Our tūpuna often shared oral stories to pass on knowledge, which were handed down to each of us. These stories are known as Pakiwaitara and Pūrākau - Pakiwaitara are stories about life lessons that have a moral ending, and Pūrākau are stories about how the world came to be and how that affects us.

Year 9 Computer Science students applied their animation, logic and programming skills by making a Visual Novel based on Pūrākau and Pakiwaitara. We’ve selected some of the best Visual Novels to share.

The brief was to create a Visual Novel based on a cultural story. The specifications included a minimum of three backdrops, three sprites per backdrop, two sprites must have a script, and it needed a timeframe between 30 seconds to 1 minute. Students researched cultural stories, designed the sprites, and storyboarded their animations. The challenge was working out the timing and sequence of the program. The successful students showed computational thinking and critical thinking skills.