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Designing social videogames for educational uses
Carina González-González and Francisco Blanco-Izquierdo
Unviersity of La Laguna (Spain)
Abstract
In this paper we analyze the main areas of research into educational videogames and in
the evolution of the technologies and design methodologies that are making these
interactive systems increasingly natural, immersive and social. We present the design
and development of a prototype for a collaborative educational videogame based on a
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) engine for use in
various educational contexts in a) university education and b) secondary education.
Keywords: Educational videogames, Collaborative learning, MMORPG, CSCL, HCI,
Playability
1. Research on educational videogames
Scientific research into videogames has been rather scarce, only coming into its own in
the 80s, when videogames first started to proliferate. This research has focused mainly
on the negative effects of videogames, namely aggressiveness, addiction and
withdrawal, and was based on previous research into the effects of TV (Irwin & Gros,
1995; Welch, 1995; Flood, Heath & Lapp, 1997; Cesarone, 1998; Wellish, 2000). The
result has been a social discourse that has uniformly discredited videogames and, by
extension, games, platforms and players, producing a negative effect on its perceived
educational potential. In reality, research has demonstrated the practical non-existence
of negative effects, along with the presence of some positive ones, including those of an
instructional nature (McFarlane, Sparrowhawk & Heald 2002). Already in 1978 the first
Carina González-González and Francisco Blanco-Izquierdo. 2012. Designing social videogames for educational uses. Comput.
Educ. 58, 1 (January 2012), 250-262. DOI=10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.08.014
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findings on the subject were being published (Ball, 1978), laying the foundations for
subsequent research – especially in terms of the motivational aspect for learning, as well
as its cognitive potential. But its most solid foundations began to be laid in the 80s,
while the 90s, especially the second half, saw the proliferation and fruition of that
research. Estallo (1995) states that “videogame players tend to exhibit a higher level of
intellect than their non-playing peers”. He highlights, among other virtues, their benefits
in terms of motor skills and intellectual development, areas in which players excel
above non-players. Also of importance are the perceptive and deductive elements, as
well a parallel or simultaneous processing and, closely linked to this, spatiality and
visual perspectives (Jackson, 1993; Okagaki & Frensch, 1994; Jordan, 1998). And let
us not forget the importance of selective attention to stimuli from a perceptive
standpoint (Dorval & Pepin, 1986).
Scientific research has already managed to establish a connection between videogames
and various arenas of the human psyche – affective, cognitive, conative (Malone, 1981;
White, 1984; Ricci, 1994; Kafai & Resnik, 1996; González & Blanco, 2008a). Science
has also examined their relationship with the complex socializing process familiar to
young people today (relationships with peers – playing together, talking about
videogames and exchanging them, building identities, obtaining knowledge and
experiences vicariously, developing a sense of self and of one’s surroundings) (Lewis,
1997; Garitaonandia, Juaristi & Oleaga, 1999; Croson, 1999; Buckingham, 2000).
Associations have also been made between types of videogames and cognitive,
affective, motivational and intellectual development, as evidenced by how arcade,
action, role and platform games foster the development of motor skills, manual
dexterity and reflexes in cognitive terms, and provide a release for stress in affective
and motivational terms. These are usually associated with machines like Gameboy,
Playstation and Nintendo, while the more complex games played on computers, like
strategy and simulation games, are more relevant to intellectual development (Fisher,
1995; Moral, 1996; Acevedo & Álvarez 2007). This research into videogames has made
advances in different areas, such as : a) access and use (differences by gender, age and
socioeconomic status, contextual studies, relationships between their use and that of
other media, as well as with other leisure activities); b) content (themes, structure,
background and precursors, technical effects); c) social perceptions of the phenomenon
(meanings attributed to the technical devices, models for spreading technology); d)
positive and negative effects (aggressiveness, addiction, sexism, social and cognitive
skills, school performance, teaching potential, effect on social and family relations); e)
other applications and consequences (use in medical treatment – oncological, recovery
from burns, alcohol and drug addiction, as a didactic tool – and for special educational
needs, as an aid in technical research into artificial intelligence, in the development of
technologies and their adaptation to users, effect on the development and
implementation of technology in society) (Gros, 1998; Blanchard & Stock, 1999; F9
Group, 2000; Botella, Quero, Baños, Perpiñá & GarcíaPalacios, 2004; Becta, 2006;
European Schoolnet, 2009).
