European Conference on Games Based Learning最新文献

{"title":"Collect that Coin: Efficacy Testing of Platformer Game Mechanics with Adult Learners","authors":"Danielle Oprean, Hillary Gould, Nathan Riedel, Soren Larsen","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1589","url":null,"abstract":"Digital serious games for adult learning have become a more prominent topic for research in recent years, yet platformer genre games for learning remain underexplored. Despite this, many adults enjoy platformer games for entertainment which presents the question of what about platformer games makes them less prominent in adult education learning games. Platformer games often focus on simple mechanics such as collecting and race to the finish which map well to lower-order learning but require more effort to map to higher-order learning. To address this case, we rapidly designed and developed a 2D platforming game prototype called Biomes Rescue for use in a large general-education undergraduate Geography course. The game follows an Indiana Jones-style character who collects and aligns items to different biomes by evaluating items collected. The problem follows the slime-like creatures: the enemy representing pollution that has impacted Earth’s biomes. Three biomes have been disassembled by the enemies and the player must rescue all four biomes by critically thinking about the characteristics of each. We actively tested and adjusted Biomes Rescue over the last three years and focus this case on the latest implementation, which addresses the alignment of game mechanics to higher-order learning and Knowles principles of Andragogy combined with games-based learning. We hypothesized participants would have an unbalanced view of the dexterity-centered mechanics tied to fun more so than learning. Our mixed-methods exploratory study aims to understand what mechanics connect to fun and to learning from the learner’s perspective using a quiz score - a newly added measure, and Likert scale ratings on Enjoyment with open-ended feedback. Data analysis consisted of thematic analysis and group differences on the quiz scores. This study holds implications for designing platformers for adult learners with an understanding of the differences in game mechanics application for engaging critical thinking.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"42 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Microgames and Language Learning: Performance Before Competence?","authors":"Suzanne De Castell, Nora Perry, Lorea Bailey, Jen Jenson","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1766","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1766","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports on a study in which pairs of first-graders played microgames on small-screen handheld devices every day for 9 weeks. Its purpose was to find out whether, and if so how, adding digital games into classroom communications could ‘fast-track’ learning, accelerate language and literacy development, and whether it could also help bridge communication barriers for ELL learners, who may be shy, intimidated, or simply linguistically unable to interact as equals with their classmates. The “microgames” students played together were fast-paced, high engagement games that feature almost entirely one-word, verb-based instructions: “Rock”, “Hide”, “Pick”, “Protect”, and so on. Videos, fieldnotes and teacher reports note that social and linguistic interaction between children as and after they played demonstrably increased. Students’ language learning appeared to be accelerated by the game’s imperative to quickly decode and follow written instructions, even though many of these 6- and 7-year-olds did not yet read well enough to do that. The vocabulary which they were, in a matter of days, effectively recognizing and acting on was often far advanced from their usual first grade language arts lexicon, with words like “disguise”, “hypnotize”, “escape” and so on, presumed and treated, from a curricular standpoint, as exceeding their linguistic competence. Equally noteworthy was the technical competence the children displayed in mastering game controls, along with an array of different game mechanics. Using video documentation throughout the study provided both empirical evidence and persuasive examples of how playful interaction with more capable peers can support linguistic development as well as, or even more effectively than, conventional language curriculum and instruction, suggesting that when learning is scaffolded by play, our reach can so often exceed our grasp.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Overcoming Social Anxiety: How Virtual Reality and Game-Based Elements are Revolutionizing Patient Therapy.","authors":"Asge Matthiesen, Gunver Majgaard, Lasse Juel Larsen","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1734","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1734","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, we reflect upon the design process and the game-elements for developing a tool for patients. These reflections are based upon a case in where we developed six different Virtual Reality (VR) scenarios as a combined tool for treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD) for usage within the Danish healthcare system. The core theory for this development is based upon behavioral therapy as a standardized treatment method and the exposure that occur within this. This research is a part of a larger funded project titled VR8, which also contains integration of biofeedback and the application of the practice in where the tool should be applied. The main goal of this paper is to explain the development of the six scenarios, to provide a deeper understanding for the patients on how their anxiety triggers