CRYSTAL ISLAND (see Figure 1) is a narrative-centered learning environment built on Valve Software’s Source engine, the 3D game platform for Half-Life 2.
The curriculum underlying CRYSTAL ISLAND’s mystery narrative is aligned with North Carolina’s standard course of study for eighth-grade microbiology.
Students play the role of the protagonist, Alyx, who is attempting to discover the identity and source of an infectious disease plaguing a research station.
Several of the team members have fallen gravely ill, and it is the student’s task to discover the nature and cause of the outbreak.