Game-construction students experiences of educational games - gaming outcomes and learning outcomes

Abstract

Abstract Game-based learning has been a rapidly expanding field in the 21th century, with research reports praising the motivational effects and learning outcomes of games. At the same time there have been doubts on the learning outcomes of even the most seriously designed learning games. The generation that today enrols for university programmes is in general a gaming generation, and game construction students are often so called hard core gamers. What are the game construction students’ experiences of educational games, and what are their perceived learning outcomes? This study is based on student essays on gaming habits and game-based learning outcomes, written by students taking a course on game-based learning. Essays from four course batches have been thematically analysed to answer the two research questions. Findings show that students have a rich experience of various kinds of games, but that they do not make any clear distinction between games developed for educational purposes, and other games. Students also perceive that there are cognitive, behavioural as well as affective learning outcomes from both standard entertainment games, and more serious learning games.