The Australian gold rush of the 1850s has been the subject of multiple digital experiences of very similar names for nearly three decades. Some were set in Bathurst, others in regional Victoria, some text-based and some with a more visually appealing graphic interface. They all had one element in common, though – they were the embodiment of a narratological lens through which history was (theoretically) being experienced, rather than taught.
Personally, I preferred goldpanning at Sovereign Hill, or riding the mine carts at Hill End. After that, anything else sort of paled by comparison – even if gamified.
Can You Strike It Rich During The Gold Rush? (developed by the National Museum of Australia) is a choose-your-own-adventure style narrative, gamified. Selecting a character – a miner, a wife, a trooper, or an immigrant – sets the player/reader on a path to seeing the Ballarat goldfields from a particular perspective. The narrative follows a typical linear structure, albeit with deviations possible along the way, and gamifies the story periodically with the character presented with opportunities to earn money, spin the wheel of fortune and hopefully avoid being struck down by illness, and build a reputation for being law-abiding or lawless. The options given at each turn mirror the choices faced by known historical figures, some mundane and some life-altering. The narrative moves quickly between life before the gold rush, life on the gold fields, and life after the Eureka Stockade – a lengthy timeline to cover. All in all, a solid example of a traditional historical narrative, if a little lacking in emotional evocativeness and depth.
The digilit/gameplay platform is free to use, and the experience interface is optimised for smartphones, PCs, laptops, and tablets, which contribute to being particularly useful in the classroom. It is touted as both a great introduction and a purposeful independent activity for units of study about European expansion into Australia, the immigration experience, and influences on and foundations of democracy in Year 5 HASS (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2023; National Museum of Australia (NMA), 2023) and Year 9 History (Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2023; National Museum of Australia (NMA), 2023).
The overall quality of the individual elements is, once again, solid though not ground-breaking. The illustrations are clear and do not detract from the information. There is little distraction in the form of animations or irrelevant interactives. The animations are seamless. At the conclusion of the game, the integration of secondary sources and hyperlinks provided to further digitised artefacts enables a smooth transition out of the experience. The absence of an audio-based narration is a noticeable drawback.
This is a classic example of how collective digital literature can be defined as digital work (as opposed to the much-derided digitised work) (Heckman and Bouchardon, 2012) and yet be lacklustre. It is not the gameplay that renders it less than excellent; indeed, gamification is one of the bright spots. It is not the narrative that renders it less than excellent; that is solid. It is the lack of connection via either aspect, which is expected to be established with the audience (reader or player, whichever they choose to be known as) – a failure to acknowledge the 21st Century child as a networked being, hyperaware of their context and searching for ways to link it with the culture, language and values of others (Papazian, 2024). In other examples of gameplay as an experience of digital literature, students cited the experience of ‘being’ the main character, seeing how they interact with their (digital) environment as a primary factor contributing to their engagement (Berger and McDougall, 2013).
In short, Can You Strike It Rich During The Gold Rush? is a solid example of digital literature built for educational purposes. Its accessibility is exceptional and its historical accuracy is exemplary. However, it is unlikely to have further application than the classroom, or garner the same cult following that some examples of similarly-themed artefacts (Oregon Trail, Goldfields, etc.).
References
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2023). Year 5 HASS Standards Australian Curriculum Version 9.0. ACARA. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/hass-f-6/year-5?view=quick&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0&subjects-start-index=0
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2023). Year 9 History Standards Australian Curriculum Version 9.0. ACARA. https://v9.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/learning-areas/history-7-10/year-9?view=quick&detailed-content-descriptions=0&hide-ccp=0&hide-gc=0&side-by-side=1&strands-start-index=0&subjects-start-index=0
Australian Government (2023). Can You Strike It Rich During The Gold Rush? National Museum of Australia. https://www.nma.gov.au/learn/classroom-resources/gold-rush-game
Berger, R., & McDougall, J. (2013). Reading videogames as (authorless) literature. Literacy (Oxford, England), 47(3), 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1111/lit.12004
Bourchardon, S., & Heckman, D. (2012). Digital manipulability and digital literature. Electronic Book Review. http://electronicbookreview.com/essay/digital-manipulability-and-digital-literature/
Papazian, G. (2017). Playing Children’s Literature: Games in and the Gamification of Books for Kids. In A Companion to Children’s Literature (pp. 242–257). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119038276.c20