Mission+U.S.+(Kaylee)



I chose to play Mission U.S. – an interactive history game with four different scenarios to play out. It is more like an interactive story game than a Role Playing Game, but it has characteristics of RPGs. I chose to play as a young woman, Lena Broadsky, a Russian immigrant coming to America during the pogroms of the early 1900s. The game begins with a brief story about the character as she describes the perils of her life and her fears as she immigrates to the U.S. The game includes a mixture of animation and real historical images. The video at the beginning depicts a character full of fear that she will not be accepted in a new land, an indicator of the goal of the game – to get along in the ‘world’ as an immigrant. As Lena, you click through the virtual world of 1900s New York City and make decisions about what to do and how. You decide how to react in different situations from a set of given choices. You go through many “scenes” such as the citizenship screening done at Ellis Island, navigating through New York alone, working at a sewing factory, and hustling in the market selling merchandise. The option to choose is mostly presented through conversation with others, where you can choose from four scripted responses. As you go through the virtual world, you are given options based on your previous choices. For example, at one point I had the option of attending a sewing class, a drama class, or going home to help out the family. I chose to help the family because my character had the sewing skills and I did not feel like drama would be necessary (mostly because my real life identity is very invested in drama, so I can project any skills needed for this). This later removed the option for me to participate in a drama show because I did not attend the class.

Mission U.S. requires that players make choices within the virtual world to learn about the real experiences of immigrants in 1900s New York City. The game exposes the player to many rituals, behaviors, and cultural tendencies of Russian Jews in New York at this time. The game utilizes methods of storytelling to teach the player about common experiences of immigrants. To be successful in the game, a player must make the best decisions in specific situations. The game asks players to be aware of how to respond to people in certain situations. There is much opportunity for personal drama to be a negative factor for your character, especially within family interactions. The game also teaches content in the form of vocabulary words, which appear on the screen at the end of every “Part” of the game. The game immerses players into the virtual world and strives to provide an experience that will then translate into empathetic connections with history.

This game is not the most interactive RPG style game I’ve played. It is much more like an interactive story than a game. The kinds of teaching involved are more transmissive, and involve a ton of reading. All of the learning done here is done though following the directions and engaging in conversation with other game characters. There isn’t much physicality required for this game as you simply click around the virtual world and no other controls are required. The information in this game is very straightforward, and would be engaging for a younger gamer. The game rewards players by awarding them badges at the end of each part of the game.

Principles of learning used: Semiotic domains principle – This principle is at play in Mission U.S. because a world (1900s NYC) is established and you must act accordingly within it. As the player, you may not know anything about Jewish culture and have to ask many more questions about the food, rituals, and traditions at play in the game. Psychosocial moratorium principle – This game forces learners to empathize with someone of this tragic history (pogroms) without having to actually experience it themselves in order to understand and comprehend but not have to endure. Identity principle – In this game, you take on the role of Lena Broadsky and incorporate yourself as I talked about before. I actually chose this storyline to play out because my ancestors were Russian immigrants fleeing from pogroms in the early 1900s that lived in NYC. I thought this would be a great way to experience what their lives might have been like. This game wasn’t very much fun but it was very informative. I was invested in my character and our shared projected identity as we navigated through the virtual world. Multiple routes principle – In this game, depending on how you respond in conversation depends on how you progress through the game. Choices are made, and a life path is formed.

I thought that this game was interesting and used storytelling in a fun way but could have been more interactive and more “video game” like. I think it is a great game to get kids to empathize about history, and connect with the subject on a more personal level. I would assign this game in many situations but mainly as a way to introduce interactive storytelling. I would show students how to create empathetic story telling that is inclusive of audiences and functions in the same way the game does.