(Re)Born Digital—Trans-Affirming Research, Curriculum, and Pedagogy: An Interactive Multimodal Story Using Twine

Supplementary material for this article can be found online at http://www.press.uillinois.edu/journals/var/media/43.1/miles/index.html.

In this essay, the authors discuss Twine, a powerful tool for creating games to introduce students to game design and the creation of interactive stories that are nonlinear and choice-based. The latter term refers to games that allow players to choose one path over another by clicking on hyperlink(s) in order to progress the story. It is further proposed that making games is as much fun as gameplay, and that the technical skills and creative ideas involved in conceptualizing interactive stories enhance people’s ability to consider pressing social issues. The objective of the interactive story explored here is to create a platform where players—for example, students and educators—better understand the personal experiences of transgender youth, potentially identify and intervene in classroom practices that are oppressive toward gender-nonconforming students, and create spaces that foster behavior and actions that are respectful and affirmative toward all students.