unfolds when exposed to a variety of different scenarios. And to provide a tool for both patients and practitioners to use as an addition to existing treatment methods. The reason for this development is due to (among others) the cost-reduction, time-reduction, heighten of effectivity and user experience in using VR as a tool for treatment compared to regular in-vivo exposure therapy in where the practitioner guides the patient in a physical environment. In this environment a lot of factors can’t be controlled and often results in the patient giving up and abandoning the treatment. With VR it is a controlled and closed environment making it more suitable for the patient to interact and level out their anxiety. The combination of iterative design thinking, filmmaking methods, game-based elements and agile software development are used as the core methods to develop the six scenarios. The six scenarios are developed with the aid of specific game-based elements, such as: mapping, level-design, audio control and remote action triggers.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"61 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applying design research for cross-disciplinary collaboration: Experiences from a gamification process","authors":"Younjung Choi, Cornelis Willem Klok, Sharif Khaleghparast, Swapnil Shekhar","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1567","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores applying design science research (DSR) frameworks to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration towards game development. It uses a DSR framework proposed by Peffers et al (2014) to integrate the knowledge and experiences of a cross-disciplinary research team and develop a game which gamifies the investment decision-making process of energy communities. The framework employed for this paper constituted five phases around problem identification, definition of solution objectives, artefact design and development, demonstration and evaluation. The iterative process of the framework allowed for gradual but incremental improvement in the outcome and the associated artefacts and sustained researcher collaboration. The resultant interactive in-person game required the participants (or their teams) to navigate through the complexities of the decision-making process in a community while considering factors such as information asymmetry, uncertain return on investments, time constraints, etc. The game was instantiated twice and was able to engage players effectively. Moreover, the post-game evaluation indicated that the players acquired learning about energy communities. The participants developed an understanding of the game only gradually and their engagement in the later rounds of the game. Three distinct investment strategies emerged from the two instantiations (diversification, focus on centralised options, or focus on decentralised options). The participants preferred to maintain a strategy rather than reacting situationally. This gamification experience, albeit applicable to this specific research context, shows that DSR frameworks can be successfully applied to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration because they allow for more flexible and iterative knowledge exchange. The post-game evaluation helped identify avenues for further improvements, such as focusing on incremental-iterative development of the output, expanding the flexibility and visibility of the game, involving a more balanced research team, etc. The contribution of this study lies in extending the discourse on cross-disciplinary collaboration by incorporating DSR frameworks and demonstrating the application of game-based learning beyond end-user application.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"369 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First Steps to Improve Cybersecurity Behaviour – a Virtual Reality Experience","authors":"Lara Klooster, Robby Van Delden, Jan-Willem Bullée","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1730","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1730","url":null,"abstract":"Internet is completely integrated and absorbed in our life. Facilitating transfer of files across the world or wiring money from the couch, we could not imagine a world without it anymore. With these benefits, as with any new technology, there is also the introduction of risks and threats, for internet primarily in the form of cybercrime and online fraud. To reduce victimisation of this cybercrime, interventions are used to teach people to not perform risky behaviour. To overcome criticisms of current training materials, such as being tedious and boring, we created an Immersive Virtual Reality experience. By using a 4-step design process (i.e. ideation, specification, realisation, and evaluation), we designed a playful VR environment with simplistic non player characters to train the user to perform basic cybersecurity tasks in the right way. In the simulation, the participants are exposed to the challenge of creating a new password and a potential ransomware attack using USB storage device. The program allows for monitoring the user’s cybersecurity knowledge and behaviour and provides feedback. An evaluation of the VR environment among 16 respondents using a pretest-posttest evaluation with the Human Aspect Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q) showed a statistically significant increase in scores after exposure to the VR environment. The system showed an above average SUS score. These initial findings indicate that a VR environment can be an alternative to consider for future development of cybersecurity interventions. Future research could expand our social VR environment with additional cybersecurity challenges, real-time actors, and running simulations among a broader audience to also investigate the retention of knowledge and skills.