Game Design Research Articles

Navigating Academic Horizons: The Role of Location-Based Games in Multidisciplinary University Transition

The study focuses on the development and evaluation of a location-based game called CMU Journey, which is aimed at helping first-year students become acquainted with their new university setting during the phase of transition. The study’s three primary goals are to: (1) create a location-based game to improve knowledge acquisition related to university transition for freshmen; (2) evaluate the performance of the developed location-based game in supporting knowledge acquisition relevant to university transition; and (3) explore students’ experiences and perspectives with the location-based game designed for university transition. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study collects quantitative data through pre-post measures as well as qualitative data synthesis using an online open-ended questionnaire. Participants in the study are from Chiang Mai University’s Humanities and Social Sciences (N = 434), Technology and Science (N = 341), and Medical and Health (N = 256) programs. The findings show that students who finished the program learned considerable information about starting university, had a favorable attitude regarding studying due to the location-based game, and experienced motivation. An examination of both quantitative data from surveys and qualitative feedback from utilized data found a mix of both positive and negative comments from users. The results presented indicate the potential of location-based games as a beneficial tool for assisting with university transition, along with opportunities for future game design and implementation improvements.

Balancing enjoyment and learning in teaching software project management with game-based learning

Despite advancements in project management education, project failures remain common, often due to insufficient experience and skills. Games offer a valuable platform for teaching practical project management skills, allowing players to learn from mistakes without significant economic costs. However, many serious games in this field lack focus on engagement and motivation. The "Software Project Management Game" introduced in this article addresses these issues by incorporating motivational game design principles, drawing inspiration from entertainment games like Game Dev Tycoon and The Sims. The game ensures a smooth flow without unnecessary interruptions, putting players in control. Players progress through five projects of increasing complexity, gradually developing their skills and learning soft skills and task dependencies. This article details the design, implementation, and evaluation of the game, focusing on gameflow, intrinsic motivation, perceived learning, and usability. The results indicate that the game successfully balances enjoyment and learning, making it an effective tool for teaching core project management skills.

Using digital mobile games to increase the support for nature conservation

AbstractDigital games are an increasingly dominant form of digital entertainment with billions of players globally. While most of these games have a commercial focus, fields like public health and education have seen a growth of “serious games,” which aim to solve real world problems. In the context of biodiversity conservation, mobile games have been controversial, with some raising concerns around the way digital channels risk replacing the very nature they portray, therefore deepening a “nature‐deficit disorder.” We ran a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of the mobile game “Kākāpō Run” on pro‐environmental behaviors amongst a cohort of 200 participants in New Zealand. Kākāpō Run was developed by a UK conservation charity, and aims to increase the support for Kākāpō conservation, as well as to increase pro‐environmental behaviors linked to Kākāpō conservation. Study participants completed a 10‐minute questionnaire before spending 1 hour playing their assigned mobile game over seven days. This was monitored by asking participants to share screenshots of their app usage for the duration of the experiment. After this, all participants re‐took the questionnaire. We found a positive impact across some knowledge and attitudes questions, behavioral intentions linked to willingness to volunteer time and support policies aiming to remove invasive predators, as well as manage pet cats actively. However, we found no change in willingness to donate or actual donations. This research showcases both the potential of mobile games for conservation outreach and marketing, and the importance of rigorous impact evaluation. We call for conservationists engaged in designing and promoting mobile games to approach game design and evaluation in a more research‐centered way to help develop an evidence base around the intended and unintended consequences of game playing. This mainstreaming of gaming science across conservation will be critical to allow mobile games to realize their potential as a leading communication channel.

Research on Animation Character Expression Generation Based on Attention Conditioned Cyclegan

With advancements in computer vision and AI, deep learning is applied in animation and game design to enhance facial expression realism. This study proposes ACCGAN, an innovative method for automated animated character expression generation and transfer using deep learning. By integrating cycle consistency, conditional generation, and attention mechanisms, ACCGAN optimizes GANs in capturing complex expression features, maintaining naturalness, and accurately expressing details. ACCGAN utilizes multi-level attention mechanisms, dynamically adjusting focus on key facial features, enhancing capture and expression.

The Role of Relevance in Shaping Perceptions of Sleep Hygiene Games Among University Students: Mixed Methods Study.

