The Arts · Year 9

Active learning ideas

Branching Narratives in Games

Active learning works because students must physically map choices, prototype interactions, and test outcomes to grasp how player agency shapes narrative. Moving from theory to hands-on design builds spatial reasoning for branching paths and reveals how feedback loops refine storytelling.

• ACARA Content Descriptions
• AC9AME10D01
• AC9AME10E01

• 20–45 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Simulation Game
• 30 min · Pairs

Pairs: Decision Tree Storyboarding

Pairs brainstorm a scenario with three choice points, sketching a decision tree on paper or digital tools. They outline consequences for each branch, ensuring thematic links. Pairs swap boards with another pair for quick feedback before finalizing.

Analyze how giving the audience agency changes the role of the storyteller?

Facilitation Tip

During pairs’ storyboarding, circulate to ensure each pair labels consequences for each branch, not just outcomes.

What to look for

Provide students with a short scenario and three possible choices. Ask them to draw a simple decision tree for one choice, indicating at least two subsequent story points. This checks their ability to visualize branching.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 45 min · Small Groups

Small Groups: Twine Prototyping

Groups use free Twine software to code a short branching narrative with player choices. They add variables for tracking decisions and replay features. Groups test internally, noting revisions for cohesion.

Explain the challenges of creating a cohesive world in a non-linear format?

Facilitation Tip

While small groups prototype in Twine, remind students to save frequent backups so they can compare versions after testing.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'How does giving a player control over the story change your responsibility as a creator?' Facilitate a class discussion where students share their thoughts on the shift from director to facilitator.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Simulation Game
• 40 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Playtest Carousel

Students upload prototypes to a shared platform. Class rotates through devices, playing each game and logging choices made plus feedback on engagement. Debrief as a group to share insights.

Evaluate how user choices reflect their own values and ethics?

Facilitation Tip

For the playtest carousel, assign clear roles—tester, observer, recorder—to keep feedback focused and actionable.

What to look for

Students share their initial narrative maps or prototypes. Peers provide feedback using a simple rubric: 'Is there at least one clear choice point?', 'Can you identify two different potential outcomes?', 'Is the story world consistent?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Simulation Game
• 20 min · Individual

Individual: Ethical Reflection Journal

Students playtest a peer's narrative, journal their choices and reasons. They reflect on how selections mirror personal ethics and suggest branch improvements. Share one entry in pairs.

Analyze how giving the audience agency changes the role of the storyteller?

Facilitation Tip

During individual journaling, provide sentence stems to help students connect choices to player values, such as 'This choice reveals the player cares about...'.

What to look for

Provide students with a short scenario and three possible choices. Ask them to draw a simple decision tree for one choice, indicating at least two subsequent story points. This checks their ability to visualize branching.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers should model how to trace a single branch from start to end before adding complexity, emphasizing that coherence comes from consistent tone and logic rather than equal path lengths. Use think-alouds to show how to spot dead ends in prototypes, and avoid treating playtest feedback as personal critique. Research suggests iterative testing with short cycles builds resilience and clarity in design thinking.

Successful learning looks like students creating coherent decision trees, testing prototypes for usability and logic, and articulating how choices reflect values. Clear evidence includes revised maps after feedback and peer discussions about narrative consistency.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Decison Tree Storyboarding, students may assume all branches must be the same length.

  Use the storyboarding activity to highlight that cohesion relies on consistent themes and logic, not balanced lengths. Have pairs present their maps and ask peers to identify which branches feel most impactful, even if shorter.

• During Twine Prototyping, students may believe player choices lack narrative depth beyond alternate endings.

  Use the prototyping session to layer consequences by requiring at least one choice to affect character relationships or world state. After testing, ask students to map how their prototype’s choices reveal player values, using their journal notes.

• During Playtest Carousel, students may think non-linear stories are simple if all endings are planned first.

  During the carousel, assign groups to identify contradictions or gaps in other groups’ prototypes. Bring the class together to discuss how interconnected branches demand flexible world-building, using the feedback to revise their own designs.

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Methods used in this brief

• Simulation Game