Twine allows you to design and write interactive fiction / text based adventures. Twine provides a graphic interface that links the parts of your stories together and provides a map that can change based on the organization / reorganization of the elements of your story. The completed story is outputted as a text based adventure that can be shared and played online.
Get Lamp is probably the definitive (if not only) documentary on the text adventure genre of games. The advent of the text adventure was a defining moment in the game industry as it was essentially the first time that companies were developed specifically to write and produce computer games.
This site provides an introduction to interactive fiction and some guidance in terms of downloading and playing text based adventure / interactive fiction games.
textadventures.co.uk provides a web based and desktop (Windows only) tool for creating text based adventures (interactive fiction). The stie also serves as an online community to share your creations.
This site walks you through the basics of adventure games including an Introduction to Interactive Fiction and how to download and play Adventure Games.
The Scholastic Level Up program offers curriculum for grades 7 - 12 in video game design across the curriculum. The program focuses on the use of Gamestar Mechanic and Activate
Use the free Sprite Maker tool to create your own sprites. It is really easy to use and you can very quickly create a character with his own unique outfit. You will be creating your own sprites in seconds. When you have finished customizing you can export out your sprite and use it in your game.
Gaming in education is a really big deal, and a very fun way to get students more involved and interested in education. Board games, video games, even active outdoor games all have an important place in education, and these videos share more about their role in learning. Check out #49 :)
Amy Erin Borovoy is Edutopia's digital media curator, and she has a passion for content at the intersection of online video, new technologies, and education. Follow her on Twitter @VideoAmy or subscribe to her YouTube channel for more videos for educators. You can't throw an angry bird these days without hitting someone talking about video games in education.
With AT&T's support, GameDesk is taking its model nationwide, helping to improve student outcomes across the country. "Up until now we have only been able to support schools here in LA. With AT&T's support, we're going to be able to scale up and get these new learning tools out there for everyone," explained Lucien Vattel, founder and executive director of GameDesk.
This video case study was filmed during the Joan Cooney Center research on Games in Education. The video features my classroom as my students are working on their games for the STEM video game challenge using Gamestar Mechanic.
The famous adage "do what you love and the money will follow" may not always come true, but it could be an accurate message for video gamers who can learn how to design the next hot game.