Teachers: Never Alone in Learning Settings
We've seen some amazing and innovative uses of Never Alone in learning settings like schools, libraries, museums, festivals, camps, after school programs and more. While the game was designed specifically for consumers and not for learning environments, we love to see the game used in new ways and are happy to provide some tips and support to folks who think Never Alone might be a good fit in settings like this.
Platform and Hardware Support
If you are considering using the game in a learning setting, you should make sure the game is supported on your particular platform and hardware. Most schools are interested in the PC, Mac, Linux, iPad and Android editions of the game, though the game is available for a variety of other gaming platforms as well. For a complete list of currently-supported platforms, please see our Buy Now page.
PC, Mac and Linux
If you are interested in the game for PC, Mac or Linux, please review the game's hardware requirements for your preferred platform(s). Minimum and recommended hardware requirements for all three platforms can be found on the game's Steam Store page (the requirements for each platform are the same whether you purchase the game from Steam or another source).
Because the game was designed to support hardware commonly in use in the (2014) consumer games market, schools sometimes find that their devices are not capable of running the game. This can be particularly true with regard to
- Graphics card support
- Available storage space (the game requires 3GB of available local storage on the computer on which it will be played)
- Access to game controllers (we recommend playing with a controller and at least one controller is required for two players to play together on the same computer)
If you are unsure what some of these terms mean or if your devices meet the minimum requirements, please check with someone in your school or organization's IT department. Please note that because performance can vary from system to system (even between systems of the same model or hardware configuration), we cannot guarantee how well the game will work on any particular device or hardware configuration.
Phones and Tablets (iPhone, iPad and Android)
Never Alone: Ki Edition is a version of the game designed specifically for phones and tablets such as iPhone, iPad and Android devices. It became available for iPhone and iPad in early June, 2016 and for Android later that month.
Never Alone: Ki Edition is available for purchase at a discount to participating educational institutions through Apple's Volume Purchase Program for Education. As of this writing, Google has discontinued their Google Play for Education initiative, but the game is available for purchase through the Google Play Store.
For a list of iPhone and iPad models supported in the Ki Edition, please see this article. The Android edition supports a variety of phones and tablets (to check compatibility with your device, please visit the game's listing in the Play Store).
The Play Experience
While Never Alone was designed to be fun for players of different ages and experience levels, you should play the game and evaluate for yourself whether the game's content, player experience and difficulty level are appropriate to your educational setting, users and learning goals. At the highest level, it may be useful to note that the game's difficulty level was calibrated for a general gaming audience and that it takes most players at least a few hours to play the game from start to finish.
Educators may find the Never Alone Parent Guide, developed by the Center for Games and Impact at Arizona State University, helpful in this evaluation process. (Please note that the game's rating was lowered from 'T' to 'E 10' by the ESRB following the Guide's publication).
'Let's Play' Videos
Inside the gamer community, 'Let's Play' videos have become a popular phenomenon. In a Let's Play video, a gamer captures footage of their screen while playing a video game, often along with their reactions and commentary. Watching Let's Play videos can be a great way to get a sense of what a game is like.
Players have created literally thousands of Let's Play videos featuring Never Alone and posted them on sites like YouTube, where they can be found with a quick search. You should know that while we allow and encourage YouTubers (as they're called) to create Let's Play videos featuring Never Alone, we don't control the content of these videos and they are not officially associated with or endorsed by the team or companies behind the game. Some of the videos may contain content (especially language) that viewers may find offensive, so it is best to review them yourself before sharing them with younger audiences.
That being said, our team are huge fans of this Never Alone Let's Play series by YouTuber stacyplays. Stacy's YouTube channel is kid-friendly (she does not use profanity, for example) and we think her series does a fantastic job of showcasing the game.
Cultural Insight Videos
Never Alone contains over 30 minutes of what we call 'Cultural Insight Videos.' These are short documentaries featuring elders, storytellers and other members of the Alaska Native community sharing stories and wisdom about their culture, values and the amazing Arctic world encountered in the game.
The videos are normally unlocked during gameplay and relate directly to the content in the game (for example, when the player first encounters Fox, a video about arctic foxes is unlocked).
We've made all of the Cultural Insight videos available on YouTube in this playlist and educators are welcome to share or display them in educational, noncommercial settings.
Educational Purchasing and Custom Licensing
If you are interested in purchasing a small number of copies of Never Alone for personal, educational, non-commercial use, you may do so via digital download through one of these fine retailers.
Please note that a retail purchase of the game (as described above) does not permit you to resell or redistribute the game (or any product/service incorporating the game or its content), nor does it permit you to use the game (or its content) for public exhibitions or commercial purposes.
We are happy to work with organizations who are interested in custom licensing for Never Alone, for example for commercial use, for public performances/exhibitions and/or volume licensing. Please feel free to contact us via email at support [at] neveralonegame [dot] com with these inquiries.