AI Turns Classic Novels Into Games to Spur Reading

Could Elizabeth Bennet score someone better than Mr. Darcy? Her happiness (to a degree) is in your hands now that the National Library Board of Singapore and LePub APAC have used AI to turn classic books into games.

“Playbrary” focuses on tales in the public domain. These include Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dracula, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Treasure Island and The Three Musketeers, among many others.

The initiative seeks to reverse the decline in reading rates across Singapore.

“In today’s gaming world, storytelling is paramount. Playbrary aims to present the greatest stories ever written in an interactive, gamified format, inspiring people to read the original books,” says Cyril Louis, ECD at LePub. “As the saying will go, the book is always better than the game.”

Games stick to each book’s original plot while allowing players to get creative as the story unfolds. After a kid “plays” a book, they’re encouraged to read the physical or digital volume.

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Playbrary is available globally in more than 50 languages. The NLB is working directly with schools and libraries to entice young gamers and partnered with game influencer on Twitch to share their favorite books.

“Advanced AI models like ChatGPT don’t yet have a mind of their own,” Louis tells Muse. “The engineering and training of such tools is a novel area that requires substantial experimentation.”

CREDITS

Client: National Reading Movement, National Library Board, Singapore Programme Director: Chris Koh
Senior Manager/Senior Librarian: Ilyani Suhaimi,
Manager: Jennifer Tan

Agency: LePub APAC
Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
Executive Creative Director: Cyril Louis
Executive Creative Director: Andrey Tyukavkin
Creative Director: Sergey Mast
Head of Creative Technology, Publicis Groupe APAC: Laurent Thevenet
Associate Creative Director: Mark Peeters
Associate Creative Director: Robert Nelk
Associate Creative Director: Yuste De Lucas
Associate Creative Director: Rudy Zulkifly
Design Director: Oscar Gutierrez
General Manager: Hanh Kanssen
Senior Project Manager: Farhan Wahab

PR: MSL Singapore
Director: Karen Yap
Consultant: Thiviya Suria Associate: Isha Meleth
Associate: Jee Soo Kim Associate-in-Training: Regine Seow