Educational Serious Games Research Articles

Evaluating a Kid’s Dementia Awareness Game with Pre-Licensure Children and Young People’s Nursing (CYP) Students in Northern Ireland – A Pre/Posttest Study

ABSTRACT Dementia not only affects the person living with the condition but also their family and wider social circle. For that reason, it is important to educate family members, the wider public and health professionals. How a child and young people’s (CYP) nurse supports and responds to a CYP whose family member has dementia or acts as a carer is of interest to pre-licensure (pre-registration) CYP nursing programs. With serious games becoming more common as a method to educate a diverse population regardless of age and gender, this study aims to learn if playing a kid’s dementia awareness game improves CYP nursing student’s attitude to dementia using a validated pre-/posttest questionnaire. This study adopted a pretest, posttest design to assess the attitudes of pre-licensure CYP nursing students toward dementia. The Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ) was administered before and after playing a serious CYP kid’s dementia game developed by children and people living with dementia for 10- to 11-year-old children. The ADQ measured the total score, Hope subscale, and person-centered approaches. Matched paired t-test was used for analysis conducted with SPSS statistics 29. Seventy-two participants, from one university in Northern Ireland, completed pretest measures, of these, 55 also completed the posttest questionnaire. The participating CYP pre-licensure undergraduate and postgraduate nursing students demonstrated a significant increase in overall dementia attitudes post-gameplay, with an increase from 78.31 to 83.27. Subscales for Hope (27.75 to 30.44) and person-centered approaches also exhibited significant improvement (50.56 to 52.84). Demographic data revealed all participants as female, with 50% knowing a person living with dementia, and limited training experiences. In conclusion, this study has shown a positive response to playing a dementia game relevant to the child population. This adds to the literature building on the use of serious games for health education. Attitudes and hope scales increased with the use of the game.

Serious Games for Education and Training in the Humanitarian Sector: State of the Art

Serious games and game-based learning have seen slow and stymied adoption in the humanitarian sector, despite their general efficacy as training tools. We looked at over 120 games released between 1990 and 2023 that dealt with topics relevant to the humanitarian sector such as disaster risk management, conflict mitigation, human rights and sustainability, and applied the following filters - serious games, games for education and training, and non-commercial games - to obtain a list of 89 serious games that were designed for awareness, education or training in the humanitarian sector. We then noted their accessibility and investigated the following information for each - year of release, developer, format, platforms, context, purpose, target audience, NGOs involved and related research papers - to understand the trends, challenges and future potential of games as a research and pedagogical tool in this field. Of particular interest to us was the subset of 31 training games aimed at professionals, policy makers and stakeholders. We noted concerning trends regarding the accessibility and longevity of games in this field, and tracked recurrent issues facing the development and dissemination of these games, such as the need for a trained facilitator, the difficulty of adapting the content to new settings, a lack of scientific frameworks to guide their design and a lack of long-term impact metrics. However qualitative surveys conducted by the game designers and some third-party researchers indicate that these games remain a valuable addition to traditional forms of education and training and help enliven a difficult topic through experiential learning. We thus propose that involving professional game designers, embracing digital formats, and investing in archiving and long-term impact studies will greatly benefit the development and accessibility of games for humanitarian education and training.

Serious Games in EDI Education: A Preliminary Discursive Literature

In Higher Education Institutions Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) training sometimes has great variability and may lack sensitivity. As a result, the process often lacks depth and does not provide the ability to make mistakes in a more risk free/simulated practice environment in a simulated practice way. EDI can often encompass and touch on rather uncomfortable subjects that people would much prefer to avoid such as racism, discrimination, sexuality, religion, disabilities, marginalisation, lack of representation, unconscious bias and micro-aggressions, professional dilemmas, and ambivalence. People tend to avoid having difficult conversations and asking questions to enhance understanding. Serious games can offer a vehicle to explore some of these issues in a simulated, risk free, immersive environment with no real world consequences. They are a legitimate academic discipline used in a number of diverse fields such as business, mathematics, and soft skills. This paper will perform a preliminary discursive review of the use of games-based learning and serious games in EDI education and associated terms to produce valuable empirical evidence. The study will review developmental, evaluation and development frameworks for developing serious games for potentially difficult contexts in line with EDI i.e. resistance, ambivalence, and challenging confrontational discussions.