Sleep games are an emerging topic in the realm of serious health game research. However, designing features that are both enjoyable and effective at engaging users, particularly university students, to develop healthy sleep habits remains a challenge. This study aims to investigate user preferences for 3 sleep game prototypes, that is, Hero's Sleep Journey, Sleep Tamagotchi, and Sleepland, and to explore their popularity and perceived utility in promoting sleep health. A mixed methods approach was used in this study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a co-design workshop involving 47 university students. Participants were presented with storyboard cards of game features and were asked to provide an overall rating on each game, as well as ratings for individual features. They were also encouraged to provide free-form comments on the features and suggest improvements. In addition, participants were asked to express their preferences among the 3 games regarding which game they would most like to play and which one they found most useful for promoting sleep health. Surprisingly, while Hero's Sleep Journey was the most popular choice among participants, Sleep Tamagotchi was perceived as the most beneficial for improving sleep health. Relevance emerged as an overarching theme in the qualitative data analysis, with 3 interconnected dimensions: psychological relevance to users' personal lives, logical relevance to sleep health, and situational relevance to users' circumstantial context. We discussed how the 3 dimensions of relevance address the autonomy and relatedness constructs outlined in the self-determination theory and proposed 3 design recommendations. Our serious sleep game prototypes demonstrated the potential to engage university students to develop healthy sleep hygiene. Future sleep game designs should aim to create a sense of relevance to users' personal lives, sleep health goals, and situational contexts. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, it is essential to develop a wide range of game genres and features to cater to diverse users. Aligning game features with sleep health goals and educating users on the design rationale through sleep knowledge are also important aspects. Furthermore, allowing users to customize their game experience and manage technology boundaries is necessary to nurture a sense of control and autonomy in the process of forming good sleep hygiene.

Game Designers’ Experiences with Educational Game Design Elements: From Practice to Conception!

Educational game (EG) designing processes have adopted various processes and approaches over the last decades. While many articles report EG design elements that can potentially assist in effective EG design, not much research exists on whether game designers use/agree with those elements. In considering the aforementioned, the questions arise with game designers’ practices: how do they approach EG design elements in their process? Are there any core elements they include in their EG designing practices? Are there any other aspects that influence their EG designing process? Therefore, this paper reports on the above-addressed questions and how game designers and their experiences in designing EGs can present insightful gaming elements associated with EGs. Based in Australia, a phenomenological approach was adopted to conduct semi-structured interviews to gather the essence of their experiences. Seventeen game designer participants attended two-hour interview sessions. Interpretive thematic analysis was used to identify emerging themes until saturation was achieved (Braun and Clarke 2012). The analysis was concurrently grounded through the concepts of the theory of experience, including continuity, interaction, situation, freedom, and desire which drives the purpose to apply and contextualize the growth of experience (Dewey 1938). In conclusion, an “Essential” Educational Game Elements (EGEs) framework is proposed with design elements collating all relevant elements/factors, necessary theories, and mechanics suggested by game designers for consideration in the design process as they have practiced. Lastly, researchers in educational/serious games are encouraged to consider the application of the proposed framework in designing EGs to further expand its limitations.

Games Design Frameworks: A Novel Approach for Games Design Pedagogy

The discipline of Games Design has surged in popularity in higher education as a route to industry for aspiring game developers. Notably, at the time of writing 138 UK Universities are now offering game design degrees, and many further education institutions. This growth is not only in volume but also in the diversity of students who enrol in these courses. Young learners, coming from various backgrounds and with differing levels of professional and academic experience, are drawn to games as a field of study. Games disciplines (such as Games Art, Design, and Programming) are often seen as more accessible than their comparative parent disciplines (such as Computer Science). This diversity presents both an opportunity and a challenge for educators: to develop teaching methodologies that not only cater to a wide range of experiences but also effectively prepare students for the creative and technical demands of the games industry. This paper introduces a pioneering design concept utilized in the pedagogy of game design, namely the use of game frameworks. A framework is a structure built in a video games engine, containing a pre-made, playable game experience, which students are taught to build upon and modify. Frameworks abstract and modularise fundamental, complex elements of the game creation process, allowing new learners to quickly become engaged with the iterative process of designing gameplay. It also allows educators to focus on a specific area of interest. For example, a student can focus just on the UI elements of the game for a whole module of study, without needing to have built the entire game first. This allows students to focus on the elements being taught, without introducing a significant amount of non-assessed content just to enable to learning. This position paper discusses our application of this approach, including the process of framework design, supportive assessment, successes and challenges.

