Exploring player agency in educational video games

Abstract

Player agency is the freedom and control to make decisions during gameplay. Game designers shape player agency by including alternative storylines, optional objectives, and developing a range of mechanics thereby enriching player experience with novelty and variety during gameplay. So far, there is a dearth of studies that focus on giving autonomy to players over the use of learning mechanic in educational games. This study explores the impact of providing players with the autonomy over the use of learning mechanic. Students interacted with two versions of a computer programming game prototype differing in the level of player agency in terms of freedom to employ the learning mechanics during gameplay. We employed quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate if player agency affected students’ learning outcomes, game enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation to learn. The results have implications for design of educational games, suggesting that incorporating player agency, particularly in the context of choosing learning mechanics, can enhance enjoyment and intrinsic motivation without compromising the educational effectiveness of the game.