Who learns more: the impact of dual-player and single-player modes in a serious game on dental students’ factual knowledge

BackgroundThe use of serious games in medical education provides a bridge between rapidly developing technology and traditional health-care teaching. Building on a promising web-based serious game for reviewing and acquiring factual knowledge in dental education, the present study investigated the benefits of a dual-player mode and various game options for enhancing knowledge gain and study motivation.MethodsBefore the intervention, students’ dental knowledge and game experience were assessed using a pre-knowledge test and questionnaire-based self-assessment. Students in the clinical study phase (n = 57) were stratified based on prior knowledge and gender and then randomly assigned to two groups, with two player modes: single player (SP) and dual player (DP). In the SP group, each participant played alone, whereas in the DP group, the participants played against a previously determined peer. For a period of 4 weeks, the students were able to playfully acquire knowledge from the field of operative dentistry using METIS, a serious game application with three different game options (Marathon, Sprint, and Time). After the intervention phase, both groups completed a post-knowledge test. The usability of the serious game was evaluated with a self-assessment questionnaire.ResultsThe competitive game mode (DP mode; M = 8.92, SD = 1.85) resulted in an increase in the factual knowledge test that was a mean of 2.49 points higher than the SP mode (M = 5.89, SD = 2.19; p < 0.001). The DP group also found the game significantly more helpful for learning (p = 0.04) and engaged more with the teaching content because of the app (p = 0.04). Overall, the usability of METIS was rated as excellent, and students successfully improved their knowledge of dentistry after game play with both game modes (SP, DP, p < 0.001), with the game option “Marathon,” which involves playing the largest number of questions, being the most preferred.ConclusionsThese results suggest that serious games such as METIS are a suitable educational medium for increasing students’ knowledge and interest in the field, and that competition with peers provides even greater motivation to engage with the learning content.

Serious gaming as potential training tool for recognition of adverse drug reactions: side-effect exposure—medical education (SeeMe)

PurposeThe recognition of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is an important part of daily clinical work. However, medical education in this field is mostly drug-based and does not address adequately the complexity of this field regarding individual risk factors and polypharmacy. This study investigates the potential of the web-based serious game SeeMe (side-effect exposure—medical education) in pharmacological education of medical students to improve the recognition of relevant ADRs.MethodsOne hundred fifty-seven medical students were recruited to evaluate the serious game SeeMe. SeeMe was developed to improve knowledge and recognition of ADRs in clinical practice. Players take on the role of a physician trying to understand fictional patients with ADRs. Before and after an 8-week playing period, an evaluation was carried out through a pre- and post-questionnaire and a pre- and post- knowledge test.ResultsThe students achieved significantly better results in the knowledge test, as almost twice as many exam-relevant questions were answered correctly (p < 0.001). The serious game had a positive effect on the students’ perception of the importance of ADRs.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the potential of web- and case-based fictional serious games in medical education. The improved recognition of side effects represents a crucial step for education and training in clinical pharmacology. Future versions of the serious game may take this further and focus on training in the treatment of ADRs and their relevance in various healthcare professions.

Therapy laboratory for activation of neuromotor skills through serious games in education and research

Therapy laboratory for activation of neuromotor skills through serious games in education and research

Serious games in education: Transformation of teaching and learning methods through active pedagogy

Serious games in education: Transformation of teaching and learning methods through active pedagogy

Serious Games for Seismic Risk Education: The Case of the ENP-CP Project

This paper delves into the potential advantages of integrating gamification into seismic risk management education, with a specific emphasis on the efficacy of serious games in augmenting the learning process. It offers an illustration of gamification within the framework of a seismic risk preparedness project involving multiple countries, languages, and cultures and across the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The innovation of this approach largely lies in shifting the focus from competition, which is typical in most games, to collaboration. Three digital serious games were implemented to tackle facets of seismic risk management that are particularly favourable for empowering communities at risk. These games were first used in a hybrid event where students from Algeria, Morocco, and Italy engaged in gameplay both in person within their respective classrooms and remotely with classes in each country. The evaluation study showed the positive impact of gamification in captivating young participants and thereby instilling best practices in seismic risk management.

Serious Games in Higher Education in the Transforming Process to Education 4.0—Systematized Review

The digital transformation associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution is having an impact on the way we teach. Under the term Education 4.0, new teaching methods, new technologies, as well as a student-centered approach, are expected to be used in teaching. One established method of teaching is the use of Serious Games, as it has various positive effects in terms of motivation and engagement. This paper deals with the question of how the transformation towards Education 4.0 influences the way Serious Games are designed and used in the context of higher education. To this end, a systematized literature review was conducted. Out of 550 publications, 28 were included. This revealed works on the general conception as well as studies on Serious Games in various areas of university teaching. The results show different concepts of Serious Games, with the structure often being adapted to learning content and not to students. In terms of technical implementation, Serious Games are mostly web- or desktop-applications instead of new technologies such as VR. As a result, new concepts seem necessary to adapt Serious Games to Education 4.0. In the future, we want to design Serious Games that respond flexibly to students’ needs and make it easy to integrate new technologies.

