WizardOfMath: A top-down puzzle game with RPG elements to hone the player's arithmetic skills

Abstract

As one of the important education subjects’ mathematics difficulties can lead to tension and be described as the most hated or feared subject. This study aims to create a puzzle game application with RPG elements called WizardOfMath to increase a user's interest in mathematics subject. The research method includes a method called Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC), which has a pre-production stage that is suitable for game development rather than the Waterfall method. A game application is built based on the prior requirement gathering. The evaluation was arranged using the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) survey which is performed by providing an online form to the public. Reliability test of GEQ modules meets Cronbach's Alpha value above 0.7 and the validity test of the r table is greater than 0.05. The results calculation of the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) from a total of 55 participants and 3 modular structures, which are the Core module, In-game Module, and Post-game Module obtained an average score of 4.06, 3.88, and 3.57 for positive aspects and 2,72, 2.67, and 2,61 for the negative aspect. The contribution of this study shows this puzzle game application with RPG elements decreased user tension and the negative effect of being involved with mathematics subjects.