Towards an RPG Game to Teach Calculus

Calculus is a part of many undergraduate programs yet students have a high failure rate in the subject, according to data collected in several studies. This paper aims to analyze students' opinions about the use of Gamification and Digital Game-Based Learning to teach calculus using an RPG Game and to test a prototype with a group of users. The development of the Fellowship of the Calculus game has three phases: pre-production, production and post-production, in conjunction with the Game Design Document (GDD). A questionnaire was applied to 26 calculus students and a game prototype has been tested with six students to date. Preliminary results show that most of the students enjoy digital games, feel engaged when using the app and would like to play the game as a complement to their studies to help their learning process. The prototype test led to a positive expectation from the students, who showed high interest in using the game in their studies. The prospective work includes applying the game in curriculum to analyze the students' performance and to contribute to the use of computers in the education field.