Papert (1998), Gee (2003), Gee & Hayes (2009), Prensky (2001), Whitton & Hollins
(2008), Marty (2011) and Carron, Marty & Mangeot-Nagata (2009) espoused the
benefits of computer gaming and note the skills and attributes that they promote in
learning. So, videogames have been used in school to promote and to assess reasoning
abilities (Bottino & Ott, 2006; Bottino, Ferlino, Ott & Tavella, 2007; Facer, Ulicsak &
Sandford 2007; Bottino, Ott & Benigno, 2009). However, the impact of the serious
games on knowledge and practices has been studied with encouraging results (de
Freitas, 2006; Shute, 2009; Pivec & Pivec, 2009; Gee & Shaffer, 2010; Ulicsak &
Wright, 2010).
Of note is Jane McGonigal’s assertion that “videogames can make us better persons and
help to change the world” (McGonigal, 2010). She states that there is a lack of research
regarding the skill set that is acquired in immersive environments and why players, who
often feel frustrated and are marginally integrated in real life, feel successful in these
types of settings where they spend a great deal of time cooperating with others to
achieve common goals. One example of this is provided by the online game World of
Warcraft, which has a Wiki with over 80,000 pages and 11.5 million players who
devote 22.7 hours a week to engage in epic quests and work as a team (Corneliussen &
Walker, 2008). Taking into account the previous research, this paper considers the last
line of research mentioned, that of the design, development and evaluation of
technology, in this case for the development of educational and social videogames for
collaborative learning.
In the following subsections we present some examples of uses of videogames in
classrooms and some educational uses of 3D games related to our work. Then, the
evolution of technology and videogames and the game based collaborative learning
background is presented. Finally, the educational experiences carried out by us are
described and conclusions are presented.
1.1 Some examples videogames activities in classrooms
Commercial videogames can help in the developing of different skills of students. These
potential formative benefits have been studied under the project "Educational Games in
the Classroom" (Felicia, 2009). Table 1 shows these games and the potential benefits to
be gained during your play.
Table 1. Examples of commercial videogames and their formative benefits
In order to describe in depth some experiences in classrooms with videogames, we cite
below some examples of uses of commercial videogames (Padilla Zea, 2011):
a) Age of Empires III in the social environment subject
Age of Empires III was used in the primary school's 6th year social environment subject
(Gros, 2008). From this experience, the authors have found that, through the use of a
videogame, have developed a set of new skills, like for example, understanding the
complex multimedia environment, achieving read, write, speak and listen depending on
the changes occurring in the game. Also, they have learned to manage the information
the game provides them with the resources of each civilization, using it to improve and
make more advanced civilization, for what they need to master four core competences:
information management, digital asset management, management and development of
design strategies and planning and management of information and variables of the
game. Regarding communication skills, have improved both verbal and written, and
electronic media related. It has encouraged debate, since all students have to manage
their civilizations but also have to manage alliances with other civilizations so that
everyone can achieve their goals. Finally, the dialogue that occurs between students
leads to a critical analysis of the proceedings which results in resistance to the
manipulation of individuals. We see that seeks to promote such important skills as
planning, resource management, communication, debate and criticism, all skills that are
acquired and improve while students have fun with the game.
b) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to train narrative skills
As part of the study by the University of Alcala de Henares, in conjunction with
Electronic Arts Spain (Lacasa, Martínez-Borda, Méndez, Cortés & Checa, 2007), we
find the use of the video game Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Just as was done
with other games used in the experience (NBA Live 2007 and The Sims 2 Pets), the
process of analysis was carried out using video and audio recordings, documents
produced by the students and photographs.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is an adventure game based on the stories of J. K.
