Inanimate Alice is a landmark, born digital narrative series, of which seven episodes have been released (Boyd, 2013). A born digital narrative is a multi-modal text that has been designed in, and for, digital environments (Allan, 2017; Walsh, 2013). Despite previously being freely accessible via the internet, a bundle of the first five Inanimate Alice episodes can be downloaded for $9.99 USD from the text’s website (Bradfield Narrative Designs Inc., 2022).
Inanimate Alice can also be categorised as “game-based storytelling” and is an early, significant example of a transmedia text (Cowdy, 2016; Walsh, 2013). Transmedia stories are often nonlinear and use multiple media platforms while combining features such as audio-visual content, text, graphics, and games (Fleming, 2013; Hamilton, 2019). These text types actively encourage reader participation so that readers can be co-constructors of digital narratives (Hovious et al., 2020).
Even though Inanimate Alice, particularly the first episode, is not a recent text, it is worthy of review due to its wide-reaching, global impact. Episode one has been used by teachers in over 100 countries, it has stirred much academic interest, and the series has been recommended as part of the Australian national curriculum for English (Hovious et al., 2020). Moreover, a research group has been established to recommend Inanimate Alice as a high-quality exemplar text of digital literature (Hovious et al., 2020).
The first episode, released in 2005, is set in remote Northern China where the protagonist Alice is eight years old and being home-schooled by her mother Ming (Pullinger et al., 2005). Subsequent episodes follow Alice as she travels with her parents to different countries around the world (Allan, 2017). The structure of episode one’s narrative is simple; readers learn that Alice’s dad, who works in the oil industry, has been missing for two days. The episode is told from Alice’s first-person perspective whereby Alice and her mother set out in their car to look for him.
Evaluative criteria
| Criterion Description | Evaluation notes | |
| 1 | The text is appropriately presented in digital format | As a born-digital text, episode one integrates multimodal features, such as: printed text, visuals, moving images, sound, and interactive games. These are integral to the story because they are used by the reader to make inferences about narrative gaps regarding character and plotlines (Walsh, 2013).
The predominant mood of the text is uneasiness and escalating anxiety about Alice’s dad’s safety. This feeling is amplified by soundscapes of white noise and electronic sounds, blurry footage of cars, split screens, and Alice’s comment: “I am frightened too” (Pullinger et al., 2005). |
| 2 | The text takes advantage of features the digital world allows, beyond what is possible in print | Technology is authentically embedded throughout the story, and it enhances the core narrative (Fleming, 2013).
An example of this is Alice’s handheld gaming device, which she calls her ‘ba-xi’ (Pullinger et al., 2005). Readers interact with the device to take photos of wildflowers that Alice wants to email to her dad, view illustrations of her virtual friend Brad and type notes about things she wants to be doing, rather than searching for her father. These game and messaging elements are appealing to digitally savvy readers (Walsh, 2013). |
| 3 | Supplementary features align with the text | There are connected resources within the first episode of Inanimate Alice such as embedded documents, text and emails on Alice’s ba-xi, photographs of everyday life in China, maps, and floor plans of ‘base camp’ (Lamb, 2011). On the last screen, there is a hyperlink to the Inanimate Alice website and episodes for purchase (Bradfield Narrative Designs Inc., 2022). |
| 4 | Interactive features maintain the integrity of the main story | Readers must interact with the text by clicking on arrows or other visual elements, watching footage, and playing Alice’s ba-xi to progress with the narrative (Hamilton, 2019). This is outlined to readers on the opening page. Readers are also informed that they can view the navigational panel on the right-hand side to return to earlier scenes, but they cannot skip forward. The interactive graphics serve to further immerse readers in the story, rather than distract them (Javorsky & Trainin, 2014). |
| 5 | Digital features support readers’ acquisition of words or comprehension | The white printed text is striking against the black background (Yokota & Teale, 2014). Unfortunately, there are no options for the text to be read aloud. There are a few words spoken by Alice’s ba-xi, in a Chinese dialect, but these are without translation or subtitles. This adds to the enigmatic atmosphere of the narrative but does not support language learning. |
| 6 | The story within the digital text has literary merit | The Inanimate Alice series’ popularity is unrivalled, and it has been translated into at least seven languages other than English (Allan, 2017). It was the first digital story to feature as part of Australian national English curriculum (Boyd, 2013). |
Reference List
Allan, C. (2017). Digital fiction: ‘Unruly object’ or literary artefact? English in Australia, 52(2), 21-27.
Boyd, B. (2013). Learning objectives: Meeting the needs of young people and the curriculum. Inanimate Alice Australia. https://www.inanimatealice.com/australia/resources/assets/
photostory1/education/bill_boyd.pdf
Bradfield Narrative Designs Inc. (2022). Inanimate Alice. https://inanimatealice.com/
Cowdy, C. (2016). Pedagogical encounters with Inanimate Alice: Digital mobility, transmedia storytelling, and transnational experiences. Jeunesse, Young People, Texts & Cultures, 8(1), 154-179.
Fleming, L. (2013). Expanding learning opportunities with transmedia practices: Inanimate Alice as an exemplar. Journal of media literacy education, 5(2), 370-377.
Hovious, A., Shinas, V. H., & Harper, I. (2020). The compelling nature of transmedia storytelling: Empowering twenty first century readers and writers through multimodality. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 26(1), 215-229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-020-09437-7
Hamilton, L. (2019). Inanimate Alice. Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, 27(1), 71-74.
Javorsky, K., & Trainin, G. (2014). Teaching young readers to navigate a digital story when rules keep changing. The Reading Teacher, 67(8), 606-618. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1259
Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12-17.
Pullinger, K., Joseph, C., & Harper, I. (2005). Inanimate Alice: Episode 1 [Computer software]. The Bradfield Company Ltd.
Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment. In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers (pp. 181-194). Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
Header Image Source: Figure 1. Screenshot from the digital text (Pullinger et al., 2005).
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