Abstract
Serious games for learning have received increased attention in recent years. However, empirical studies on students’ gaming experiences throughout the developmental process of serious games and discussions regarding game design are missing. The aims of the present study were to analyze students’ gaming experiences while playing four consecutive versions of the Number Navigation Game (NNG)—a mathematical game-based learning environment focusing on flexibility and adaptivity with whole-number arithmetic; and to provide an extensive review of the NNG developmental and design process over 3 years with focus on how and why the design decisions were made, and how those choices affected students’ gaming experiences. The study employed a mixed-methods design of quantitative and qualitative research. The Game Experience Questionnaire about eight core game experience dimensions was answered by different groups of students at primary schools in Finland in three different experiments after students played four versions of the NNG from 2014 to 2016. Six semi structured interviews related to students’ game experiences, preferences and game features of the latest version of NNG were conducted. Overall, results indicate that improvement in game’s usability and clarity in the user interface has positive impacts on students’ game experiences. Furthermore, there seems to be a clear advantage in having better aesthetics and value in improving extrinsic elements that could contribute to maintain players’ enthusiasm and situational interest in serious games.
Highlights
IntroductionDigital games have emerged as instructional tools for educational purposes
Over the past decades, digital games have emerged as instructional tools for educational purposes
We describe the students’ game experiences playing three versions of the Navigation Game (NNG) and explore how changes in the NNG development related to gaming experiences
Summary
Digital games have emerged as instructional tools for educational purposes. Eck (2006) argued that game-based learning design needs to find “synergy” between educational goals and engaging factors; whereas Habgood and Ainsworth (2011a; b) advocated for designing intrinsically integrated games, in which learning materials are embodied within game mechanics Designing and developing such games is a complicated and challenging task. An effective serious game needs to have a sound pedagogical framework and intriguing gaming elements Such educational games, were often inadequately interpreted as the focus mostly fell on whether the games fulfilled their educational promises, rather than how they were designed and developed, how the design choices were made (and why), and how those choices (including mistakes) affected the outcomes (Gaydos 2015). Concerns about the quality of serious game design are often absent in serious game studies (Mitgutsch and Alvarado 2012)
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