Literati
Introduction
Literati is an ARG designed to help foster interest in high-level literature in high school students.
The game engages its players through a series of mysterious clues, with answers found in works of literature. By asking players to search for deeper meaning in these works, Literati serves to boost a student's nascent interest in literary analysis.
The Game
Literati begins with an anonymous email to the targeted students that introduces the in-character game masters, who imply that the game is a test of skill for inclusion into a secret and powerful association called the Literati, and includes the starting clue for the players. Players that respond correctly will be directed to a web forum at which they can collaborate on future clues, which are delivered upon satisfactory answering of previous clues.
Early clues are designed to be approachable from multiple angles due to their vagueness. An example starting clue might be:
Sounds. Economy. Visitors. Spring. Reading. Higher Laws.
These have something in common. Read the fifth among them. You're welcome to work with others on this task, but this is not a thing you can find unless you're alone.
Then tell me: How close is my nearest neighbor? What is my panacea? And what do all men fear, despite candles and Christianity?
The clue points to a chapter in Henry David Thoreau's Walden, and the questions are answered by quotes from the fifth chapter. Later clues ask players to engage in analysis or deep engagement with a text. An example of such a later clue might be:
Follow the white whale to the pitiable scrivener I spoke of before. Then tell me: what caused his death?
This clue points towards Herman Melville's short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: a Story of Wall Street”. It asks a specific question about a deliberately ambiguous element of the story. To proceed, players must collaborate and respond with a meaningful analysis. If judged by the game master (probably the students' teachers) to be sufficiently thoughtful, the clue is considered “solved” and the next clue is given, although even in this success scenario the game master may choose to challenge the analysis given by the players.
Why It's Fun
This game hides its nature as an academic exercise, instead adopting exciting conspiratorial tones. By doing this, the game can move past students' biases against academic tasks and tap into the traditional fun of its elements of riddle and mystery.
How it Educates
The fundamental appeal of Literati is the same fundamental appeal of riddles, treasure hunts, and whodunit mysteries. The game hints at a hidden meaning in the world around us and invites players to find it.
The educational “trick” of the game is in its subtle transition from simple clues and riddles (like tracking down a passage and finding relevant quotes) to actual analysis of literature. The game implies that there are messages purposefully hidden and encoded in the texts for the players to find. When players dig through the texts to find these hidden messages, they will instead find the natural layers of interpretation and meaning that are a part of any rich text. “Solving” a piece of literature in the game (a fun task in the context of an ARG) is revealed to be the same thing as reading and analyzing it. Literati can thereby show students the appeal of literature from the point of view of the students themselves.
Problems and Challenges
The aforementioned “trick” of Literati may also be considered its biggest liability. The game's educational strategy is one of baiting the player with riddles and hidden meaning and switching to regular literary analysis and interpretation. If successful, this could create an impression in the player's mind that all literature exists to be “solved”. Texts might not be trusted at face value, and students might go on to try to find contrived alternative explanations for their own sake. That is, Literati attempts to turn the interpretation of literature into a game, and whether or not that is an admirable goal is debatable.
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