Sustainable Sip: Learning Concepts Of Business Sustainability Through A Hybrid Game

We present Sustainable Sip, a hybrid multiplayer round-based game designed to provide an experiential learning environment for university-level students at the University of Queensland, Australia. It aims to facilitate literacy around the fundamental concepts of business sustainability, specifically the tensions and interplay between economics and sustainability, and systems thinking. This paper represents stage 1 of this project (design, development, testing). Impact assessment will be covered by stage 2 (application), which is outside the scope of this paper. Each player manages a coffee shop in a competitive market, seeking to maximise their customer base, whilst minimising the production of waste (unsold coffee tokens). Each round, players must decide how much coffee (inventory) to buy from the wholesaler, and the price to sell coffee to customers. Players aim to balance the dimensions of economic performance, environmental sustainability, and customer loyalty; the player that best achieves this wins the ‘Sustainable Sipper’ award. ‘Customer loyalty’ is a central concept, calculated in the app for each player and is influenced by the shop’s coffee price, quantity of waste the shop produces, and a player’s ability to meet customer demand. The game design explicitly draws from system thinking, user-centred and hybrid design, and from self-determination theory (motivation). Sustainable Sip has undergone early testing with preliminary feedback highlighting that the gameplay is simple, intuitive and interactive, aspects that are attributable in part to the game design and the hybrid approach.

From Consoles to Classrooms: Preliminary Insights About Pre-Service Teachers and Video Games

Integrating video games into the classroom is a promising way to enhance learning experiences, as the market of serious games is expanding. European schools are investing in digital equipment, and the use of educational video games is technologically viable. Nonetheless, actual experiences of video games in class are still rare. A key gap to be explored is understanding how pre-service secondary teachers perceive and are prepared to use digital games in their future classrooms. Do they think it would enhance their teaching and their students’ learning? Do they feel prepared for it? To answer these questions, and possibly address future challenges, we conducted a comprehensive study with students at Zurich University of Teacher Education (PHZH). The research process began with the development and testing of a detailed questionnaire that focused on participants' personal gaming behaviour, preferences, and perceptions of the educational potential of video games. Key areas such as serious games, game design, gamification, game-based learning, and game culture were explored to assess the relevance and understanding of these concepts in an educational context. This paper explains the development and structure of the questionnaire as a measurement instrument as well as the underlying literature and methodological considerations. The first implementation and the preliminary survey with 48 PHZH students are presented, and the practicability and reliability of the questionnaire are evaluated. The result of the survey suggests pre-service teachers are generally positive about integrating video games and game design into the classroom, yet enthusiasm is not enough without additional support.

Integrating Learning and Serious Game Design: The Development and Application of the Learning and Game Integration (LGI) Framework using the ‘Blackout’ Serious Game

Serious games are increasingly recognised as effective educational tools capable of simulating complex scenarios that traditional methods cannot replicate. This paper introduces the Learning and Game Integration (LGI) Framework, designed to seamlessly integrate educational content with interactive game design. Utilising the “Blackout” serious game, which simulates real world complex problem, this study demonstrates how the LGI Framework can be utilised as learning intervention to enhance learning by teaching Design Thinking to university students. The framework consists of four stages: Educational Content Integration, Theoretical Underpinning, Case Study Selection, and Game Design. The “Blackout” game enables students to engage with various stakeholder perspectives, deeply analyse problems, and develop innovative solutions under crisis conditions. Preliminary feedback from its implementation in an undergraduate business course (N=753) indicates increased student engagement and confidence in applying Design Thinking concepts. This paper contributes to the field of business education by presenting an innovative approach to teaching innovative problem-solving skills through serious games, emphasising the need for holistic educational frameworks that bridge theoretical learning with real-world application.

Learning from Designing a Board Game for Policy Thinking in Computer Science

Technology does not exist in a vacuum, but is influenced by society and at the same time shaping it. In order to educate future computer scientists to be able to assess and create technology in a conscious and responsible manner, we provide first-year Computer Science (CS) students with an introductory course on different ways of thinking about CS by offering them a transdisciplinary view of the field. As we continuously strive to use engaging teaching methods to foster long-lasting interest for the topics of the course, as well as enhancing students’ learning experiences, we have introduced a unique game-based learning pipeline: In a game design course, advanced CS students design non-digital games that address various topics from the introductory course. These games are later played by first-year CS students, who are reflecting on the content and their experience as a part of their course assignments. In order to learn from the first iteration of this process, we analyse one of the games created, in particular its design and the educational objectives intended by the game designers, including the students’ feedback. We found that the game was perceived to be good in achieving learning outcomes; however, it scored even higher in terms of being an interesting and entertaining game. Overall, we conclude that the game was successful in creating an engaging learning experience, demonstrating the potential for game-based learning with non-digital games. This case study also highlights the importance of creating a suitable environment for game-based learning approaches to enhance the educational effects and utilise individual strengths of educational games, providing inspiration and groundwork for future research.

