Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List

Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until May 10, 2025

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Once Upon a Game: Improving Motivational Factors Contributing to Aliteracy Through Arts- and Narrative-Driven, Interactive Gameplay

Downie, Andrea Simone
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4664-199X
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650593396931659

Abstract Details

2022, Master of Fine Arts, Ohio State University, Design.
Reading is a complex web of intricately connected technical skills, comprehension strategies, and socio-emotional behaviors. Included in this process is willingness – willingness to pick up a book for leisure and engage with its characters, story, and themes merely because you find it satisfying and interesting to do so. But not everyone has such a positive relationship with literacy-related content; as children grow older, their perception of both themselves and the act of reading often tend to shift based on their experiences in the classroom, leading an increasing number of adolescents to lose the motivation to read. This phenomenon, known as aliteracy, can occur as a result of personal fear, disinterest and lack of relevancy, or feeling restrained in the modes and tools available to connect with others. Though several classroom initiatives – including teacher scaffolding, read aloud story time, and collage – have been shown to improve aliterate learners’ relationship to text, such activities require a great deal of effort and training on the part of the teacher. Educational games stand out as a promising way to overcome the inconsistencies and demands of these initiatives while increasing intrinsic motivation in players. However, the success of games as reading interventions is dependent on their design and how well they foster feelings autonomy, competence, and social relatedness – the three key elements of motivation according to Self-Determination Theory. In my research, I’m interested in how interactivity can serve as the bridge between reading and gameplay to not only bring these two domains together but also to deepen their motivational impact on readers and players. The two games described in this thesis serve as experiments in fostering feelings of intrinsic motivation in students by integrating interactions that give players heightened control over the game’s narrative, interface, and multimodality. Within this document, I expand on the development of these games, detailing the design considerations and insights, playful experience, and player outcomes of each, focusing specifically on their impact on player motivation and relationship to literacy-related content and activities.
Scott Swearingen (Advisor)
Maria Palazzi (Committee Member)
Sébastien Proulx, PhD (Committee Member)
124 p.
Design
aliteracy; intrinsic motivation; gameplay; collage; design

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Downie, A. S. (2022). Once Upon a Game: Improving Motivational Factors Contributing to Aliteracy Through Arts- and Narrative-Driven, Interactive Gameplay [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650593396931659

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Downie, Andrea. Once Upon a Game: Improving Motivational Factors Contributing to Aliteracy Through Arts- and Narrative-Driven, Interactive Gameplay. 2022. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650593396931659.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Downie, Andrea. "Once Upon a Game: Improving Motivational Factors Contributing to Aliteracy Through Arts- and Narrative-Driven, Interactive Gameplay." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2022. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1650593396931659

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1650593396931659
© 2022, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.