Rowling's book. There is a pop culture around the protagonist close to the child's life
through various objects that are associated with different values. In this study, the game
was used to train the narrative skills of students.
In the workshop with this game the goal was to help children in fifth grade learn to tell
stories from a person known to them, like Harry Potter. The phases of the workshop
were developed as follows:
-Motivation: Students became familiar with the character and explored the
information available online. It was held in the computer room and students created
their blogs, which seems particularly important to encourage the participation of both
students and their family.
-Identification of favourite characters: In this phase students had to justify orally
and in writing, through the blogs, which were their favourite characters. In addition,
different fragments of the movie of the same name were visualized and the students
became familiar with the presentation of different stories about the same character
indifferent formats and with different codes.
-Recap: The children meditated on the figure of Harry Potter as a hero and the
meaning of the concept. They also brought to the classroom objects related to the
character and built a learning scenario defined by symbols related to children's culture
described in the book and game.
c) NBA Live 2007 to achieve sporting habits
NBA Live 2007 is a sports game that can help bring in daily life many of the values and
skills associated with sports, but is merely an example of what can be done with other
sports games such as Tiger Woods PGA Tour or Pro Evolution Soccer, for example.
The use of sports video games can increase motivation, a key element in the educational
process and to incorporate other important elements such as the competitive aspect.
As sport is very present in the life of the school children, the goal of this workshop was
to use the game as a promoter of sports and team values. The workshop was held with
children in second grade. In the first phase of work was the motivation workshop where
the children meditated on how you can learn with the game. During the second phase,
the children played video games in class and also could take them home to share what
they learned with their families, gradually becoming aware of the learning that was
occurring with respect to teamwork, athletic skills or relations between reality and
fiction. Finally, the last phase the students became critics of video games: The students
left everything learned reflected in a mural and displayed at the center aisle to share the
experience with other classmates.
d) Sims 2 Pets to improve problem-solving skills
Sims 2 Pets is a simulation game that allows us to explore reality from different
perspectives. Adults and children can play together and create a reality where characters
and spaces are transformed. This workshop was held with students in fifth grade. The
workshop consisted of caring for pets of a Sim family. As in previous workshops, the
first phase was the motivation and the students took home the consoles to work with
them and face the challenges of the game. In this phase, the children became expert
critics and transmitted their experiences and tips to other peers. At first it made orally,
then finally through print and Internet platforms. Finally, concrete questions were raised
of design in the virtual world that promoted interaction among students. One of the
conclusions of this report refers to the importance of adult intervention, in this case the
teacher, in the process of play, so that children can make a reflection about what they
have done in the game and how to move it to real life. So when the group works alone,
students tend to make descriptions of what they have lived without any criticism.
However, when this process involves an adult, problem-solving processes are carried
out and relationships between the real and the virtual world are established, which
allows a greater benefit of the game process.
1.2 Related educational uses of 3D games
As an example of commercial 3D games educational uses, "Second Life" is situated in a
prominent position for its importance for the virtual learning communities. There are
dozens of educational projects and a nascent academic literature related to it. However,
the company that publishes and maintains the game, Linden Labs has even created a
special area called "Campus: Second Life" which brings together universities, libraries,
museums and other institutions related to education giving them a special economic
offer. Among the most relevant educational sites are for example:
• Harvard Law School's Austin Hall
• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Ohio University Second Campus
• Northern Illinois University
• VINEC - Virtual Neurological Education Centre
Another project Sloode seeks to integrate Moodle with Second Life, combining the
learning tools of a Learning Management System (LMS) on web with the richness and
interactivity of a 3D graphical environment that uses the sophisticated technology of
games. In our case, we integrated a 3D game engine Neverwinter Nights with the e-
learning platform Moodle (Gonzalez & Blanco, 2008b).
Neverwinter Nights is a third person role-playing videogame based on the third edition
of the “Dungeons and Dragons” board game that is played on setting, published and
maintained by the Bioware Inc. Company. This game features a number of features that
make it very interesting for such purpose and will be discussed later, which have also
been used in a number of experimental educational projects. An example is the
Revolution project, developed by the MIT and University of Wisconsin-Madison who
set the game in the colonial city of Williamsburg in 1775 and historical events that led
to the revolution that led to American independence, making participants understand the
history of his country embodying different types of people in the colonies: high-class
lawyers, plantation slaves, merchants, …, each with different motivations and interests.
