What is a learning game?

Using games as a medium for learning is called games based learning. Often times these games are created from the ground up to be used for teaching and learning. These are usually simulations or serious games. However, games can also be adapted for educational purposes. These are called learning games.

Other than using a game for learning… what makes a learning game?

This article will answer what learning games are. In addition, common problems and challenges with learning games will be reviewed. Key characteristics of learning games will be provided as well as attributes that make good learning games. The article closes with how to design learning games as well as provides an argument on using games for learning.

What makes a learning game?

So what exactly makes a learning game? Often we get bogged down in the term “learning game” because we think that a learning game has to be (first and foremost) a tool used for learning. However, a learning game is still a GAME. Because of that, a learning game still has to have some formal elements of games. Those elements includes an interactive rule set; a conflict or objective to drive play; as well as a win or ending condition that completes or ends the game.

At its heart learning games need to be interactive. Games are different from traditional media like narratives, movies, books, and stories. Games are meant to be played with. They are meant to serve as an interactive framework that engages the player.

Games adhere to the constructivist theory of learning due to this structure of engagement. Constructivism in learning involves individuals creating knowledge through their action and interaction. This knowledge creation is different from other methods of teaching and learning that rely on declarative or factual knowledge. Information is exchanged and shared though those methods but is not necessarily created.

The difference between the two is this: declarative knowledge is about knowing all the letters of the alphabet. Constructed knowledge is about knowing how to arrange those letters to write a persuasive speech. You can gain the former through rote memorization. You can earn the latter through study, practice, and experimentation. Three areas were learning games excel.

That means that learning games are games that are designed to be used for or with educational goals. They are still games and posses their formal elements; but learning games go one step further and support the process of teaching and learning through game play.

Some of the most powerful tools that learning games have to offer are already what makes successful commercial games. They involve a feedback structure; goals and paths to success; and a framework for learned competency. Games don’t require that players be successful. Rather they provide the framework through self-determination theory in order for players to create their own success through playing the game.

This is nowhere more evident in some of the oldest learning games available: simulations. Simulations are experiences that are meant to accurately re-recreate a simulation or scenario. Simulations become powerful tools for learning and development when paired with a focus on using the game for learning. Simulations involve high tech versions used to train commercial pilots to low tech versions like live role-playing. Simulations can emulate all different types of scenarios that involve war games; climate change; stock market trading; and political deal making like a Model United Nations.

Sometimes the only thing that separates a game from a learning game is how an instructor uses the medium as an approach to teaching and learning. Because of that, any game (with enough connection and effort) can be adapted to become a learning game.

Problems with learning games

This doesn’t mean there are problems with learning games or at least the term learning game. Learning games are often criticized because they lack the same kind of addictive engagement of commercially available games. If this is the case then the game’s success has less to do with the learning game and more to do with the formal design of the game.

Often these aren’t addressed because designers, educators, and the playing public don’t see learning games possessing broad appeal. Instead, they see learning games addressing a niche market. That means it isn’t worth the effort to invest and develop these games.

This is a short sighted analysis. This is because learning games that fail to engage their players or that fail to deliver educational results do so because they lose sight of two important goals for learning games. Those goals are engaging the player, SO that they have fun while learning.

Key characteristics

There are some key characteristics that make learning games effective as both games and instructional tools. Those include addressing challenges, including curiosity, providing for player control, and adhering to the “magic circle.”

The formal game element for conflict is key to having an objective in a learning game. Learning games are about presenting the player with options for which to address and overcome a challenge or objective. That means that successful games – and by extension learning games – must also include objectives for players.

Learning games must also pique the player’s curiosity. This speaks to Bartle’s player taxonomy on “explorers” as addressing and serving players’ curiosity in a learning game is paramount. Being able to address players’ sensory and cognitive curiosity is important for learning game success. That means that players in a learning game must be served with interesting interactions within the game. Players must also receive opportunities for exploring how their knowledge can grow and expand with the game.

Agency, is a key part of self-determination theory and is another important element for successful games. Learning games must include a sense of player agency and control in the environment so that the learner feels that they can influence or have an impact in the game. This is the basic level of meaningful choices in games that gives players a sense of competency that they can succeed (and learn) through game play.

Lastly, the “magic circle” of successful games must also be included in successful learning games. This magic circle indicates the kind of space in and around the game that players can engage and play in. Mistakes and choices made within that space should not have real world consequences. This sense of “fantasy” allows learners the freedom to fail in a learning game that gives them the opportunity to construct their own knowledge through experimentation.

Of course you can include all of these different characteristics of successful learning games and still not create a GOOD learning game.

What makes a good learning game?

A good learning game will rely on integration. Integration is an innate connection between the core loop; formal structures; and meaningful choices in the game with the learning outcomes it seeks to address. That means that good learning games are enjoyable games; but they go one step further. Good learning games integrate learning as part of an enjoyable experience. Players must master the game in order to master the learning outcomes.

In addition, good learning games are based on intrinsic motivation. That is the desire to continue playing the game for the sake of playing the game. Lastly, good learning games are focused in their approach. Of course you can take a commercial game and align it with some learning outcomes. You can also take some learning outcomes and create a game around it. But a truly successful learning game focuses and connects both formal game play and the intended outcomes for the learner.

How to design learning games

When thinking about your learning game design include the connection between the formal game elements and your learning outcomes. Include intrinsic motivation as the main desire to drive player behavior. Then focus the game on the key outcomes you hope to achieve.

You can start to address all three areas though a game’s rule set. These rules define what players can do; what players cannot do; and what players should do in order to “win” or resolve the game. These rules represent the core experience and core loop of game play.

However, rules alone do not make a game. There must be some kind of motivating factor that sparks students’ interests in playing the game. Meaning must be attached to the reason that players begin playing the game. Meaning must always be attached to why players return to keep playing it.

Lastly, remember that learning games are created to take advantage of the motivation and engagement that attracts players to games. A game un-played is an ineffective game. A learning game that doesn’t engage learners is similarly unsuccessful. Reasons for players to continue to play is paramount in ensuring that the learning game is a success.

Why use games for learning?

The role that education plays in peoples’ lives is changing. With that change comes the way that people learn. One of those ways can be through games. Not necessarily through the use of commercially available games, but through skillfully crafted learning games that includes educational content that is consumed as well as enjoyed.

Learning games are not just games but rather complex challenges that engage learners as well as include a clear instructional goal. That engagement is important in order to keep players motivated. Intrinsic motivation is paramount to ensure that players have fun playing a learning game so that they continue to engage.

However, this fun engagement doesn’t come without a skillful connection between in-game tasks and the ultimate learning outcome for players. These should be connected in all ways via mechanics, interfaces, and story. Doing so ensures that the learning game meets the educational outcomes of the designers as well as provides a fun experience for learners.

Takeaways

This article defined learning games. In addition, the article covered common problems and challenges with learning games. Key characteristics and attributes of learning games were provided. The article closed on how to design learning games as well as provided an argument for why games should be used for education.

This article was about games-based learning. To learn more about gamification, check out the free course on Gamification Explained.

Dave Eng, EdD

Managing Partner

dave@universityxp.com

www.universityxp.com

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Cite this Article

Eng, D. (2020, April 09). What is a learning game? Retrieved MONTH DATE, YEAR, from https://www.universityxp.com/blog/2020/4/9/what-is-a-learning-game

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