Academic Games - Mapping the Use of Video Games in Research Contexts

Video games have been used as tools for non-entertainment purposes, including research contexts. This paper defines ‘academic games’ as games that are used and developed within academic institutions for the generation, evaluation, or dissemination of knowledge. Broad intentions related to this unique use of games are rarely explicitly discussed. When they are mentioned, they tend to be specific to an individual game’s implementation, or the field of study in which it is situated. This article maps the different fundamental purposes that motivate the use of games in research contexts: involvement as stimulus, intervention, incentive, or as modeling platform. A compact review of existing literature is provided, complemented by a discussion of different facets shaping the use of games in research contexts: the flow of information, the dependency between academic effort and game artifact, and the specificity that is required. This discussion is informed by the analysis of various example games from previous work. A research agenda for the future professionalization of academic game development and its discourse concludes the article.