Students are thus in a position to make reasoned decisions that are consistent with the
role, interacting with characters from the town and with playmates. The environment
puts players-students in situations that require cooperation, debate and competition.
Another interesting project is the "Neverwinter Nights Learning Environment" of
Nottinghams-hire West College and Peter Gorniak (MIT). Aimed at secondary students
has been remarkably successful in improving student performance in so-called "key
skills" (numerical and communication). It creates custom "adventures" for the curricular
objectives in these areas in which the players / students must solve problems in context
to further progress in the game.
On the other hand, the Neverwinter Nights ScriptEase is a project of the University of
Alberta (Canada) that addresses the creation of a tool that facilitates the use of
Neverwinter Nights Script for teachers without programming skills, so they can create
educational adaptations easier. The idea here is that teachers can develop "adventures"
in a simple way to fit the objectives of the curriculum. As an example of use of
Neverwinter Nights for higher education can include the project of the School of
Journalism and Mass Communication, New Media Institute (USA).The authors of the
project experiment with the effectiveness of games for educational tasks in this
framework by making the players-students in the role of journalists should develop a
paper to report on the derailment of a train. They must do interviews, do research and
journalism. It's kind of simulation of a real situation.
Although not designed for educational purposes but ludic, the use of commercial games
like World of Warcraft (WOW) open up a world of possibilities in education today
(Chang, 2008; Corneliussen & Rettberg, 2008; Hui-Yin & Shiang-Kwei, 2010; Golub,
2010; Ducheneau, 2010; Pirius & Creel, 2010; Bainbridge, 2010), such as: students
collaborating and discussing ideas, possible solutions, connecting with other students
around the world, on topics of study, immersing students in a learning experience that
allows them to grapple with a problem, gaining higher-order thinking skills from
pursuing the solution, among others. As example of the use of WOW in the school, there
is a project with this name where the original focus was to develop a curriculum for an
after school program or "club" for at-risk students at the middle and/or high school
level. This program would use the game World of Warcraft as a focal point for
exploring Writing/Literacy, Mathematics, Digital Citizenship, Online Safety, and would
have numerous projects/lessons intended to develop 21st-Century skills. After the
success of the first year's implementation as an after school program, the program is
now being implemented as a language arts elective for middle schoolers designed to
provide enrichment for students at all levels.
2. Evolution of the technology to generate immersive, natural and social
videogames
The history of videogames shows us that its evolution is marked by the constant search
for more entertainment and ease of use, the most notable features being: a) the search
for immersion through increasingly realistic environments, new, interactive and more
natural elements and 3D technology; b) the creation of specific devices that facilitate the
interaction, simulating real elements and offering new gaming experiences; and c)
entertaining all types of persons, bringing videogames to a broader spectrum of players,
such as the elderly or disabled. We can then say that videogames are evolving in their
design as interactive systems toward “natural interfaces” that are accessible and social
(González Sánchez, 2010).
The “natural interfaces” comprise a means through which users provide inputs to their
devices via gestures, words or bodily movements, as is the case, for example, of the Wii
videogame console. We can find different categories of natural interfaces, such as:
a) Multimodal interfaces: these interfaces feature multiple and natural inputs,
with the computer processing the speech, gesture or tactile input and providing
multiple feedback, also via voice, touch or visuals;
b) Humanlike interaction (natural): the importance of voice in man-machine
communications, voice as an activator of remote actions;
c) New interfaces such as tangible interfaces (a pen, book, eraser, etc.);
d) Biometrics and user recognition: real-time identification of the people in an
environment through the identification of biometric features (voice modulation,
face, height, iris, typical gestures, digital fingerprint, etc.);
e) Disappearing computing: the elements charged with offering the computing
abilities used to develop Environmental Intelligence applications are embedded
in normal, daily objects (tables, walls, lamps, pens, credit cards, etc.).
