Bastion
LQ: 9.15
Recommended Age: 10+
Skills Used: Planning, Working Memory, Mathematics, Reading
Ord. is a simple text based adventure game where the user puts themselves into one of four different story scenarios to try and make it to the end of the story. The stories featured so far in this game involve a mythical quest, a bank heist, a scary encounter with an unknown captor, and a time traveling adventure. The user can choose in the settings menu whether or not they want sounds and visual effects to accompany their story as well.
When the player selects a story, they receive a short prompt, usually only one word. Sometimes it is a statement and sometimes it is a question. The player then receives some options to choose from, again, usually only one to two words. If the player chooses wrong and fails, they begin the story again, much like a very abbreviated version of a Choose Your Own Adventure story. When the player chooses to play that same story again, they will see their progress represented by a white bar at the top of the screen. The player can also earn achievements for getting certain results within the different stories so even if the story choices the player makes end in failure overall, they may still accomplish something within that round of play.
Ord. is available for purchase on Steam, Android, and iOS. This app is rated for players 12 years and older. LearningWorks encourages all parents to look at ESRB ratings and compare them with the knowledge of their individual child when making game-purchasing decisions. To read more about the ESRB rating system, please click here.
Flexibility: Trying something new.
Choose Your Own Adventure stories are always about trying new approaches to one story. Some of those choices may result in your losing and needing to start over, while others might spell victory for you and your party. Ord. allows for the player to practice flexibility without lengthy stories. The fast-paced nature of the game means that players can choose a lot of different options for a story within minutes as opposed to hours. For players who struggle with flexibility, playing these short choice-based games can be a great way to practice their flexibility skills.
Working Memory: Recalling and retaining information in our minds while working.
One of the trickiest parts of Choose Your Own Adventure games is remembering the choices you made previously and whether or not they were successful. Some choices in Ord. spell your immediate doom while others just have a less than favorable outcome. The player needs to access their working memory as they are playing the game and not make the same mistake twice. For players who struggle with working memory, Ord. is a short, sustained way to practice this skill so the user can feel a sense of success without being too overwhelmed by remembering lots of complex choices.
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