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Serious Game For Training To Escape From Disasters And Deal With Accidents","authors":"Yantao Meng","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1784","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of this study is to consider training methods to increase the ability to respond to disasters and accidents, conduct experiments, and verify their effectiveness. Based on this method, we decided to develop a serious game. The serious game developed in this project focuses on learning how to respond to disasters and accidents. Players encounter disasters and accidents in their daily lives. Consequently, the protagonist is portrayed as having bad luck and experiencing various unfortunate events. To facilitate learning, a time limit is set, and the time limit is extended to encourage players to continue playing. Specifically, the game begins with a fortune teller informing the protagonist that they will face an unfortunate event, and if they do not successfully navigate it, they will die within a month. If the protagonist overcomes the event, they will receive a lucky item. Collecting ten lucky items will extend their life by one month. To motivate players, unique and numerous lucky items are provided to encourage continued play.To give players an incentive to play the game, we decided to provide unusual lucky items and numerous lucky items to encourage them to continue playing.To verify the effectiveness of this game, a control group experiment will be conducted at the end of the game development.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135296496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Gamified Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) for Learning: A Review of Empirical Studies","authors":"Wenting Sun, Qihui Chen","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1619","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1619","url":null,"abstract":"The reduced cost of Virtual Reality (VR) technology makes it possible to be used in education. And the virtual learning scenarios in immersive virtual reality (IVR) contain some kind of gamification in the design aspects. Though some published reviews mapped the application of IVR in education, reviews about the use of gamification in IVR in education are still under research. In this review, game elements, game mechanisms, learning performance evaluation, research design, and methods were extracted from the selected empirical articles from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar after rigorous inclusion and exclusion. It found that learning interactions inside the IVR learning scenarios frequently consisted of interaction with virtual objects or equipment, interaction with avatars (non-Player Characters (NPC)), interaction with avatars (participant displayed as an avatar), and watching the video in a follow-the-machine view. The most popular three gamification mechanisms were rewards, challenges, and avatars, while the most common gamification elements utilized were content unlocking, a point system, task difficulty levels, NPC, an achievement system, role-playing, and a progress bar. Action error rates and test scores were the popular learning performance measurement metrics. In general, positive learning performance was more related to the number of game mechanisms rather than the number of game elements. Gamified IVR programs facilitated learning engagement, learning motivation, collaborative ability, declarative knowledge learning, and procedural knowledge and skills learning especially for novice trainees. Some high abstract focus areas like algebra in mathematics might not be suitable for IVR-based instruction even combined with the use of gamification. Some recommendations and future research directions were given such as how to help integrate gamified IVR learning materials with normal education or training and how to improve simulator sickness, more attention to diverse learning performance measurement, collaborative learning in IVR, learning theories or pedagogical strategies adopted in gamified IVR-based instruction.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"97 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135297116","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What do we evaluate in serious games? A systematic review","authors":"Ernesto Pacheco-Velazquez, Andre Bester, Lucia Rabago-Mayer, Virginia Ro","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1627","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1627","url":null,"abstract":"Serious games have emerged as an invaluable tool in education, revolutionizing the way students learn and engage with complex concepts. These games combine entertainment with educational content, creating immersive and interactive experiences that enhance learning outcomes. This strategy has positioned themselves as a powerful educational tool recommended for the new generations due to their benefits in terms of motivation, engagement, active learning, development of skills, and adaptation to diverse learning styles. By integrating serious games into educational programs, educators can enhance meaningful learning, foster relevant skills, and prepare students to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. The evaluation of serious games is important for various reasons. For example, it helps determine if a serious game meets its educational objectives and truly promotes learning and the development of specific skills. It also provides feedback on the design, gameplay, effectiveness, and other aspects of the serious game, allowing developers to identify strengths and areas for improvement to optimize the learning experience. Evaluations help determine if the serious game appropriately caters to the needs and characteristics of users, if it is suitable for the target group, if it is accessible to individuals with different abilities, and if it provides an appropriate level of challenge to promote engagement and learning. Ultimately, evaluations provide validation and credibility to serious games as educational tools. This study shows a systematic review of the factors that appear most frequently evaluated, the methodology used, and discusses the possibility of adding new factors and points out the need to consider the opinion of other users to improve the evaluation of these resources.