This month, we’re spotlighting 5 game-inspired ways members are making learning more interactive, from fully playable experiences to subtle gamification techniques. Whether it's timers, tokens, characters, or challenges, these projects show how playful design can boost engagement and creativity in course development.
🍳 Cooking Game (Jeopardy Style) by Ekaterina V.
Ekaterina combines gamification with culinary flair in this Jeopardy-style cooking challenge. From custom characters and personalized feedback to a Pomodoro-style timer and dynamic scoring, it’s a fun, layered example of interactive course design.
🔗 View the post | 📁 Download the .story file available at the bottom of this post
- Try It Yourself: A Simple Way to Get Started with Gamification in Storyline, How to Create A Jeopardy! Style Game
- Ways to Repurpose This Idea: The cooking theme is just one application. This Jeopardy-style game structure works anywhere learners need to choose topics and answer timed questions. Repurpose it for safety drills, compliance check-ins, product training, onboarding trivia, and more.
🎈 Balloon Boy’s Buoyancy Quiz by Jonathan_Hill
This physics-inspired quiz uses balloons to represent learner progress. Each incorrect answer costs you a balloon, and your remaining balloons determine the final outcome. Built on a single slide with layers and JavaScript-enhanced feedback, it's a smart example of doing more with less.
🔗 View the post | 📁 Download the .story file available at the bottom of this post
- Try it Yourself: Working with Layers in Storyline, The Basics of JavaScript in Storyline 360
- Ways to Repurpose This Idea: The balloon-loss idea is a fun way to show progress and give instant feedback. You could use the same approach anywhere learners “lose” something when they answer incorrectly, like in team challenges, survival-style scenarios, or high-pressure quizzes where mistakes matter.
⚫ Go Game Board by ThierryEMMANUEL
Inspired by the game of Go, Thierry uses button sets and custom states to simulate strategic gameplay. While it’s not a full game, it’s a smart look at how interface mechanics can drive interactivity.
🔗 View the post | 📁 Download the .story file at the bottom of this post
- Try it Yourself: Storyline 360: Working with Button Sets, Storyline 360: Adding and Editing States
- Ways to Repurpose This Idea: Choosing one item at a time using button sets isn’t just for games; it’s a great way to build decision-making activities, simulations, or strategy-based challenges. Try it for card sorting, priority ranking, or resource allocation in a more traditional learning context.
🧯 Top-Down Office Escape Game by HarryLawrence
Harry built a 3-level arcade-style game focused on fire safety training. From WASD movement and item collection to sound effects and a working health bar, this project shows off the depth of what Storyline can do.
🔗 View the post | 📁 Download the .story file at the bottom of this post
- Try it Yourself: Deconstructing a Simple Gamified Experience with Storyline
- Ways to Repurpose This Idea: This arcade-style setup is great for any learning experience where exploration plays a key role. You could reuse the movement mechanics for things like lab safety walkthroughs, facility tours, or emergency preparedness drills.
🏰 Escape the Castle by PhilMayor
A nostalgic, playful adventure inspired by childhood games, Phil’s castle escape blends narrative and interactivity in a simple, engaging experience.
🔗 View the post 📁 Download the .story file at the bottom of this post
- Try it Yourself: Getting Started with Interactivity in Storyline, Using Audio in Storyline
- Ways to Repurpose This Idea: While it’s themed as a castle escape, the story-based challenge structure works in all kinds of learning contexts like customer support simulations, compliance decision paths, or narrative-driven knowledge checks.
💬 Your Turn:
- What’s your favorite way to gamify a course? Timers, branching, points, badges? Drop your ideas or examples in the comments!
- Bonus: Have ideas for how you’d repurpose one of these techniques? Share your take in the comments! We love seeing how one idea can spark different designs.
🏅 Want to Be Featured Next?
We’re always looking to highlight inspiring examples from the community, and your work could be next! Here's what we look for in a standout submission:
- A downloadable .story file so others can explore, adapt, and learn from your build.
- A clear explanation of what you built, how it works, and what makes it unique.
- Behind-the-scenes insight into your process, techniques, tools, or challenges you tackled.
- Purposeful design, whether it’s solving a problem, teaching a concept, or experimenting with a new approach.
- Bonus: Share your ideas for how your design is widely applicable beyond the specific example.
Got something cool to share? Post it in Share Examples and you might see it featured in an upcoming roundup!
