The National Museum of Taiwan Literature (NMTL) has launched a digital obstacle course titled "Isle of Monsters (夢獸之島)." It is Taiwan's first literature-themed online game that takes inspiration from the museum's literary works and collections for its storyline.
The script of this game was the top winner of the student category of a scriptwriting competition for digital games hosted by the museum in 2018.
Harnessing technology for generating 3D and virtual-reality content, "Isle of Monsters" is an online game that can be downloaded from the Google Play app store to Android-driven computers, smartphones, and VR systems. The iOS version of this game for Apple devices will be introduced shortly as well.
NMTL Director Su Shuo-bin (蘇碩斌) pointed out that all museums need to stay attentive to the progress of society and technology so that such venues can quickly adjust their interactivity, engagement, and range of services. For instance, being aware that literature is the origin of story production, NMTL has been tuning up its skills in narrating stories.
He added that "Isle of Monsters" is an unprecedented breakthrough released at a time when the Ministry of Culture is working hard to breathe new life into the extensive collections housed by Taiwan's museums.
In line with the Ministry's policy, the NMTL identified important artifacts among its collections and produced 3D versions for use in digital gaming, and held an open call for scripting online games involving the digitized artifacts. When the top winner was determined, game developers were contracted to develop the game based on the script.
"Isle of Monsters" was co-created by sisters Pan Ying-chen (潘瑩真) and Pan Chiu-ju (潘秋如). Pan Chiu-ju, a graduate of the Department of Taiwanese Literature of National Cheng Kung University, emotionally shared her enjoyment of reading Taiwanese literary works and writing stories. Pan Ying-chen, a self-professed introverted gamer, added that she was really excited about working with her sister on the script.
The Pan sisters took inspiration from the rattan chair used by writer Yeh Shih-tao (葉石濤), the prose "Inscriptions by Notable Figures during Travels by Foot (名人題字錄)" by writer-filmmaker Chang Shen-chieh (張深切), the wheelchair from writer Long Ying-zong (龍瑛宗), the dolls of editor Lin Hai-yin (林海音), and the suitcase of writer Yao Yi-wei (姚一葦).
They specifically chose five artifacts for the game because the wares represent the literature of Taiwan that the five literary figures must fight to protect. Players must use the literary knowledge represented by the five artifacts to overcome obstacles and save this body of literature. The word "isle" from the title is a reference to Taiwan.
"Isle of Monsters" was made possible by the NMTL's collaboration with the Tainan-based Axis 3D Technology, Inc. (愛迪斯科技), and the museum plans to launch new open calls for literary scripts that can be used to produce real-life games such as live-action escape rooms, making games another channel for evoking Taiwanese literature in daily life.