Understanding Stakeholder Perspectives: Towards the Design of a Serious Game for Positive Energy Districts

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are highly energy-efficient urban areas that manage a surplus production of renewable energy. Recognising the key role they can play in the transition to a less carbon-dependent society, the European Commission launched its PED Programme in 2018, to implement and support the development of PEDs. However, as PEDs are still a relatively new concept, their implementation can be challenging, and local administrators often lack clear guidance and reference points for their design, implementation and evaluation. To address this issue, the Positive RObust PEd Localities (PROPEL) project has among its main objectives the design of a serious game to provide practical insights and user-friendly tools for local administrators interested in implementing and developing PEDs. Indeed, by drawing on the power of digital games to set goals and allow the player to autonomously define a strategy to achieve them within a set of constraints, serious games can be a very powerful tool to support local administrators in their decision-making process, enabling them to explore multiple scenarios and to evaluate the results of their choices. This paper outlines the design principles and the main features of a serious game aimed at supporting local administrators in the implementation of PEDs. These design principles and features are derived from a research process comprising several steps. Firstly, the drivers and barriers to the adoption of a serious game among local administrators were identified. This was done through in-depth interviews with local administrators and PEDs experts from the different countries involved in the PROPEL project, namely Italy, Sweden, and Turkey. Secondly, a comparative analysis of serious games developed for related research purposes was carried out. This provided further suggestions for the features of the serious game. The findings underscore the significance of incorporating real data, adopting a modular structure to emulate the systemic complexity of PEDs, and ensuring accessibility across multiple devices as paramount features that the serious game should have.

The Ideological Dilemma in Using Games in Global Citizenship and Development Education

The objective of this paper is to contribute to discourse informing the use of computer games in Global Citizenship and Development Education. In doing so, it addresses the incompatibility and conflict between the values imbedded in games and those informing development education practice. It is aimed at both formal and informal educators who see the potential in using games in their practice and want to reconcile this dilemma. It is also aimed at policy makers and influencers who want to shape the structures governing such digital spaces in the public interest. The research involved an interdisciplinary literature review across the fields of Education, Game Design, colonialism and social activism. The analysis takes a postcolonial perspective and is informed by the theory and practice of critical pedagogy in youth work and development education. The study was conducted as part of Doctoral research and project work with NGOs over a seven-year period to 2024. In this context it is important to note that this is a rapidly changing and evolving sector. The development of computer games and immersive technologies over the past 20 years has been transformational, in their interactive capabilities and global proliferation, particularly with the emergence of “The Metaverse”. Such expansion has been critiqued as a process of Colonialism, where young people’s time, creativity, identities and attention is being commodified, monetised, packaged and sold to the highest bidder. The structure of the games industry, their content and the ecosystem surrounding gaming are all ideologically driven. Such ideology aligns with one of three systems: the neoliberal hegemony emanating from transnational corporations and market economies; the state control being exerted by China and others; or a blind commitment to opensource being advocated by many industry innovators, developers and users. When using games in an educational context, and particularly when addressing Social Justice and Global Citizenship, the values and cultures underpinning all three of these ideologies are problematic. It is the contention in this paper that such spaces can also be developed as informal educational spaces informed by values aligned with critical global citizenship and development education. Now is the time for development educational practitioners, conscientious games designers and policymakers to collaborate, to act, to legislate, to experiment and carve out a safe, progressive, dynamic, decolonised digital space for engagement with issues of global citizenship and development education

Examining the Efficacy of a Physical Board Game for Geometric Transformations

A group of Hong Kong secondary school mathematics teachers collaborated on the creation of a physical board game, “War of Transformation”, specifically designed to aid Hong Kong Secondary 1 students in applying transformation (i.e. translation, reflection, and rotation) of 2D figures, a topic in the local mathematics curriculum. The objective of the study was to delve into the game design and player experience from the viewpoint of the students as indicators of the effectiveness of the board game, comparing these elements across different abilities. A mixed-method design was adopted, from which data was gathered utilizing questionnaires and a focus group. The study involved a total of 102 junior form students secondary school students from three districts in Hong Kong, with a selected group of five students and three school teachers participating in interviews. The questions for the questionnaire and interviews were derived from the Model for the Evaluation of Educational Games. Quantitative data were used to provide an overview of student experiences, while qualitative data from the interviews provided further insights of the results. The findings revealed that students valued the game’s design and had a positive gaming experience, comparing these elements across different abilities The design of the board and the use of online teaching aids were found to significantly enhance gameplay and learning. This study highlights the potential of thoughtfully designed game-based learning in fostering effective and engaging learning experiences.

