Learning how to make a game, even a simple one, was a fun and frustrating experience. When my husband tested it for me last night, I found myself pacing and constantly peeking over his shoulder, building a “can I change that?” list as he went. I couldn’t. I had reached the point where I had to stop – I had two links that just did not work. Fixed them, and then images stopped functioning. Fixed them and called it a day. I am glad I tried something new and well outside my comfort zone. I am also not sure I would do it again. I may do some clean up and experiment with color changes, or build out further (feedback dependent).

The experience was useful, as I had to do the research work, and instead of writing a full paper, had to think through how to present the information for a different audience and where to find balance. The challenge was how to discuss serious issues without making such a sobering game that the target audience would hate it. The balance between heavy subjects, neutral subjects and a little levity requires a fine touch that I am hoping I hit. Honestly, who could let the story of Ma slapping a bear go unrecognized and untold. The next iteration would have to find the same balance, even as it runs into a book the host of the podcast Wilder views as Stephen King on the prairie.

I rolled my eyes at the persona exercise before I started it – it coincided with a work discussion on creating our own personas. I did the readings, interviewed my potential target audience, and knew I was in way over my head and had to really delve into the idea to get this game plan straight. I appreciate having to think that through. I had a thesis advisor at the Command and General Staff College who always hit me with the ‘so what’ and forced me out of reading and writing for myself – I would have been perfectly happy with a project that was for my personal enrichment. LTC Bowie (related distantly to THAT Bowie is I recall) did not let me, and the development of personas ensured I avoided the trap of an overly clever argument that would be useless otherwise.

I am going to send the prototype to the women who helped me, and see what they think and if I hit the mark. More to follow on that.

I would change my podcast pitch though. I still like the idea I pitched to highlight all the great history within an hour’s drive. Another one I toss around mentally would complement this project, rereading historic fiction and breaking it down for parents and teachers.  Does  Johnny Tremaine or Caddy Woodlawn still hold up?  I understand the objections to Wilder’s work, but is it a discussion or a pull it problem – the way she describes what she sees, especially after she also becomes Mary’s eye is truly poetic, but Little House on the Prairie, yikes.

Thank you for sharing this wagon train with me.

The box set came in a yellow cardboard box with some of the Garth Williams illustrations printed on it. Inside the box were nine books, with matching yellow covers, that opened the prairie, via the Big Woods, to me. I was a reader, so this gift under the tree felt perfectly chosen for me. Way to go Santa! Millions of other little girls received the same set, but mine was mine. My aunt made me a sunbonnet prairie doll, in three calico patterns, no face but a sunbonnet. And Holly Hobby looked a lot like Charlotte the doll in the books. The sunbonnet is long gone, and the doll is boxed in my basement, but the warm feelings remain. The podcast Wilder calls it the coziness of the books. I took a very informal and non-scientific poll on Facebook: who read the books and did they watch the series. Seconds after I hit “post,” “Yes and yes” and floating heart emojis. People loved the books and series, loved the books and hated the series, and loved the books until they became adults. 

My historical argument is less an argument than an augmentation. The series is beloved by millions, yet millions also feel disappointed in how they feel they are either denigrated or completely missing from her pages. These are valid criticisms, for her portrayal of Native Americans (Indians) is highly problematic, and African-Americans show up one time (Dr. Tan) but then so does Pa performing in blackface. I am trying to look at and offer context to some of Wilder’s stories. Laura is upfront with her family in Indian Territory on the promise of its opening for settlement, but that they are not supposed to be there. That glosses over the larger story of the continued forced removal of Native Americans. 

Adventures West, the game I am trying to build, includes challenging material such as reading the Indian Removal Act and using a website demonstrating the cessions constantly being required of the Native Americans. As an educational game, the learning cannot just be the bad parts, but will include animals encountered and their status in today’s world. 

The first idea had a lot of complex branches, however for simplicity of play, it will be a straight line game with offshoots for quick learning. I am not going to be able to do every topic I would like, I will be trying to do some of the heavy lifting on tough topics and work within primary sources.

Last semester, we read about the evolution of the digital humanities from computing humanities through today and the myriad types of projects in the digital public humanities today. In digital public history, willingness to embrace and adapt to change keeps projects vibrant and engaging. Even the venerable Valley of the Shadow has archived its early versions in favor of new, improved version that with improvements in user interfaces to allow for usage on a variety of devices and screen sizes. The updated version recognizes that the audience for digital public history and the preferred means of accessing projects has fundamentally changed. Digital public history projects are taking advantage of advancement in mapping, data and methods of public engagement to adapt and thrive.

Mapping and geolocation have added both increased visualization of space and distance as well as engaging audiences in an immediate and tangible way. Mapping, combined with data analytics, has driven projects that allow better visualization of concepts and ideas. Digital public history projects can also use a combination of mapping and geolocation to develop projects that engage the community at an individual level. Histories of the National Mall is an example of this, offering a personalized deep dive into the events, people and places surrounding the popular site. The potential to add curated, interactive tours or QR codes to encourage further exploration brings the project or historic site to life for users.

Data visualization programs aid in the understanding of large amounts of data, and the identification of patterns or outliers of interest of a dataset. While the dataset is still offered for review, visualizations help the larger audience evaluate the argument. Combined with mapping, data visualizations enable digital projects to create more interactivity for their desired audience.

Digital public history projects are also making use of many of the ways people continue learning outside a classroom from podcasts to TikTok(possibly about to become history itself) and YouTube. X, Blusky, and Reddit, for better or worse, allow discourse on ideas and research. Social media comes with its own problems, but also creates an opportunity to engage audiences in creative ways. Having been startled by the opening soundscape of Worlds Turned Upside Down’s first episode, I was invested in the story quickly, after I confirmed the sounds I was hearing were the episode, not someone stalking pre-dawn dog walking.

The challenge will not be embracing changes, but deciding how and what public history projects are adapted to those changes, and which are left to fade away.