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A Board Game Hootopia: Biodiversity Education Through Tangible and Interactive Narrative

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Interactive Storytelling (ICIDS 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14383))

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Abstract

This paper introduces Hootopia, a tangible interactive board game, aimed at exploring the potential effectiveness of interactive digital storytelling in enhancing children’s comprehension of biodiversity and species protection. The game objective is to cultivate a profound connection between players and the imperative of safeguarding animal habitats, aiming for a deeper, experiential understanding rather than the dissemination of specific academic content. In the game, players assume the dual roles of environmental transformers and animal protectors and have a unique opportunity to experience various interests and conflicts among different factions. By immersing players in an enjoyable and engaging narrative, the game seeks to enrich biodiversity education. The study investigates the integration of board game narratives and education, the feasibility of merging gaming and tangible interactive storytelling, and the impact of Hootopia on children’s engagement, interest, learning outcomes, and attitudes toward biodiversity and species protection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

    Yi Zhang

  2. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Zhe Huang

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  1. Yi Zhang
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  2. Zhe Huang
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Correspondence to Yi Zhang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Skövde, Skövde, Sweden

    Lissa Holloway-Attaway

  2. University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    John T. Murray

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Zhang, Y., Huang, Z. (2023). A Board Game Hootopia: Biodiversity Education Through Tangible and Interactive Narrative. In: Holloway-Attaway, L., Murray, J.T. (eds) Interactive Storytelling. ICIDS 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14383. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47655-6_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47655-6_25

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-47654-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-47655-6

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