Doctoral Colloquium—Confronting Death: Lived Experiences from Players of the Serious Game Spiritfarer

Serious games are a unique subset of immersive learning environments that combine elements of pedagogical strategies, embedded content, and game elements to provide players with opportunities to engage in playful opportunities that are ‘serious’ in nature. Although serious games have been explored in the literature, little exists to chronicle how commercially available serious games have impacted the learning experiences of gamers. This Doctoral Colloquium paper describes an ongoing study that seeks to explore the lived experiences of those who have played the commercially available serious game Spiritfarer. Research will explore educational impacts, emotional responses, and changes in attitude towards death.