Multiplayer role games applied to problem based learning

The educational community is willing to approach the learning applications to the engaging and immersive formats of multimedia and video games as a way of increasing the motivation of the so called "digital natives" [19]. During this decade the interest for videogames as a way of combining learning with fun has grown exponentially. But despite the best intentions of teachers and technologists, the efforts to integrate games into the curriculum have often fallen flat. Most students see learning through videogames as "chocolate covered broccoli" [1] while many teachers consider games as a waste of time. In this paper we propose an approach, the NUCLEO framework, that is getting good results in several testing implementations for the Spanish higher education context, turning a whole problem based learning scenario into a role game. The conceptual framework and the system presented here are aimed at getting effective learning in a motivating environment that seeks a student's change of attitude towards learning. It is intended to be used within the context of a LMS (Learning Management System), complementing its features with new interfaces and modes of content interaction.