Educational Video Game Design: A Review of the Literature

Much attention has been directed to the use of video games for learning in recent years, in part due to the staggering amounts of capital spent on games in the entertainment industry, but also because of their ability to captivate player attention and hold it for lengthy periods of time as players learn to master game complexities and accomplish objectives. This review of the literature on video game research focuses on publications analyzing educational game design, namely those that present design elements conducive to learning, the theoretical underpinnings of game design, and learning outcomes from video game play.  Many articles have been published in the last 20 years on video games for learning, and several reviews of the literature on educational games have been completed within the last few years (Aguilera & Mendiz, 2003; O’Neil, Wainess, & Baker, 2005). However, these reviews focused on literature that addressed what players learn from video games rather than how video games can be designed to facilitate learning. This review focuses on publications addressing educational video game design, seeking to identify elements of game design that promote learning as well as the learning theories that conceptualize how video games foster learning. Research Focus and Search  A multiple database search using the search terms game design AND video or computer or PC AND educational or instructional, yielded nearly 100 publications from the following databases: • Academic Search Premier • ACM Digital Library • Communication and Mass Media Complete • Computer Source • ERIC • Information Science and Technology Abstracts • Internet and Personal Computing Abstracts • Library, Information Science, and Technology Abstracts • PsychARTICLES • Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection • PsychINFO • Science and Technology Collection •  Search results were further limited to include only peer-reviewed journal articles, conference proceedings, and frequently cited books, criteria which culled the list to 56. Closer review of these publications revealed that several did not address issues related to game design. The resulting list contained 35 items spanning the last ten years, most of which were published in the last three (30 of 35 items). Results were not narrowed by specific game types, nor were design studies on game-like environments excluded as they apply design elements from video games to environments for learning and are consequently relevant to this review. Game-like environments included augmented and virtual reality, multi-user virtual environments, interactive learning environments, simulations, and simulation games. The publications reviewed are organized loosely into those that address characteristics of educational games, elements of effective video game design, learning theories for video games, learning outcomes from game play, and gender preferences in video game design. These categories provide an organizational framework for understanding significant design considerations revealed in the literature. Nevertheless, most of the publications reviewed do not fit neatly into a single category. Many of the studies contain findings that are relevant to several of the categories employed here, but may be reviewed fully only once and simply cited where otherwise appropriate. Elements of Effective Video Game Design Edutainment vs. Educational Games It is important to distinguish between educational and edutainment games prior to proceeding with a review focused on educational video game design. According to Denis and Jouvelot (2005), “The main characteristic that differentiates edutainment and video games is interactivity, because, the former being grounded on didactical and linear progressions, no place is left to wandering and alternatives” (p. 464). Edutainment games, then, are those which follow a skill and drill format in which players either practice repetitive skills or rehearse memorized facts. As such, “Edutainment often fails in transmitting non trivial (or previously assimilated) knowledge, calling again and again the same action patterns and not throwing the learning curve into relief” (Denis & Jouvelot, 2005, p. 464). In contrast, educational video games require strategizing, hypothesis testing, or problem-solving, usually with higher order thinking rather than rote memorization or simple comprehension. Characteristics of such games include a system of rewards and goals which motivate players, a narrative context which situates activity and establishes rules of engagement, learning content that is relevant to the narrative plot, and interactive cues that prompt learning and provide feedback. Nevertheless, even skill and drill games that employ such characteristics have demonstrated gains in learning. Lee, Luchini, Michael, Norris, and Soloway (2004) found that a math facts game for second graders deployed on handheld computers encouraged learners to complete a greater number of problems at an increased degree of difficulty. Learners playing the handheld game completed nearly three times the number of problems in 19 days as those using paper worksheets. Learners using the handheld game also voluntarily increased the level of difficulty in the game as they continued to play.