The Turkey Maiden Educational Computer Game

Abstract

An educational computer game project underway in the Digital Media department of the University of Central Florida is the subject of this article. It is based on a folktale called “The Turkey Maiden,” collected in Ybor City, Florida, in the 1930s. A game mod (user-created addition and modification to an existing commercial off-the-shelf computer game) has been created that integrates specific tasks the heroine must successfully complete in order to advance in the game. These tasks are based on lessons to be learned by the player about Ybor City history and culture. Adapting an oral folktale with an active female protagonist into a heritage-based computer game involved experimenting with feminist game design principle (gender differences in play), and understanding how features of digital environments, like spatiality and interactivity, affect storytelling and game play.