Integrating Serious Games into the Medical Curriculum: Recognizing Challenges and Exploring Remedies.

Medical education is complex in nature, acknowledging the fact that the knowledge base is extremely vast and dynamic, and the number of skills that students must acquire during their period of training is also huge. The introduction of serious games in medical education delivery is actually a response to the ever-changing needs of medical education. In fact, the use of serious games in medical education has transformed the learning process and is an eye-catching illustration of a combination of technology and curriculum to strengthen the overall process of attainment of learning outcomes. Owing to the presence of the game factor, students remain motivated and highly engaged. Although medical educators engage themselves in the process of planning and implementation of such games, they are bound to face some challenges. To address these challenges, we must adopt a multipronged approach, including providing required infrastructure, strengthening faculty development programs, and measures to integrate these games into the existing curriculum. In conclusion, serious games are an effective and engaging addition to the teaching-learning methodologies in medical education. Acknowledging the merits of the same, there is an immense need to identify the potential challenges and then work strategically to overcome them and facilitate learning among medical students.

Educator's blueprint: A how-to guide for creating analog serious games for learning in medical education.

Serious games are an emerging tool for teaching and learning within medical education. These games can be used to facilitate learning or to demonstrate complex concepts in short bursts of interactive learning. This educator's blueprint will provide 10 strategies for creating a serious game, focusing on card and board games. These strategies include creating a project charter; determining the nature of the game; establishing game mechanics; selecting the best medium; prototyping and playtesting; reviewing sensitivity to equity, diversity, and inclusion; reviewing and refining content; funding game development, manufacture, and distribution; marketing and publicizing the game; and future-proofing the game. This blueprint hopes to help aspiring serious game designers and educators to conceptualize the steps for successfully creating a new serious game for medical education.

A Fuzzy Set-Based Model for Educational Serious Games with 360-Degree Videos

Currently, the use of 360° videos combined with virtual reality (VR) techniques in the educational context has been considered a promising field of research. However, there is still a shortage not only of educational serious games (ESG) that implement such resources but also of models that can enhance the player’s experience and evaluate their performance. This work presents a decision model for SGE with 360° videos. The model was developed from artificial intelligence (AI) techniques with the aim of enhancing the player’s learning using immersion mechanisms and pedagogical reinforcement strategies based on the player’s experience and performance evaluation. The model was integrated into the SG The Mystery of Pandora to evaluate its efficiency. The game was evaluated with a sample of 52 participants aged between 13 and 63 ( M = 33.55 , SD = 12.14 ). The results showed adjustments made by the model in the final performance of the players based on their exploration in the 360° videos. Such adjustments allowed identifying players with learning difficulties and recommending pedagogical reinforcement to enhance learning. It was also possible to verify that players would win the game without the minimum knowledge expected about the subject if the decision model was not used.

Serious games research streams for social change: Critical review and framing

The number of scientific publications about serious games has exponentially increased, often surpassing human limitations in processing such a large volume of information. Consequently, the importance of frameworks for summarising such fast‐expanding literature has also grown. This paper draws a panorama of serious game research streams, focusing on higher education in engineering and management. The research design involves a systematic review using PRISMA guidelines, along with bibliometric and content analyses. The sample comprises 701 documents collected from both Scopus and Web of Science databases. For supporting bibliometric analyses, Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny tools are employed. In addition, a coding schema is developed for in‐depth analysis of 701 documents selected according to the inclusion criteria. In short, the literature on serious games for engineering and management education grows more rapidly than modern science, following a globalised, collaborative and context‐based trajectory. The results reveal five main research streams: game design guidelines, game design cases, game experiment guidelines, game experiment cases and generalists. These streams are summarised in a proposed framework. Cross‐tabulation and statistical analyses conducted in SPSS Statistics identify the key relationships amongst the research streams. Finally, opportunities to investigate serious games for sustainable development education arise, and there is a need for future efforts to formalise the framework classification algorithm. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Scientific production related to Serious Games (SGs) has grown exponentially in a globalised manner. It reflects the interest from various domains, particularly the field of sustainability in management. Literature reviews on SGs have emphasised various topics, including the acceptance of simulations and games as effective methods of teaching and learning. The role of technology‐enhanced games and simulations in the context of digital transformation in education and the emergence of sustainability as a promising field for future SGs research are also highlighted. The literature has introduced three categories for empirical research on SGs: (1) game presentation, (2) game evaluation and (3) game effectiveness. It has also highlighted methodological rigour as a common challenge across studies. What this paper adds Scientific research on SGs in Engineering and Management Higher Education (EMHE) experiences exponential and significantly faster growth compared to modern science in a globalised and collaborative manner. This growth reveals the scarcity of experts in this area and attracts the attention of various fields, particularly in the realm of sustainability. Thematic trajectories indicate a decline in discussions regarding users' perceptions of SGs and their validity as educational tools. They also demonstrate consistency in discussions about SGs design, and the potential of sustainability emerges as a promising area for future SGs in EMHE. A comprehensive framework composed by five primary research streams connects game design cases and guidelines, game experiment cases and guidelines and generalists. This framework can serve as a lens for future context‐based literature reviews, and the relationships amongst its streams reinforce the idea that the field can benefit from increased methodological rigour in experiments. Implications for practice and/or policy This review offers categorised supplementary material in which educators can discover a variety of artefacts for application in their specific educational contexts. Designers can access guidelines for enhancing the design of innovative games. Researchers can access guidelines for more effective evaluation of their artefacts across various contexts. Finally, policymakers can explore numerous experiments to inform decisions related to technology‐enhanced innovations in the classroom.

