Video Games and Psychology

The field of game design for educational content lacks a focus on methodologies that merge gameplay and learning. Existing methodologies typically fall short in three ways: they neglect the unfolding of gameplay through players' actions over a short period of time as a significant unit of analysis; they lack a common consideration of game and learning mechanics; and they falsely separate the acts of playing and learning. This paper suggests the Gameplay Loop Methodology as a valuable tool for the design of game-based learning, because it addresses these major shortcomings. A case study of the design and production phases of Antura and the Letters, a literacy game for Arabic refugee children, illustrates the uses of the Gameplay Loop Methodology. 1. Educational game design: A merging of game and instructional design The design of educational games is a complex endeavor because educational games are expected to fulfil two requirements, which at first seem contradictory: educational games should be as appealing as commercial, off-the-shelf games designed solely for entertainment, and they should provide their players with a learning experience related to educational domains beyond the game itself. Consequently, the design of educational games must be informed by two different disciplines – game design and instructional design – that bring different histories and approaches to the table (Becker, 2016). In our opinion, the successful design of educational games presupposes a significant merging of both disciplines, in other words, a formal approach combining game and instructional design (see Buchanan, Wolanczyk and Zinghini, 2011). In response to the aforementioned requirement as well as to massive growth in serious game production in general and educational game production in particular, ideas from game design and instructional design were synthesized to form a new field, more specifically, (inter)discipline that is usually called " Serious Game Design " or " Educational Game Design " 1. Lameras et al (2017) describe serious game design as " a relatively new discipline that couples learning design with game features " and state that " [a] key characteristic of this approach is grounded in educational need and theory, rather than a focus purely on entertainment ". In this field, it is undisputed that serious game design poses different challenges from entertainment game design and requires a unique methodology that addresses both instructional strategies and learning theories 2. Accordingly, in recent years, many authors have suggested formal design patterns and methodologies to offer guidelines for the design of serious games. As most of these methodologies were developed in academia (which is closely connected to the relatively small serious game industry), many are more abstract and less practical than traditional game design methodologies, which were developed inside the gaming industry and are thus more strongly influenced by its market-driven logic of immediate application. Despite major achievements inside the academic field of serious game design, for example Arnab and Clarke (2017), assessing the theory and practice of serious game design, still assume the following: " The development of these games does not normally follow a specific set of guidelines or process, which makes them more bespoke and less replicable. Moreover, existing frameworks or guidelines are often high-level and/or theoretical design models that provide general design considerations rather than a prescribed development process. " 1 In this paper, we are concerned with the design of educational games in particular instead of serious games in general. However, we are aware that the majority of available literature relevant for our research and development project employs the broader term " serious games " in reference to " educational games ". Therefore, we will use the term " serious games " whenever we refer to this literature, as well as too the broader category. 2 See eg Gunter, Kenny and Vick (2006): " The goal of serious game design is similar in nature to that of entertainment games, but is more complex, in that not only must one maintain intellectual control of the design elements that lead to a fun and engaging game, but one must also plan instructional elements that lead to a fun, engaging, and educational game experience. To be sure, instructional strategies and learning theories must be included in these formal methods. " 154