Idea Generation Game Design Tool for Health Behavior Change Games

Serious games (SGs) must engage, be entertaining and have a serious purpose to be effective. A health behavior change game (HBCG) can help change poor health behaviors but are difficult to design. One problem is there are few design tools to support developers of these types of games. This paper describes a card-based design tool for use during the idea generation phase of game design. The research question is: To what extent does an idea generation card tool have perceived value for SG designers generating ideas for behavior change games? This paper reports on the deployment of the tool for an HBCG to help individuals improve their diet and levels of physical activity. An evaluation was undertaken using qualitative data gathered through interviews with serious game developers and a focus group conducted with student game designers. Emergent common themes across both data sets were that the tool had practical and emotional value. Practical value in using the cards was found in the card structure, card content and sorting process. Emotional value included the positive feelings of having physical cards in front of them to use, the presentation of ideas and support provided on a topic they knew little about which brought some relief, increasing confidence and allowing for a more creative environment by freeing up their imagination. Negative feelings were also experienced and included participants remaining anxious about the range, complexity and interrelatedness of the concepts they needed to consider.

Bending Rules, Telling Stories: Convivial Game Design Approaches for Engaging With Futures

Games have been used in civic participation (Lerner, 2014) and civic learning (Raphael et al. 2010). Building on the idea of using games for participation, democracy and collaboration, we propose approaching games as tools for convivial learning. First introduced by Illich (1973), the concept of conviviality envisions a society characterised by collaboration and self-determination, underpinned by tools that encourage joyful interaction, creativity and human agency through control over the tools. We believe that games as convivial tools could help bring forth creativity and mutual learning about civic processes and desirable futures. Yet, games’ nature as rigid systems of rules (Salen & Zimmerman, 2010) seems potentially at odds with positioning them as tools promoting agency. We propose to use the tension arising between rigidity and agency as starting point for exploring game design strategies for convivial games through research-through-design. We ask how games for thinking about the future may be designed that allow players to exercise control over their own experience, and to what effect. Inspired by the concept of critical play (Flanagan, 2009; Grace, 2014) and building on the distinction between narrative and mechanics as key constituting game elements, we have designed two distinct games for collaboratively engaging with the future. The first, Narrate, focuses on letting players invent their own narrative, whilst the second game Remix allows for experimentation with game rules and mechanics. We present the design process for each game and contrast the different approaches taken. Each game was tested by two groups and analysed in regards to its capacity to bring forth conviviality, creativity and collaboration. The paper compares and provides a discussion on how suitable the two chosen strategies of experimenting with narrative or mechanics are for (1) facilitating thinking and learning about shared futures, and (2) supporting player agency and bringing forth convivial interactions.

Play with Purpose: A Heuristic Approach to Evaluating Tabletop Serious Games for Academic Integrity Education

This article introduces a heuristic evaluation of CiteSaga, a tabletop serious game designed to enhance skills in referencing and citation, crucial for academic writing in higher education. We detail the application and outcomes of a novel heuristic evaluation framework tailored for tabletop serious games, dubbed "Play with Purpose." This framework is distinguished by its focus on eight essential categories: Learning Experience, Utility, Game Features, Social Dynamics, Adaptability, Learning and Feedback, Play Experience, and Accessibility, marking a significant contribution to the evaluation of non-digital game-based learning tools. Furthermore, we delve into the insights gained from participatory design sessions with students, aimed at evaluating CiteSaga's component appeal and game mechanics. The paper culminates in a discussion on how student feedback has informed subsequent iterations of CiteSaga, underscoring the critical role of heuristic evaluations in refining game-based learning experiences. Our findings not only advance understanding of empirical evaluation methodologies for tabletop serious games but also provide a valuable framework for future research and development in educational game design.