A 3 roles’ model to better design and facilitate the use of serious games in the classroom

The use of serious games in education, whatever the level of students and the subject of study, is full of promise but also strewn with obstacles. Both aspects have been the subject of numerous studies, a number of which underscore the multiple roles teachers have to embrace, each of them representing a more or less difficult challenge. Many factors come into play, including teachers' familiarity with this particular kind of tools. The research work presented in this article includes both game designers and university teachers in the field of management. Serious games have been used in classroom during a 6-year experiment. This experiment reveals a set of teacher attitudes that have to be adopted during teaching sessions to make the most of an increased students’ engagement. Teachers are led to adopt roles and positions they are not always familiar with, which can lead to certain difficulties or frustrations. How can we better take these new roles into account? Is it possible to turn them into a strength, and to take them into consideration beforehand, when designing teaching sessions, so as to optimize the use of serious games and get the most benefit from them? Finally, we propose to build a grid of these roles, which describes each of them, its benefits and its limits, and provides guidelines to avoid common pitfalls.

Proposal for a Participatory Methodology for the Creation of Serious Games

We are facing a new generation of students, who are not only looking for theoretical knowledge, but also want learning to be practical, interesting, and fun. They request didactic techniques that allow them to have a more prominent role in their learning, models that are not focused on teaching, but on learning. They are students with different characteristics because they were born in the digital age. Technology has changed the way they relate to the world. They are not comfortable with respect to traditional models and try to incorporate new technologies into all aspects of their lives. Within the educational field, new technologies are seen as a tool that facilitates learning and develops skills in students. From this perspective, the development of simulators and serious games are now used as a strategy to facilitate learning. The advantages of using a serious game seem evident, they help develop critical thinking, encourage creativity, increase problem-solving skills, increase retention, among other benefits. However, when games are not well designed, they lose both their appeal and their playful essence. One reason for these problems is the absence of the application of any design methodology, and that many of these problems come from the requirements definition phase. Specifically, most of the problems occur in the game design phase, where there is a deficiency in the writing of the requirements requested by the teachers. When the requirements are vague, or ambiguous, experts in the development area are unable to interpret the interaction design, the game mechanics, or the way in which users will interact with the software. This article aims to discuss the specifications and requirements that instructional designers and developers should address before migrating to project development, implementation, or evaluation. This article is important because it analyzes the need to establish clear requirements and objectives that will facilitate the creation of serious games in education.

A Conflict Management Game in Project-based Learning

In project-based learning environments, students often face team frustration and conflicts, necessitating the development of conflict management skills. This study examines how integrating a game-based learning approach impacts students' perspectives on managing conflicts in game development project courses. Drawing on theoretical frameworks related to project-based learning, conflict management, and serious games in conflict resolution education, a case design is employed in higher education that incorporates the game "Cards of Conflict". Document analysis of student reflection notes is utilised to assess the outcomes. The results demonstrate heightened engagement among participants during the game session, leading to awareness and understanding of conflict managing principles. This encompasses the what, the why´s, and the how’s of conflict management, as well as the diverse perspectives of peer students.

