The BBC has produced a very impressive online “interactive episode” — really, a “choose your own adventure” story — about World War One.
Here’s how The Telegraph describes it:
The interactive episode…. tells the story of the 1st South Staffordshire Battalion in one of the most deadly conflicts during the Battle of the Somme – the fight for control of High Wood on 14th July 1916.
Rather than passively watching the action unfold, the viewer is put in control of the choices that Corporal Arthur Foulkes must make to complete his mission. Like in a video game, on-screen buttons will appear when the viewer needs to make a decision to carry the story on.
Some of the situations will pose moral dilemmas and tricky tactical choices. For example, if the Corporal comes across a wounded enemy soldier on the battlefield, the viewer must decide whether to leave him, take him prisoner or shoot him.
Because of violent imagery, it requests that you verify that you’re over sixteen years old before you begin playing it.
I’m adding the site to:
The Best Resources For Learning About World War I
The Best Places To Read & Write “Choose Your Own Adventure” Stories
Larry, I indicated liking this WWI adventure simulation. This comes with a qualification: Can anyone really “Like” something dealing with the fighting of WWI? Never-the-less this simulation does make you see how difficult it was to make decisions in war and WWI in particular. I doubt that playing it more than one time will help one to learn because of the fact that the program remains the same for each play. One thing I see is that unless you know the tactics of war for WWI you cannot do very well with a score. Of course, I realize that the purpose is not to teach military tactics, but to give today’s youth and adults an idea of the difficulties of fighting in WWI and a feeling for the era.