# The Use of Educational Games in Programming Assignments: SQL Island as a Case Study
## 4 Results
### Proposed Improvements of the Game  
In the open-ended question on the potential improvements of SQL Island, 36 out of the 56 participants (64.2%) responded. Their responses were analyzed qualitatively and qualitatively using content analysis, and the results are summarized in Table 7 and  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Percentage among the**} \\
**Positive Aspect** & **Frequency** & **Participants that Mentioned** & **Percentage among All the** \\  & & **Positive Aspects** & **Participants** \\  & & **(N = 35)** & **(N = 56)** \\ \hline Learning through the game & 17 & 49\% & 30\% \\ Interesting story & 11 & 31\% & 20\% \\ Entertaining & 10 & 29\% & 18\% \\ Easy to comprehend & 9 & 26\% & 16\% \\ Tips & 7 & 20\% & 13\% \\ Graphics and colors & 5 & 14\% & 9\% \\ Interactivity andmediacy & 5 & 14\% & 9\% \\ Satisfactory number of SQL & 5 & 14\% & 9\% \\ statements & & 9\% & 5\% \\ Appropriate for novices & 3 & 9\% & 5\% \\ Gradual increase of difficulty & 3 & 9\% & 5\% \\ Challenging & 2 & 6\% & 4\% \\ Evolves quickly & 2 & 6\% & 4\% \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 6: Positive aspects of SQL Island.  
analyzed using excerpts from students' responses. The improvements proposed can be classified into two main categories: improvements in player experience; improvements in educational aspects of the game.  
Regarding players' experience, the most referenced improvement refers to the game's graphics. Although students evaluated the aesthetics of the game (Table 3: median = 4) positively, it is clear that there is room for _\"improvement of the graphics and enrichment of the environment of the game\"_. For example, _\"a more detailed animation, depicting the villages and better characters depiction would make the game more attractive\"_. Furthermore, _\"it would be interesting if there was background music for every correct or wrong answer\"_, or, as another student commented, _\"sound effects when the user answers correctly\"_. However, as [PERSON] and [PERSON] [34] noted, the development of entertainment games differs from educational games in terms of resources, such as human resources, hardware, and multimedia material.  
When it comes to improvements regarding the educational aspects of the game, the students mentioned that they would like the game to cover more SQL statements and also provide more scaffolding features. The game could have _\"better error messages (debugging)\"_, while _\"if you make an error several times, the game could explain better the query\"_. The hints could also be improved and, more specifically, _\"the instructions could be clearer and in the case the player gets stuck there should be more helpful hints\"_. _\"Showing details for each statement that is currently being used in the game (at the side of the screen) in order to fully comprehend how each statement is used\"_ would also support students.  
Although going back in a game might not be common in entertainment games, it seems that this feature is important for educational games. As one student stated, it is important _\"to be able to choose at which one of the previous stages you want to go\"_. _\"A left arrow could be added in order to be able to see previous dialogues, so as to know what to do if we get stuck at some point\"_. Finally, _\"providing a save point\"_ in an educational game is important since there are students that face difficulties with the educational content and challenges, as noticed by the extended gameplay duration and the inability of some students to finish the game.