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Contribution short abstract:

The Long Day of Young Peng is an interactive storyline based on the software Twine that uses original ethnographic material to chronicle one day in the life of Peng, a Chinese migrant. As part of post-production, the authors would like to receive feedback on the concept, narrative and interface.

Contribution long abstract:

Digitised ethnographies open new spaces of collaborative learning and provide an alternative to established modes of ethnographic storytelling and publication. The Long Day of Young Peng is an interactive storyline based on the open-source tool Twine that uses original ethnographic material (fieldnotes, interviews, pictures and videos elicited through a participatory approach) to chronicle one day in the life of Peng, a young Chinese migrant. In this interactive ethnography, the player is put in Peng’s shoes on his journey from his native village to Beijing in search of employment. Through interacting with other characters, the player relives Peng’s first day in Beijing and familiarises herself with topics in the scholarship of contemporary Chinese society.

The idea of developing a digitised ethnography came in response to a 2016 LSE Learning and Technology grant to support large-scale, technology-informed initiatives with the potential to have a substantial and lasting impact on teaching practices around the School. The Peng game has been presented in various fora, including the 2017 European Educational Game competition and the 2020 UKRI-funded project Methods for Change. It is currently used in a variety of contexts, from high school classes in Italy to civil servant training in Finland. In 2022, a proposal for updating Peng won two teaching development grants from the LSE Eden Centre and King’s College London. As we enter the post-production phase, we would like to receive feedback on the concept, the narrative and the overall design of the game's interface.