Integrating Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Serious Games in Computer Science Education

This study aims to evaluate the impact of using augmented reality, gamification, and serious games in computer science education. The study presents the development process of an educational mobile application, describes an experiment that was conducted and involved 117 higher education students, and analyzes the results of a 49-item paper-based questionnaire. In total, 8 research questions were explored. The results of the study revealed that several educational benefits can be yielded when integrating such applications in teaching and learning activities and actively involving students in the design and development process. In particular, the application was assessed as an effective learning tool that could enrich and improve the educational process and create interactive, inclusive, and student-centered learning environments. Its use led mostly to positive effects and experiences while maintaining the negative ones to a minimum and most students expressed positive emotions. Students were able to learn in a more enjoyable and interesting manner, and their motivation, engagement, self-efficacy, and immersion were greatly increased. Students’ innate need for autonomy, competence, and relatedness was satisfactorily met and both their intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivations were triggered. They felt a sense of belonging and cultivated their social skills. The potential of the application to improve students’ knowledge acquisition and academic achievements was also observed. The application also enabled students to improve their computational thinking and critical thinking skills. Therefore, the potential of combining augmented reality, gamification, and serious games to enhance students’ cognitive and social–emotional development was highlighted.

Systematic review on the use of serious games in project management education

Project management education is well suited for active learning through serious games, and a lot of research has been published on the use of serious games for project management education. Earlier reviews have focused on the content and features of project management serious games. The objectives for using those serious games have been less reviewed. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to better understand the objectives of using serious games in project management education, with the following research question: Why are project management serious games used in higher education? A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A systematic search enabled us to identify 175 articles, of which forty-three met the eligibility criteria. An inductive content analysis of those articles showed that project management serious games are used mainly for pedagogical and practical reasons. From a pedagogical perspective, serious games are mainly used to develop specific skills that are difficult to acquire in classic ex cathedra lectures, such as practical competencies and soft skills. From a practical perspective, serious games are mainly used for proposing a risk-free trial environment. Based on our analysis, we propose a taxonomy of reasons for using PM games in higher education. Our study also reveals that few studies assess whether serious games meet all their objectives, and that more research is needed on how to implement them into a coherent pedagogical scenario.

Imparting Systems Engineering Experience via Interactive Fiction Serious Games

Serious games for education are becoming increasing popular. Interactive fiction games are some of the most popular in app stores and are also beginning to be heavily used in education to teach analysis and decision-making. Noting that it is difficult for systems engineers to experience all necessary situations which prepare them for the role of a chief engineer, in this paper, we explore the use of interactive fiction serious games to impart systems engineering experience and to teach systems engineering principles. The results of a cognitive viability, qualitative viability, and replayability analysis of 14 systems engineering serious games developed in the interactive fiction genre are presented. The analysis demonstrates that students with a systems engineering background are able to learn the Twine gaming engine and create a serious game aligned to the Apply level of Bloom’s Taxonomy which conveys a systems engineering experience and teaches a systems engineering principle within a four-week period of time. These quickly generated games cognitive, quality, and replayability scores indicate they provide some opportunity for high-level thinking, are of high quality, and with above average replayability, are likely to be played multiple times and/or recommended to others.

Serious games for environmental education

AbstractSerious games are increasingly popular in multiple fields, including education and environmental engagement. We conducted a systematic review to examine the reasons for this increasing popularity, the features of successful serious games and the current trend of serious games application in environmental education. Our systematic search revealed 56 records of papers (from years 2009 to 2023) on the use of serious games for environmental education. Thirty‐five were published in the recent 5 years reflecting a growing interest in this area. The games were aimed at imparting knowledge (N = 28), changing attitude (N = 28) and changing behaviour (N = 19). Reasons for the increased application of serious games include the raising awareness on serious games and growing investment in serious games development and research, as well as better technological access through mobile devices. Successful serious games exhibit the following features: an immersive experience, meaningful engagement, a learn‐by‐doing involvement, simulation of real‐world environmental problems, autonomy in game decisions and the presence of a guiding host. This review also revealed two categories of digital serious games: computer games (N = 14) and mobile apps (N = 11), and three categories of physical games: board games (N = 6), card game (N = 1) and role‐playing games (N = 2). The gaps include (1) the lack of in‐game experience data that limits our understanding of the impacts of commercial games, (2) variation in game experience and conservation experience among participants and how this translates to the impacts of serious games, and (3) lack of understanding of how the effects of serious games with high complexities on adults learning. Serious games are increasingly being digitised and moving towards location‐based games, alternate reality, augmented reality and virtual reality. These games can facilitate interaction between learners and the natural environment, and in turn strengthen environmental awareness and appreciation.