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135247284","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Educational Story-Based Game for Capturing the Learner's Personality","authors":"Athanasios Tsionas, Maya Satratzemi","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1659","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years with the help of digital games there is an increasing interest in creating Serious Games for learning through play. With the help of machine learning algorithms, an educational serious game can be used, not only to assist the learner in his/her studies, but also to extract insights about the learner's personality. In game-based learning we take into account that the student behaves differently according to his/her individual characteristics while learning by playing. The most used method to model the learner’s personality is the self-report using questionnaires. The drawback of this approach is that the learner may not assess himself correctly or his/her answers’ may be biased towards the more socially acceptable responses rather than being truthful. In this paper, we explore the idea of having an alternative method of learning a person’s personality model and thus to better create interactive and engaging methods to assist learners in their studies. A story-based game with gamified learning elements was created for helping the learners study and evaluate their knowledge in the programming language C. The students learn by evaluating code snippets and depending on their response the game would give constructive feedback. At the same time students’ in-game behavior is captured and thus their personality traits could be determined. For modeling the learner’s personality we used the Five-Factor Model (OCEAN), a taxonomy of five personality traits (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism), each of which combines many personality characteristics. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed serious game, we gathered data from 107 first year Computer Science students from the University of Macedonia. The students played the game and filled in the Big Five Inventory (BFI) questionnaire to capture their OCEAN traits. The BFI questionnaire was used as a ground truth. After the data gathering, we used machine learning techniques and also classification algorithms to create our model. The goodness of the model was assessed using different metrics and the results showed that it is effective to model both the extraversion and openness personality dimensions using serious games instead of questionnaires.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"61 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135294592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Eye-Tracking Study of GBL Motivators and Learner Behavior","authors":"Maria Koutroumani, Stefanos Balaskas, Angeliki Leonardou, Maria Rigou","doi":"10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1906","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.34190/ecgbl.17.1.1906","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the significant positive characteristics game-based learning offers to pupil learning and assessment, preserving pupils’ interest and keeping them engaged in an educational game is still a challenge. To this end, the study and implementation of motivation mechanisms in educational games are considered crucial. Typical examples of motivators in electronic games include points (coins), avatar icons, visualization of achievement levels, NPCs (non-player characters) giving helpful information to users, children-friendly graphics and sound effects, comparison with classmates, and leaderboards. In this paper, we conduct a preliminary study of the effectiveness of these GBL motivators in MG, an educational game for practicing and assessing multiplication skills. The study combined eye-tracking with a short, semi-structured interview session with the four elementary school students that took part in the experiment. Eye-tracking provides detailed monitoring and visualization of gaze behavior in the form of fixation (point and duration of visual focus) and saccade sequences. Given that the way users allocate their visual focus is spontaneous, the data collected and analyzed by eye-tracking are unbiased and give a new spectrum of insight into how users perceive a visual stimulus. In this study, we investigate how users visually respond to the implemented motivators and their visual behavior when deciding between two or more available answers and when given feedback after a wrong answer. The paper discusses useful eye-tracking metrics, provides adequate visualizations of the main findings, and concludes with the ways eye-tracking can help education scientists and practitioners gain a better understanding of the behavior of users of GBL applications and the motivation mechanisms they support.","PeriodicalId":406917,"journal":{"name":"European Conference on Games Based Learning","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135295514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}