Analysing digital educational games with the Games as Action, Games as Text framework
Introduction
At the turn of the millennium, digital games researcher Marc Prensky sought to turn many of the prevailing assumptions about young people on their head. Prensky argued that being surrounded by the “tools and toys of the digital age” since birth had prepared this first generation of “digital natives” for the world of the future (M. Prensky, 2001, p. 1). He extolled the potential virtues of using digital games in the classroom, stating that, while many students were bored with school, they were highly motivated by digital games. He suggested that educators should aim to merge the “content of learning” with “the motivation of games” (p. 2) to foster positive behaviours exhibited by young people while gaming, including being “interested, competitive, cooperative, results-oriented, actively seeking information and solutions” (p. 1).
Since then, digital games have continued to gain traction within classrooms due their effectiveness as tools for learning (Coleman & Money, 2020; Froome et al., 2020; Janakiraman, Watson, Watson, & Newby, 2021), with the potential to foster self-directed learning, which is essential to transform the classroom from one that is teacher-directed to one that is more learner-centred (Toh & Kirschner, 2020). Within games designed for learning, a strong narrative has been shown to increase the sense of immersion for the player over a weaker narrative, leading to better learning outcomes and a greater sense of engagement (Jemmali, Bunian, Mambretti, & El-Nasr, 2018).
In a critical review of 130 articles that examined the literature on the effectiveness of narrative-driven digital educational games, they were shown to be “… more effective than traditional instruction for promoting attitude change, engagement, motivation, and skill acquisition; slightly more effective in promoting enjoyment and knowledge acquisition; and equal in fostering behaviour change superior to traditional classroom instruction” (Jackson, O'Mara, Moss, & Jackson, 2018).
Despite the potential educational value of narrative-driven digital educational games, many educators remain sceptical about their use in the classroom. While some are inclined to use short-form drill and practice games, their apprehension grows as the games become more elaborate or immersive (Stieler‐Hunt & Jones, 2019). This can be due to a lack of technical support or computer hardware required to play such games (Papadakis, 2018), or can reflect a lack of familiarity with gaming, something that can successfully be addressed using targeted professional development (Nieland, Fehrenbach, Marowsky, & Burfeind, 2021). With the lack of understanding of, and faith in, these games, some teachers who have decided to champion the use of digital games in the classroom have reported feeling a sense of alienation within their schools (Stieler-Hunt & Jones, 2017).
Educational games have traditionally been criticised for their lack of entertainment value (Hirumi, Appelman, Rieber, & Van Eck, 2010b; Plass et al., 2013) and, conversely, for their lack of academic rigour (Gunter, Kenny, & Vick, 2008; Tobias, Fletcher, & Chen, 2015). As Rosenthal and Ratan (2022) point out, finding the right balance between learning and enjoyment is “… a challenge that many, if not most, game developers have yet to conquer” (p. 2). In an extensive review of the academic literature pertaining to the effectiveness of using digital games for education, Tobias et al. (2015) noted that there appear to be two “cultures” working in game-based research, often at cross-purposes, one focused on “fun”, the other on “learning”. Claiming that “finding common ground between these two cultures is neither trivial or obvious”, they insisted that “both are critical and that integrating the two in search for and development of this common ground is significant and worthy of vigorous pursuit” (Tobias et al., 2015, p. 10).
James Paul Gee (2003), one of the world's foremost educational game researchers, identified thirty-six good learning principles that can be incorporated into good games. According to Gee, “Good games” offer the player/learner information on demand, just in time, and within a context they can relate to; they present problems in a logical order, and allow the player to develop increasingly sophisticated skills through an ascending process of challenge and mastery. These games, he suggests, operate at a level that is challenging but achievable, a concept that is akin to the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). This desirable challenge to difficulty ratio is key to achieving “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997), a state of spatial immersion in which the participant loses all sense of time as they engage fully in a given activity.
Developing compelling digital educational games that successfully incorporate narrative elements requires many creative decisions to be made throughout the game development process. This paper is designed to explore the complexities of narrative-driven digital educational game design by giving a voice to those who are responsible for developing the narrative for such games: the writers. To illuminate the issues associated with writing high-quality narrative-driven digital educational games, five games have been analysed, and the writers of these games interviewed, to answer the question: ‘How do narrative and ludic elements combine within five best-practice games to fulfill their learning objectives?’
Section snippets
Literature review
For the philosopher Johan Huizinga (1949), the instinct to play was a fundamental part of being human. He viewed “Homo Sapiens” (Man the Thinker) as too restrictive a term and felt that along with the later addition “Homo Faber” (Man the Maker) should be included a third descriptor: “Homo Ludens” (Man the Player). Rather than attempting to measure and categorise the instinct for play, he asserted that play is inherently irrational, filled with tension, mirth, and fun, and stated: “Play cannot
Results
The games reported on in this paper reflect a range of ways in which narrative can be conceived of by those approaching the design of a narrative-driven digital educational game. While History of Biology (2010), Global Conflicts: Afghanistan (2014), High School Story (2012), and Hack ‘n’ Slash (2014) rely upon detailed plots and in-depth characterisation to convey crucial information, the Virtual Dementia Experience™ (2013) delivers such information experientially, a minimalist approach to the
Discussion
This study was an attempt to better understand what constitutes a high-quality narrative-driven digital educational game, and the balance between narrative, play, and educational elements within such a game. The games chosen as the basis of analysis demonstrate that, to be successful in achieving their narrative and educational aims, its writer/s must consider not only the usual mechanical, narrative, and educational elements that the player will encounter during play, but other key features as
Conclusion
As Marc Prensky (2003) has suggested, when they are well made, digital games have the potential to engage and motivate players. When fully engaged, players may enter what has been referred to as the flow state, in which time seems to slip away unnoticed (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). James Paul Gee (2003) has argued for the potential of games designed for learning to foster authentic learning experiences, presenting challenges in an ascending order of difficulty, thereby functioning to build mastery
Credit author statement
Luke C. Jackson: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing, Visualization, Project administration. Joanne O'Mara: Validation, Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration. Julianne Moss: Validation, Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Supervision, Project administration. Alun C. Jackson: Investigation, Writing – review & editing,
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