Fiction lies to tell the truth, and unreliable narrators may be the best epistemological tool of all. But, Sam Barlow’s 2015 game “Her Story” allows students to directly duel with one. A fragmented narrative is challenge enough, but the game’s multimedia delivery adds an essential visual analytical challenge that the Youtube generation needs in an era of “fake news”. This session’s project that has been taught by an experienced GBL teacher and will guide attendees from inception to reflection.

1. LEARNING LIES: USING “HER STORY”
TO DEVELOP SKEPTICAL STUDENTS
JOHN FALLON
@JOHNCFALLON
THEALTERNATECLASSROOM.ORG
COMBINING VIDEO GAMES AND LITERATURE

4. OH GOD THEY’RE
EVERYWHERE‣ 63% of US households have at least one person
who plays video games regularly
‣ 1.7 gamers in each of these households
‣ Women age 18 or older represent a significantly
greater portion of the game-playing population
(31%) than boys age 18 or younger (17%)
‣ 54% of the most frequent gamers play with
others
‣ Board game sales increased by 28% in 2016.
Source: Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry, 2016

5. TRUST ME?‣ …an unreliable narrator is one who tells lies, conceals information, misjudges with respect to
the narrative audience…all fictional narrators are false in that they are imitations. But some are
imitations who tell the truth, some of people who lie.
-Truth in Fiction, Peter Rabinowitz

6. OH GOD THEY’RE
EVERYWHERE

7. ‣ Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology
‣ Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so to
pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought
‣ Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of
purposes
‣ Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
‣ Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts
‣ Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
21st CENTURY SKILLSNational Council of Teachers of English

8. GETTING UNRELIABLELevel 1: The Obvious Unreliable Narrator

9. MEANS, MOTIVE,
OPPORTUNITY
‣ Self-interest
‣ Inconsistency
‣ Immorality
‣ Inexperience
‣ Emotion
‣ Ignorance
TEXTUAL EVIDENCE

10. ETTING MORE UNRELIABLLevel 2: The Mastermind Narrator

11. DIGGING DEEPER(HEH)
‣ Analyze not only what we’re told but not told
‣ What were these “thousand injuries”? And what was the “insult”?
‣ Infer not just the narrator but the audience
‣ who “knows so well the nature of [Montresor’s] soul”?
‣ Does he feel guilt?
‣ Is he truly happy with his revenge?

12. ETTING MORE UNRELIABLELevel 3: The Chimaera

13. PEELING AWAY THE LAYER
‣ Combining knowledge of present psychology with historical context
‣ Trauma of isolation, the “rest cure”, and gendered science
‣ Reconciling insanity and the supernatural
‣ Understanding the difference between fiction, lying, and delusion
‣ Ascertaining the nature of the setting through context clues alone
‣ Is she a ghost? Is the “woman in the wall” a ghost? A delusion? Is this an
asylum, a prison, a summer home? WHAT IS GOING ON YOU GUYS

14. NOPE. JUST NOPE.Level 4: The Mirror Maze

15. RE IS NO TRUTH. ONLY PERCEPT
‣ (Not) Reconciling multiple points of view to the same event
‣ “The Rashomon Effect”
‣ Identifying differing motives for lying
‣ Why do four different people all admit to the same murder?
‣ How do you interpret a story that denies you clarity?
‣ “Negative capability”
‣ “…I mean Negative Capability, that is, when a man is capable of being in
uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact
and reason.”
“This unit forced me to learn that writing is not black and white
with one interpenetration being the right one.”

16. A Video Game About a Woman Talking to the Police

17. MEET HANNAH

19. Search terms
Results
Tags and notes
Progress
Saved clips

21. Date/Time

25. ENGAGEMENT

26. “The class as a whole was also a lot more vibrant when playing Her Story. My peers
and I were able to be more enthusiastic with Her Story because we played it
together and some of my fondest memories of school were when we found out new
info on the case and the whole class freaked out.”
RESPONSES
“I think is it pretty much just a fun and engaging way of doing a short story/activity. It
in fact requires you to think more than you would with a traditional short story in my
opinion.”
“It is more exciting and more inclusive when you play it.”
“I think I improved my cognitive skills while doing this unit because Her Story makes
you think like a detective and put all of the puzzle pieces together.”

27. CHOICE

28. “…when struggling readers were allowed to choose the topic, they performed at
"independent" level (94--97% accuracy) even on texts that were 7--8 grade levels
above their head.”

29. Investigative reporter
‣ 900-1000 words
‣ Must include evidence
(screenshots/quotes)
‣ Narrative hook
‣ Organize a timeline/narrative
‣ Recreate moments with sensory details
‣ Transitions
‣ Conclusion - tie back to the beginning
Reviewer
‣ 900-1000 words
‣ Commentary/Recommendation
‣ Updike’s Rule #1
‣ Establish and support audience
‣ Specific examples
‣ Identify themes/connections
‣ Recommend to specific audience

30. “While working on my investigative report I was constantly at war with my self
about what the true story was because there are many ways to interpret the story.”
“The Her Story unit was one of the greatest assignments in my academic career. It
was a blast working on my version of the story and I had fun writing up the final
report with all my hints and clues.”

31. EVERYONE’S A CRITIC

32. Investigative reporter
‣ 900-1000 words
‣ Must include evidence
(screenshots/quotes)
‣ Narrative hook
‣ Organize a timeline/narrative
‣ Recreate moments with sensory details
‣ Transitions
‣ Conclusion - tie back to the beginning
Reviewer
‣ 900-1000 words
‣ Commentary/Recommendation
‣ Updike’s Rule #1
‣ Establish and support audience
‣ Specific examples
‣ Identify themes/connections
‣ Recommend to specific audience

33. Arthur Gies, Reviews Editor
Our basic structure is the 5-part argumentative thesis-based essay, with an avoidance of passive voice and assuming respon
…our reviews exist to tell you what a person thought of a game, holistically. The thesis backed structure is great for
that, and is a sound basis for just about any argumentative/advocative piece.

35. ‣ Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology
‣ Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so to
pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought
‣ Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of
purposes
‣ Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
‣ Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts
‣ Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
21st CENTURY SKILLSNational Council of Teachers of English

36. “It was really cool how the dread and stress that were
apart of normal exams were replaced by excitement and
joy.”

37. “I used to be ashamed of my nerdy interests, but you have instilled in
me a newfound self confidence that has made a tremendous
difference in my life.”

38. Games are a learning style.
Perhaps, THE learning style.

39. thealternateclassroom.org
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