When I look back as a child playing so many of the “retro games” that the students in my class now can build with the new coding programs, I have one that definitely stands out. Fairytale Adventures was built for the Amiga 1000 gaming system in the mid 80’s and really was far ahead of its time in terms of an open world gaming experience. Guided by the actions you make you could follow the game’s quest system, or wander aimlessly around destroying skeletons, wraiths and monsters who liked to creepily pop out from behind bushes or under bridges, what more could a 10 year old ask for! The game had a sophisticated trading system, hunger/sleep gauge and the enemies grew fearful of you as you gained strength. Those immersive elements kept me playing that game for long hours much to the dismay of my parents. When I am looking at what I am doing in my classroom now with my students in our sandbox Minecraft worlds I often think back fondly to this game. I believe that open choice platform that the game was based on was far ahead of its time. It embodies for me the wonder, creativity and curiosity that digital media can bring to our lives. That ability to control your destiny (digitally) yet remain unpredictable resonated deeply with me. We now have the tools to bring those same possibilities into our classrooms, firmly rooted in educational practice.
