What's going on everyone?
Over the past couple of years, I have started leading professional development workshops where I coach other educators how they can teach with video games in their classes. One of the games that I always use as my model is Emily is Away. Emily is Away is an interactive story set in a retro chat-client like AOL Instant Messenger. The game is free to play and only takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete. It can be taught in 1-2 lessons and I believe it can be a fun and unique way to get our students to read. You can find that lesson plan for Emily is Away here.
Enter Emily is Away Too, the spiritual successor to Emily is Away. This game expanded upon all of the qualities that made the first game so special and is a better game in almost every aspect. If I had to choose which one I would want to teach with, it would be Emily is Away Too. That being said, unlike its predecessor, this game costs money. So if you or your school has the means to buy a copy or two for your students to play in groups, then this is the game for you. On the other hand, if you want to try something free then the first game will still suffice. The premise of this lesson using Emily is Away Too is for students to learn about visual novels and compare their experiences with this game to that of the more traditional texts that they have read either in school or on their own time. You can find the lesson plan for Emily is Away Too here.
Growing in popularity by the late 1990s, AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) radically changed how people communicated with each other. It was really the first time that people communicated in real time over the internet. Email existed, but that was a much slower form of communication- you actually had to check to see if you received any emails. With AIM, your friends could actually see if you were online and a chat would automatically open if someone started a conversation with you. We no longer needed to be face-to-face with people in order to converse with one another. It laid the foundation for texting which is currently the most prevalent form of communication between adults in many countries.
Emily is Away Too takes this medium and turns it into a full blown visual novel. It’s a short story where the player can interact with its many visual and literary elements. While the plot of the game is mostly linear, your choices for various dialogue options will directly affect the relationship between the player and their two friends Emily and Evelyn. It is a very poignant game that exemplifies just how we as a people, especially teenagers, have learned to communicate differently than the generations that came before us. It is also a story that cannot be told as a traditional text. Beyond just the AOL chat client, the game will link you to various parody websites of YouTube (Youtoob) and Facebook (Facenook). It will even download the chat logs to your desktop! It is the perfect game to teach students how to make narratives more interactive by not only giving the reader some agency in how the story plays out, but by incorporating a number of different mediums into the narrative itself.
The basic plot of the game is about the interactions you have with two of your high school friends, Emily and Evelyn. Each chapter pushes you forward another season into your senior year. You get to create a screen name, read your friends personal profiles, and choose icons that were popular during that year. Instead of fond memories, I was reminded of the many awkward conversations my teenage self would have with people I had a crush on. The type of conversations that randomly keep you up at night because you know you could have said something so much better than what you had ultimately decided to say. The things you say in the beginning of the game can change the final outcome of the story. So it's important to think before you speak.
The first game in this series focused on talking to a singular friend. It was also set completely in the chat client. The reason why I fell in love with Emily is Away Too is because of how it incorporates other types of media into the gameplay (the aforementioned Youtoob and Facenook). One activity a teacher can offer is downloading the chat logs after each chapter and having groups of students compare their dialogue choices. Some of the characters will even send you chat logs that they had with other people you learn about in the game. You have the opportunity to visit various Facenook profiles, sift through peoples' feeds, and browse their mutual friends. One charming characteristic includes the silly surveys we all filled out when Facebook was the new hot thing. In the game, Emily and Evelyn are really into music and will sometimes send you interactive Youtoob links to their favorite songs and artists. This fake website actually has the real Youtube links built into the game which makes it feel very authentic. There was something so nostalgic having having alternative and punk music playing in the background while speaking to people on a retro chat client. It transported me right back to my childhood bedroom at my old home. It's always fun playing the Emily is Away games with my students because they don't have that same nostalgic mindset. To them, this is old people technology. Despite that, the conversations and themes present in the game are still instantly relatable to any teenager playing.
This game leans in hard to how teenager speak and interact with each other. So while it may make you feel uncomfortable, it is very realistic. Plus I'm excited to see which dialogue choices my students will make and I'm interested to see if they have similar feelings about the game. Their reactions may be completely different since they are already teenagers and don't have the luxury of thinking back on these moments in their own lives.
If you are reading this, then you are at least interested in the idea of teaching with video games. I know for many educators that video games are a medium that may come with unfamiliar territory. Bringing games into your classroom can be a daunting prospect if you are not well versed in how to actually play them. The Emily is Away games are the perfect ones to start with. They are short, cheap, and very accessible. You do not need to know how to use a controller. You only need to learn how to use a chat client. Using a game like Emily is Away Too will open up a whole new world of storytelling to your students. Visual novels are growing in popularity and they are a great way to get your students interested in reading.
Thanks for reading,
Zack
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