Enhancing Team Cohesion Through a Custom MOBA Game: Development, Implementation & Impact

The quality of a team in organizations has an impact on the success of the team in achieving their goals. Team building activities are one of the elements which can improve relationships in different kinds of teams. One of those can be playing competitive digital games, whether for teams working remotely or on site. This paper presents a case study that explores the design and development process of an innovative online game that combines elements of third-person action and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games to provide an experience that strengthens team cohesion. The game design and mechanics support distribution of team roles based on Belbin's theory, highlighting the importance of diverse roles for balanced team functionality. By integrating unique character functions, the game encourages players to understand and appreciate the different roles individuals play in a team, enhancing empathy and mutual respect among team members. The game is uniquely designed to be simpler and more accessible than typical MOBAs, making it an ideal tool for educational and organizational settings to boost team cohesion and communication skills among people from various backgrounds. The leveling of the playing field allows individuals with minimal gaming experience to participate fully and effectively. The design principles ensure that the core mechanics of the game encourage teamwork and effective communication over individual skill, emphasizing collective success. The case study delves into the development process, the challenges faced, the solutions implemented, and the outcomes observed as part of a research project conducted between 2022-2023. The findings suggest that game-based learning can significantly transform traditional team-building methods, introducing a new paradigm for fostering high-performance teams in an increasingly digital world.

Game Lab Innovations in Education: Insights from a Board Game Design Project

From the perspective of educators, game development has great potential as a teaching method, as it promotes group collaboration, project-based learning and the development of content tailored to a given target group. This paper is based on a study that was carried out through an international project, implementing an educational game development concept called Game Lab into an educational context. The study explored professional development topics such as game-based learning, game development, and game testing, along with the Game Lab method focusing on group dynamics, progression, and creativity. It employed an abductive analysis of written responses from twelve teachers who participated in the Let’s Play project, which involved a Game Lab component. The teachers, ranging in age from their thirties to their sixties, represented all levels of education from preschool to upper secondary school. They responded to a survey with open-ended questions and reflection notes, providing insights into their experiences with game development methods as pedagogical tools. Their responses were analyzed to identify key themes and patterns. Findings suggest that this approach has broadened participants' perspectives on utilizing diverse games and game development techniques in education, aligning with prior research on production pedagogy. It underscores the importance of integrating in-game content with real-world contexts as a modern teaching method. Participants also highlighted that effective game-based learning supports a constructivist approach to teaching over behaviorism. The participants emphasized their increased insight and understanding of game development and game systems and how the combined effect of educational game design and the Game Lab method (working in teams) resulted in a more valuable learning outcome than they would have experienced alone. They also reported an improved understanding on how working with the development of a board game made them dig much deeper into the topic at hand. In addition, they found that this increased their motivation for learning, knowing that this was going to be a product that was to be tested and played by others (pupils and teachers). Furthermore, the participants highlighted the role of group dynamics in fostering teamwork and consensus during the collaborative game development process.

谈判: Mega-games as Catalysts for Deep Experiential Learning in Higher Education

The study deepens into the transformative potential of mega-games as an innovative educational tool, offering profound and enriching learning experiences across diverse educational landscapes. Mega-games represent a fusion of various elements, including role-play, social interaction, simulations, rule-based systems, economic dynamics, political scenarios, and decision-making processes, all woven into an immersive narrative fabric. Through experiential learning, these games provide a unique platform for students to engage deeply with complex subject matter. This research centres on the application of mega-games within the context of sixth-semester students pursuing a degree in International Business at the Mexico State Campus of Tecnológico de Monterrey. Specifically, the study focuses on the simulation exercise titled 谈判 Tánpàn, which aims to immerse students in negotiation scenarios regarding the final price of a digital device manufactured in China. Drawing upon foundational principles outlined in Jesse Schell's book on game design, the exercise is meticulously designed to emulate real-world negotiation dynamics. The integration of game design principles, coupled with positive student feedback, underscores the efficacy of mega-games as potent educational instruments. Through rigorous analysis, the study unveils the profound impact of experiential learning on students' comprehension and application of negotiation techniques. By simulating authentic real-world scenarios, students are empowered to develop critical problem-solving acumen, hone their analytical thinking prowess, and refine their decision-making aptitude. Moreover, the immersive nature of mega-games fosters a dynamic learning environment that transcends traditional pedagogical approaches, fostering a holistic understanding of intricate subject matter. The success of the 谈判 Tánpàn simulation exercise serves as a testament to the potential of mega-games to revolutionize educational paradigms. It signals a burgeoning opportunity to expand the horizons of mega-games across various academic disciplines and participant cohorts. This study advocates for the widespread integration of mega-games as educational resources within Higher Education, championing their capacity to engender profound learning experiences and cultivate essential skills, heralding a new era of dynamic, immersive, and effective educational methodologies in diverse educational settings.