The Blackthorn Manor: A Case Study in Teaching Software Engineering for Computer Games Courses Using CodePlay Framework

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to make use of the CodePlay framework to teach software engineering in a computer games development cohort and record whether the use of such systems can enhance student attendance, satisfaction and performance. This is based on content gamification, tabletop role-playing games and the concept of student-generated assessment. In this experiment, students play the role of a character exploring a haunted mansion, and the in-game role-playing shapes the final assignment. This case study reports findings from a Level 5 cohort of 35 students enrolled in the unit “Software Engineering for Games: Methods and Tools” in computer games development (Software Development) and (Indie) courses, at Solent University. While this paper is the application of the CodePlay framework, the framework itself is analyzed in its complementary paper “CodePlay: A Tabletop Role-Playing Game System used in Teaching Game Programming using Content Gamification”.