?e.
The learner is already an active participant, but with these technologies, the characters they control are in a more realistic environment. It takes learning by doing to the next level in a real-time, simulated scenarios.
The Future of eLearning: RPGs and Beyond
As learning designers and developers continue to seek innovative ways to engage learners, RPG-based gamification stands out as a powerful approach. Enhancing this approach by combining the immersive potential of 3D and VR technologies, the learning experience is transformed into something that is worth the time and effort of the learners. The future of eLearning is about creating experiences, learning journeys and exciting adventures that learners will remember and value for decades to come, just like how I still remember and cherish the experiences of my choose your own adventure books!
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