DIJS: Methodology for the Design and Development of Digital Educational Serious Games

Abstract

Digital serious games (SG) have been considered useful in different fields, including education. Several authors focus on their design and development to minimize posible errors in the process and be able to meet the objectives proposed by the game. This article presents a review that considers works where strategies and methodologies are proposed to facilitate the task of designing a SG. Based on this review, this article presents the novel DIJS methodology for creating digital educational SG. The objective of DIJS is to offer a guided process for fully designing and developing digital educational SG, with a focus on balancing the entertainment and educational aspects of the game. The methodology weaves together the strategies proposed by game designers and those corresponding to instructional design, making it novel and original. DIJS has been evaluated using the expert judgment technique. Among the main results achieved with the methodology, experts highlight its usefulness, and have a positive opinion about its metaphor and the elements that are recommended to use. Aspects for improvement are also described, which will be the starting point for future work.