Interactive fiction video games can help teachers answer a growing question: how do we build digital literacies and increase student engagement while still teaching core narrative skills? In this study, Katherine E. Batchelor, Nate Bissinger, Christian Corcoran, and Megan Dorsey show how integrating IF games such as Life Is Strange into English classroom pedagogy supports multimodal narrative learning and deepens students’ connections to print texts. Because IF games require players to read closely, make choices, and interpret consequences, they offer a powerful bridge between students’ everyday digital practices and academic literacy work.

The authors describe ninth graders, seniors, and preservice teachers who used IF games alongside novels such as And Then There Were None and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Students played collaboratively, paused to analyze tone and theme, and compared character decisions across media. Many reported that the games helped them understand literary concepts more clearly. Striving readers especially found that the multimodal design—visuals, dialogue, sound, and text—made narrative elements easier to follow. Teachers also noted increased engagement and more thoughtful discussions about choice, point of view, and ethics.

Beyond individual lessons, the study highlights how IF games can support broader digital literacies. Students practiced prediction, inference, and intertextual thinking as they discussed alternate story paths and rewound scenes to test outcomes. The authors offer a range of classroom applications—literature circles, game-based discussions, interdisciplinary pairings, and even student-created IF using platforms like Twine—showing how multimodal narrative learning encourages exploration and deeper meaning-making. By valuing students’ out-of-school literacies, teachers can create more responsive, contemporary ELA experiences.

Faculty authors: Katherine E. Batchelor, Miami University
Student authors: Nate Bissinger, Christian Corcoran, and Megan Dorsey, Miami University
Keywords: interactive fiction video games, digital literacies, English classroom pedagogy, student engagement, multimodal narrative learning
Publication details: English Journal, 110(5), 2021. “Choose Wisely! Interactive Fiction Video Games in the English Classroom.” https://doi.org/10.58680/ej202131234