The latest trends in this area are facial, gesture, voice and haptic recognition (Sigut,
Ould, Díaz & González, 2008; Torres Jorge, 2010).
The technology available for 3D games has allowed for realistic simulations and
environments. This extraordinary level of detail has been used to cure post-traumatic
stress and phobias. It has also been used to relax pre-operative patients and reduce their
apprehension. Studies like those conducted by Gustavo Saposnik (2010) at the
University of Toronto have proven the positive effects of using the Wii to regain motor
functions (Saposnik, Mamdani, Bayley, Thorpe, Hall, Cohen & Teasell, 2010).
In the case of augmented reality, this technology has been used to obtain environment-
specific information through mobile devices (headsets or cellular telephone), as is the
case with Savannah7 and the Museum of Augmented Reality (Schmalstieg & Wagner,
2007).
Of note in this area is the growth in the number of accessible videogames intended for
disabled children and adolescents. In the case of a visual disability, audio signals are
used to provide access to buttons and information, while readers or screen magnifiers
can be used to read text on the screen. Some of these accessible games include
Terraformers, Talking Typing, Teacher, Braille Twister and Quality Quizz. In the case
of a hearing disability, the information is made accessible via subtitles, as in the well-
known games Zork, Grand Inquisitor, HalfLife2 and SinEpisode. Videogames can be
adapted for people with physical disabilities through the use of a control adapted to the
operating system itself or to the videogame’s mechanisms.
The true revolution in gaming, however, is social videogames, as noted the book Digital
Culture, Play and Identity (2008), for whom such games already constitute a new way
to have fun, make friends and cooperate (and compete) while promoting self-esteem and
interpersonal relations, and which are currently being “played” by over 400 million
individuals. Some “social games”, like Farmville, Happy Aquarium, Farm Town,
Restaurant City, Café World, Country Life, and many others are linked to social
networks (Facebook, Myspace, Tuenti, etc.).
Another line of cutting-edge social online gaming is that of the MMORPG. An
MMORPG is a type of game in which a large number of players, typically on the order
of thousands, interact among themselves via characters in a three-dimensional setting.
Second Life (SL) is a particular type of MMORPG in which there is no defined plot;
rather, it creates an alternative virtual world called “metaverse” that the players can
build as they play. In this “metaverse”, the players interact through avatars, socializing,
trading, etc. Although SL is the best known of these metaverses, it is not the only one.
These virtual worlds, of which the most popular on a global level is the role-playing
game World of Warcraft, comprise a new area of research for social sciences, as noted
in the introduction and demonstrated by lectures at the symposium on “Analyzing
Virtual Worlds: Next Step in the Evolution of Social Science Research”, organized by
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago in
February of 2010, and by publications such as “The Warcraft Civilization: Social
Science in a Virtual World”, by Williams Sims Bainbridge (2010) of MIT.
How and what students learn in social videogames is a good question to answer. So, in
the following section analyzes the key points of learning collaboratively with
videogames.
3. Learning collaboratively with videogames
In “What Videogames have to teach us about learning and literacy”, James Paul Gee
(2003) maintains that good videogames are “machines for learning” since they
incorporate some of the most important learning principles postulated by today’s
cognitive science. Specifically, he states that:
a) Good videogames provide the users information on demand and as needed,
not out of context as is often the case in the classroom. It is much more difficult
for people to remember or understand information that is given out of context or
well before it is needed.
b) Good games are capable of presenting users with tasks that are challenging,
but at the same time doable. This is essential to maintaining motivation
throughout the learning process.
c) Good games convert their users into creators, and not mere receptors. Their
actions influence or build the game’s universe.
d) Good games feature initial levels that are specifically designed to provide
users with the basic knowledge required to allow them to build generalizations
that will enable them to face more complex problems.
e) Good games create a “cycle of mastery”, in which players acquire routines
through which they increase their level so as to accomplish a specific task. When
said task is mastered, the cycle is started again with more difficult tasks.
As a result, many of these characteristics can be used for learning the material and skills
relevant to school and professional work.
