The Little Book Bird was sitting beside the Author and watching the screen closely. The Author was finishing the article “Story-Based Online Games for Kids: Can an Online Game Continue a Book?”
All this time, it was clear that the Little Book Bird was growing more and more worried. First, she stayed silent. Then she tilted her head to one side. Then she shifted from one little foot to the other. And when the Author placed the final full stop, the Little Book Bird could not hold back any longer and asked anxiously:
“But if stories from books continue in online games, will books not be needed anymore? Will no one read about our adventures? Will no one travel with us? Will no one meet new friends, be delighted, be surprised, and…”
She stopped. Then she added sadly:
“Will the Wise Owl and I not be needed anymore?”
“Why did you think that?” the Author asked.
“Because a game… it is so… bright! Everything moves in it. There is something to do right away. And a book… It just lies there and waits.”
“No, Little Book Bird, that will never happen,” the Author answered calmly.
“But the story moves from the book into an online game!”
“Yes. But the game does not take the story away from the book. It begins with the book. In LittleBookBirdAndWiseOwl, online games appear because there is already a book and its world. There are you and the Wise Owl. There are the places where you traveled. There are those you met. There are the questions you had and the adventures that happened. A story-based online game simply continues the journey that began on the pages of the book.”
“So, for us, an online game does not begin… just by itself?” the Little Book Bird asked.
“Exactly. An ordinary online game can appear anywhere and be about anything. But in LittleBookBirdAndWiseOwl, the games are not random. They simply cannot appear without the book.”
“And without our adventures?”
“Yes. And without your adventures with the Wise Owl.”
The Little Book Bird thought for a moment.
“Oh, I understand!” she said happily.
“Our first journey began in The Book About Birds, Part 1, on the seashore. The first bird we met was a seagull by the sea. And then the online puzzle game The Shore of Meetings and the memory game Seagull Adventures appeared on the website. The cards in that game are so lovely! When each one opens, there is Mrs. Seagull again. What she does. How she lives. Oh, it feels so good to remember our meeting again!” the Little Book Bird chirped happily.
“See? The game did not take the story away from the book. Just the opposite – it helped you remember it, return to that interesting meeting, and notice the details. An online game in LittleBookBirdAndWiseOwl invites us to take one more step into the world of the book. It is simply one more part of the same adventure.”
“So the game does not say, ‘The book is not needed anymore’?”
“No. A story-based online game inspired by a book says something else: ‘Do you remember this story? Now there is one more action to take inside its world.’”
“And the book is still at the center?”
“Yes. Because it was the book that opened this world. It was the book where the journey began. It was the book that gave the characters voices, the places atmosphere, and the adventures meaning. And an online game can continue the action.”
“And remind us of the book!” the Little Book Bird added cheerfully.