Katie Barrick

What happens when you turn one of the driest topics in academia into a choose-your-own-adventure?
You get Yvette.

Yvette is a simple, narrative-driven educational game that teaches the basics of research data management. I built Yvette as a side project so I could experiment with Twine and make something genuinely fun out of content I taught for years at the University of Minnesota.

THE IDEA

I’ve spent a long time teaching research data management. It’s important. It’s necessary. And it’s usually painfully dry.

So instead of rehashing another slide deck, I asked: What if this felt like a story instead?

Enter Yvette, a new grad student who inherits a long-running lab project right as it’s wrapping up. The data is messy. The stakes are real. And every decision you make shapes the outcome.

(Named for my beloved middle school librarian.)

THE PROCESS

I approached this like both a content problem and a narrative design challenge:

  • Content restructuring:
    Pulled apart dense RDM concepts and regrouped them into intuitive, decision-based chunks
  • Journey mapping (Miro):
    Mapped player flow, branching paths, and decision points before writing a single passage
  • Scenario design:
    Used scenario mapping + persona creation to ground the experience in realistic stakes
  • Interactive build (Twine):
    Brought it to life using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a lightweight but flexible experience
  • Visuals:
    Incorporated illustrations from Open Peeps to keep the tone approachable
  • Playtesting:
    Recruited friends and coworkers to test, iterate, and sanity-check the narrative flow

After a few rounds of tweaks, Yvette was ready to share.

WHY A GAME?

Research data management is often:

  • Required by funders and publishers
  • Critical for reproducibility and long-term access
  • Learned informally, if at all

Traditional training doesn’t always stick. Scenario-based learning does.

By putting players in Yvette’s shoes, the game:

  • Reinforces real-world decision making
  • Shows consequences (good and bad)
  • Encourages active learning instead of passive intake

PLAY

Yvette is hosted on Itch.io and free to play (though not actively maintained).

TAKEAWAY

This project was a sandbox for:

  • Turning complex, technical content into narrative experiences
  • Experimenting with interactive learning design
  • Proving that even the driest topics can be… a little fun

Also: it was a hoot and a half to make.