Remember a few weeks ago, when I wrote, ‘the idea of building a course that adapts to the skills, qualities and attributes of your selected character fascinates me‘?
I really enjoyed E-Learning Heroes Challenge No. 311. What began as a simple demonstration of character selection in e-learning grew beyond a movie parody into something more. Even at the time, I recognised the wide range of training applications for The Usable Suspects and, in particular, how the learner’s choice of character could shape their learning experience. So I filed it in my ‘revisit later’ pile and got on with other projects.
This week's @ELHChallenge is 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 and The Usable Suspects are back for ONE LAST SCORE. They're a seasoned bunch of criminals, but their skills vary when it comes to reading blueprints...#vyond #storyline360 pic.twitter.com/0kogCxBolN
— ᴊ ᴏ ɴ ᴀ ᴛ ʜ ᴀ ɴ_ʜ ɪ ʟ ʟ (@DevByPowerPoint) February 15, 2021
Then this week’s challenge dropped. At once I knew that Interactive Maps in Online Training would tempt Fenster and the rest of the gang out of retirement for One Last Score!
Then this week’s challenge dropped. At once I knew that Interactive Maps in Online Training would tempt Fenster and the rest of the gang out of retirement for One Last Score!
This week's @ELHChallenge is 𝙄𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙈𝙖𝙥𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 and The Usable Suspects are back for ONE LAST SCORE. They're a seasoned bunch of criminals, but their skills vary when it comes to reading blueprints...#vyond #storyline360 pic.twitter.com/0kogCxBolN
— ᴊ ᴏ ɴ ᴀ ᴛ ʜ ᴀ ɴ_ʜ ɪ ʟ ʟ (@DevByPowerPoint) February 15, 2021
History repeating
I’ve been taking part in the E-Learning Heroes Challenges for so long, they are now part of my weekly routine. My current workload means I’d be mad to attempt another run of 52 in a row, but I try to take part as often as I can. That said, I was looking forward to taking a month off, despite my fear of missing out!
So I was delighted when David Anderson gave me a ‘free pass’ this week, by using one of my early demos as an example for Challenge No. 314.
Where in the World is Carmen Articulato? was only my sixth entry and remains one of my favourites. I am pleased to see it is now also a featured demo on the Articulate website.
To save time, the navigation system I developed for Carmen Articulato appears again in this week’s demo.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Taking part in the E-Learning Heroes Challenges every week is a great way to practice new techniques, find inspiration and boost your creativity.
When I spoke to @ifyouaskbetty last year, I shared my Top Ten Tips for Boosting Creativity, including reusing elements from previous designs wherever you can. Why reinvent the wheel every time?
My concept for One Last Score required the interactive map – in this case a blueprint – to move in four directions. Because I already knew how to make a map move in two directions, repurposing my earlier design for this project was pretty straightforward.
It’s all relative
- The four motion paths have a Relative Start Point, so the blueprint always moves on from its last position
- Four number variables track the location of the blueprint and disable each button at certain points
- These ‘coordinates’ stop the learner moving the blueprint too far out of view
Returning to the scene of the crime
To stitch together The Usable Suspect‘s character selection control and the interactive map from Carmen Articulato, I created five new videos in Vyond. These ‘cut scenes’ transition from the police line-up to the break-in at the office of Lew Prince Architecture. I used this method to change the visuals based on the learner’s choice of character.
However, these changes are not only cosmetic. The learner’s choice of accomplice also directly affects their ability to complete the ‘map reading’ task.
Different experiences
- Choose Hockney and the blueprint is blurred, as he has forgotten his glasses
- Choose McManus and the controls are less responsive, as he is ‘slow reader’
- Choose Fenster and the blueprint is in Spanish, his first language
- Choose Keaton and controls are more responsive, allowing you to read the blueprint more quickly
- Choose Verbal and you have to find a different location on the blueprint, as he has a hidden agenda
Hot stuff
If you choose Verbal, your task is to locate Office 2 rather than the vault. But you will still click the same ‘hotspot’, despite it being in a different location.
How is this done? The moving blueprint is actually two objects grouped together: an illustrated background and a semi-transparent circle used as a hotspot.
The circle has two states. In its alternate state, its X and Y coordinates differ, so the ‘hotspot’ can move while still being grouped with the illustrated background. This technique removes the need for a second ‘hotspot’ and another set of triggers.
Doing hard time
Great care should be taken with timed activities in e-learning, as it can put people with dyslexia or those working in a second language at a disadvantage.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines state that timed activities should be avoided unless ‘essential’ to the delivery of the content. Essential is defined as:
'if removed, would fundamentally change the information or functionality of the content, and information and functionality cannot be achieved in another way that would conform'
Yet One Last Score isn’t really about reading a blueprint in under 20 seconds; it’s about choosing the best member of a team to complete the task at hand.
In this sense, my demo is a strategy game that could be used as part of a project management or team building course. Whether you’re running a criminal enterprise, a large multi-national company – or something in between – you need to manage and deploy your staff effectively.
Final thoughts
The best e-learning experiences allow us to explore the consequences of our decisions, to help us make better decisions in future. Learning from our mistakes without harming or hurting anyone, deleting an important file or ruining our company’s reputation has clear advantages over other training methods.
Creating this ‘space to fail’, by highlighting the links between actions and outcomes, in a way that resonates with the learner’s role, is what every good Instructional Designer and E-Learning Developer should be shooting for.
Learning design can’t always be ‘fun’ – and shouldn’t be – and the temptation to overuse the same presentation method is great. Self-awareness is key. Having used Vyond for the last four challenges, I am going to step away for a month and work with other tools.
Will The Usable Suspects come out of retirement again? Almost certainly, yes!
Like the E-Learning Heroes Challenges, there will always be One Last Score.
Jon, I love this. It’s true, we can all get stuck in a rut when we constantly reuse the same look/feel (unless it is a template required for corporate brand). I’ve seen a few of our colleagues use the same thing over and over, but unfortunately it gets boring and if you are a one person shop for an organization, the last thing you want is to add to the potential for disengaging your learners. You are always so creative, even with your use of Vyond, you’ve made each challenge submission different and unique, and added elements to support inquiry and encourage engagement. Well done.
Thanks Jac! I’m using this blog to stay honest by announcing my absence from the challenges for the next four weeks, while I concentrate on a big project.
These last four demos have been a dress rehearsal for that project – which also uses Vyond – but after that’s done, I’m going to have a much closer look at Adobe Character Animator.
This is amazing! It’s exactly what I need. I am trying to build a gamified course for neurodivergent kids where they learn how to work with their unique neurodivergences. I love this game because each character represents a type of challenge and then the game is responsive. Do you have a source file for the branching? I will need to make the characters different, but the mechanics you created are perfect!
Thanks Kelley – I’m afraid I can’t share the source file in this instance, but I’d be happy to unpack the design in more detail for you. There isn’t much by way of ‘branching’ in the traditional sense. Your choice of player is tracked by a variable and this alters the speed at which the map moves and/or how it is displayed. State changes and variable-based triggers create the ‘branching’. Email me at jon@engagebraintrain.com if you would like to know more.