In addition, we must not forget the intrinsic social component in every human being that
allows us to hold different points of view and attitudes, and which enhance different
abilities and promote attitudes of respect and tolerance. This social component can then
be incorporated into a videogame as a feature of a “virtual learning community” and
collaborative learning (Jonnes & Issrof, 2005) so as to achieve common learning
objectives. Working in a group, however, does not in and of itself guarantee
collaborative learning. A context must be defined and the proper methodology
employed that adheres to five guidelines (Johnson & Johnson, 1994): positive
interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual and group responsibility, learning
of social skills and review of the group process.
In our experiences the activities in the videogame were designed following the
principles of Computer Support Collaborative Learning (CSCL) (Koschmann, 1996).
The CSCL meets the same characteristics and qualities of traditional collaborative
learning, but includes a motivational element associated with the technology. Moreover,
from the standpoint of the teacher, the use of computers as a learning tool allows you to
track more detailed process, as different tools and applications can include a record of
activities. Thus, the teacher can review the process that each student has followed in
their learning and check the scores and errors.
Through collaborative learning the learning is favored and promotes individual social
skills. Several studies have found that students who work collaboratively develop better
attitudes toward learning process, devote more time to the task of learning, are more
tolerant, hear more opinions of others and have better negotiating skills (Mendoza &
Galvis, 1998). What they do is to learn during the construction of shared knowledge
(Webb & Palincsar, 1996). Depending on the manner in which students choose to
behave, it promotes the success of others, it hinders the learning process or has no effect
on the failure or success (Johnson & Johnson, 1998).
Lastly, we must not forget that the goal of a player is to play. That is why in order to
make the learning process as effective as possible when designing an educational
videogame, factors such as motivation, attention, concentration and excitement must be
maximized (Norman, 2004). The educational content, therefore, must be “hidden”
within the videogame’s inner workings, with the videogame mediating the
teaching/learning process and proposing collaborative activities that promote learning
through group interaction, negotiation, the planning of joint strategies and a shared
responsibility for success or failure (Moreno, González, Castilla, González & Sigut
2007).
4. Improving the student’s experience with educational and collaborative
videogames
In order to improve the student’s experience with videogames, we must first introduce
the concept of playability, which can be defined as a “set of properties that describe the
player’s experience with a specific gaming system and whose main goal is to amuse and
entertain a single player or a group in a way that is pleasing and believable” (González
Sánchez, 2010).
The methodology of Player-Oriented Videogame Design (González Sánchez, Padilla
Zea, Gutiérrez & Cabrera, 2008) proposes incorporating playability throughout the
design and development of a videogame as an interactive system. This requires
specifying playability requirements for the different facets (Padilla Zea, González
Sánchez, Gutiérrez, Cabrera & Pederewsky, 2009) that allow for an analysis of which
playability attributes are affected and how to improve the playability associated with
these attributes. The playability facets are as follows:
-Intrinsic Playability – the playability resulting from the game’s very nature, that is,
from its rules, goals and challenges and how these are projected to the player. It is
associated with the design of the game play and to the implementation of the game
mechanic, analyzing how the rules, goals, pace and mechanics of the videogame are
represented.
-Mechanical Playability – the playability associated with the quality of the videogame
as a software system. It is related to the game engine and underscores features such as
the smoothness of cinematic scenes, proper lighting, sound, graphic movements and
behavior of characters and the environment in the game and, in multiplayer systems, the
communications system.
-Interactive Playability – facet associated with everything involving user interaction, the
design of the user interface, dialog mechanisms and control systems. This is closely
associated with the game interface.
-Artistic Playability – involves the artistic and esthetic quality and suitability of the
videogame’s elements to its nature. These include graphic and visual quality, sound
effects, musical score and game songs, the game’s history and its narration, as well as
how these elements are incorporated into the videogame’s environment.
-Intrapersonal Playability – or simply personal or perceptive playability. The goal of
this facet is to study the perception of the videogame’s user and the feelings that the
game produces. Its value is highly subjective.
