Abstract
BackgroundSerious games are motivating and provide a safe environment for students to learn from their mistakes without experiencing any negative consequences from their actions. However, little is known about students’ gaming preferences and the types of serious games they like to play for education.ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the types of gaming aspects that students would like to play in a pharmacy-related serious game.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-administered survey, which obtained students’ responses on their preferences regarding various gaming aspects (reward systems, game settings, storylines, viewing perspectives, and gaming styles) and for a hypothetical gaming scenario (authentic simulation or post-apocalyptic fantasy). Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and Fisher’s exact tests were used for statistical analyses.ResultsResponse rate was 72.7% (497/684 undergraduates). The most popular game reward systems were unlocking mechanisms (112/497, 22.5%) and experience points (90/497, 18.1%). Most students preferred fantasy/medieval/mythic (253/497, 50.9%) and modern (117/497, 23.5%) settings, but lower year undergraduates preferred modern settings less than upper year seniors (47/236, 19.9% vs 70/242, 28.9%, P=.022). Almost one-third (147/497, 29.6%) preferred an adventurer storyline or an authentic pharmacy-related plot (119/497, 23.9%), and a collaborative game style was most preferred by the students (182/497, 36.6%). Three-dimensional game perspectives (270/497, 54.3%) were more popular than two-dimensional perspectives (221/497, 44.5%), especially among males than females (126/185, 68.1% vs 142/303, 46.9%, P<.001). In terms of choice for a pharmacy-related serious game, a post-apocalyptic fantasy game (scenario B, 287/497, 57.7%) was more popular than an authentic simulation game (scenario A, 209/497, 42.1%). More males preferred the post-apocalyptic fantasy scenario than females (129/187, 69.0% vs 155/306, 50.7%, P<.001).ConclusionsIn general, students want a three-dimensional, fantasy/medieval/mythic post-apocalyptic game, based on an adventurer storyline with an unlocking mechanism reward system. A balance between real-life and fantasy elements needs to be struck in order for the game to cater students towards health care practices.
Highlights
Today’s “serious games” is serious business; as stated by Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Serious Games Initiative, the serious games market is at $20 million, and digital gaming is a $10 billion per year industry, and the market is expected to grow over the decade
Even a brief survey of the literature soon reveals that there seems to be as many definitions available as there are actors involved, but most agree on a core meaning that serious games are games used for purposes other than mere entertainment
In addition to obvious advantages, like allowing learners to experience situations that are impossible in the real world for reasons of safety, cost, time, etc. (Corti, 2006; Squire & Jenkins, 2003), serious games, it is argued, can have positive impacts on the players’ development of a number of different skills
Summary
Today’s “serious games” is serious business; as stated by Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Serious Games Initiative, the serious games market is at $20 million, and digital gaming is a $10 billion per year industry (van Eck, 2006), and the market is expected to grow over the decade. Michael and Chen (2006, p.21) define serious games as “games that do not have entertainment, enjoyment, or fun as their primary purpose”, a definition clearly in line with the one adopted by, e.g., PIXELearning (PIXELearning.com, 2006-11-14); “The use of computer game and simulation approaches and/or technologies for primarily nonentertainment purposes”.
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