Sim designers have to wrestle with the right use of stories and case studies. Here is a common example of how NOT to use a story:
- Find a case study in your topic area, real, theoretical, or aggregated. It doesn't matter which, just make sure it is long and as specific as possible. It has to tell a story completely from beginning to end.
- Identify all of the "right" steps taken by the hero in the case study. Ideally, there are between ten and twenty moments of challenges, paired with the one best thing to do each time.
- Create a series of "simulation like interactions" around each of these steps. For example, create a branching/multiple choice interface, where students are given possible next steps to take at a critical juncture. The "simulation" will give immediate negative feedback if the students choose any but the single right action, preferably including a little lecture of why the student was wrong. Likewise, you can give students a little allocation/spreadsheet-based challenge as well, where they have to juggle numbers until they come up with your equation (i.e., the right answer).
- String these all together under the umbrella of the one story. Use video or other pre-rendered media as much as possible to support the one story and to convince people this is a rich experience.
- Done! You have a simulation-like experiences, where students are forced into interactivity, but that still drill the right answer into the student! When done, you can say, students have gone through a life-like, experiential situation.
Given that, what should the role be of the story in a good sim?
How do you use explicit stories to help students "learn by practicing in increasingly challenging environments," "experiment and take ownership of results" and "develop conviction through a deeper understanding of underlying systems" ? (As an aside, initially, of course, the case studies should be used as input into the design of the simulation interactivity, including interface.)
I use at least two explicit approaches to including stories.
The first is to frame the action (see diagram below). Here, a story sets up the interactive parts of the sim, but successfully accomplishing the action is the primary learning goal.
For example, if the sim were on negotiating, the story might be of an up-and-coming corporate person trying to get his or her company to be more environmentally focused. Now, there would be a series of negotiations from simple to complex that are put in the context of that story, from convincing a co-worker to reduce their use of plastic bottles at Level One to working out a strategy with the CEO to commit to a green policy in the last level.
A second use of story (compatible with the first. and shown in the second half of the diagram above), involves altering the story based on actions taken. When I initially design such a sim, I create two alternative stories: one if the player applied one extreme strategy (approach alpha), and a second story if the player instead applied the opposite extreme strategy (approach omega). Then I create the gray areas between the two.
In the best of all worlds, I combine the two. The actions shape the story. Success or even cheats applied create a different narrative. This is a bit trickier, but also pretty satisfying.
Stories and case studies remain highly tricky tools and models for a sim designer. Well used, the create passion and caring. Poorly used, they numb the student and allow for experiences that are the worst of traditional methods with the worst of immersive methods.
Unlike the traditional first person shooter experience (typified in this screen shot of the game Crysis), in Flower you float above meadows, enticed to exist and embrace the world, not to kill everything that moves. So is the computer game Flower an example of Art? 