Interpersonal Playability – or group playability. This involves the feelings or perception
of the users and the group awareness that are produced when playing with others, either
competitively or collaboratively.
We may then conclude that a game’s playability results from the value of each of the
attributes in the aforementioned facets. Said value must be adapted so as to maximize
the player’s experience or response when playing. Likewise, when analyzing the
requirements for creating a collaborative game, we must bear in mind those components
that are essential to collaborative learning. Taking as our starting point the previous
research indicated in Section 3, we note the elements and characteristics that must be
included during the game’s design phase in order to achieve effective collaborative
learning:
1) Positive interdependence: achieving this interdependence requires that every member
in the group share common recreational and/or learning goals or objectives, group
responsibility or “a team life”, and evaluation and scoring as a group.
2) Face-to-face interaction: achieving this type of interaction requires designing
situations in the game that promote trust among the group’s members and raise the level
of commitment with other players such that they all interact similarly and make
common decisions.
3) Individual and group responsibility: this aspect is enhanced by establishing roles and
by rotating the leader’s role among group members, as well as by establishing
individual rewards and competitions with other groups.
4) Learning social skills: promoting social skills requires designing situations involving
group planning, strategizing, negotiations, debates and decision making, as well as the
exchange of roles.
5) Review of the group process: the group’s members must be aware of their
performance as a group, meaning that activities must be provided where members
assess their own mistakes and the group itself can decide to change role assignments
and/or objectives in order to improve results.
5. Design and implementation of a prototype for an online multiplayer
collaborative educational videogame
In order to design, implement and validate educational activities that follow the game
based collaborative learning principles we design an educative game prototype using the
Neverwinter Night’s Aurora engine. The design of this prototype follows the
considerations presented in the previous sections, the bases for videogame design (Salen
& Zimmerman, 2003), the design centered on player methodology (Gonzalez Sánchez,
2010) and the guide of design collaborative activities in videogames (Padilla Zea et al.,
2009).
This prototype have been used to teach the fundamental concepts of some subjects, like
Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in 3rd year of Computer Engineering career, and to
validate the aspects related with motivation and learning. In the prototype, the activities
have been designed following the fundamentals of CSCL applied to multiplayer games.
In the case of the experiences carried out in High School, the Neverwinter Nights
prototype was used to teach Physics and Chemical of 4th course, but also we used other
commercial videogames, like WOW, in which the very students had to implement the
game server and the activities.
The reasons to decide to select these subjects (HCI, Physics, Chemistry and
Technology) among others was that the authors developing the educational experiences
in their area of expertise and teaching at university and secondary education.
The objectives intended through the use of these multiplayer game types are also the
improvement of instrumental, interpersonal, informational and digital competences. The
instrumental competences encompass cognitive skills, methodological skills, and
technical and language skills (oral and written communication, basic skill for the
computer and information management). The interpersonal skills can improve
teamwork, self-critical capacity and ethical commitment. In the case of information
skills and digital acquisition and develop understanding of the information (searching
information, selecting it, analyzing it and extracting it), the expression and diffusion
of information(develop digital content) and social communication and interaction
(collaborative work, chats, forums) In this sense, through the activities around the
videogame it is possible to contribute to develop skills related to the information
technology and communication, essentials in the 21st Century.
5.1 Design
In the design of our educational videogame prototype we followed the scenario
approach of Leite, Hadad, Doorn & Kaplan (2000) which relies on the use of natural
language (Liu & Yu, 2001) and an iterative design process. In the requirement analysis
phase, we analyzed the scenarios in our game and defined their objectives, the tasks, the
use context, the user profiles and the use cases (González & Blanco, 2008b). In terms of
the user profiles and their roles in the context of the videogame, said profiles can be
divided into two levels: one involving the game itself, and the other their role in the
learning activity. In this way, each participant assumes a role in relation to the game
itself. For example, one participant may be a “warrior” or a “rogue”, which affects the
skills his character has within the game and how they develop within it. For example,
“warriors” are tasked with protecting and defending the group, while “rogues” explore
the terrain, picking locks that obstruct the group’s progress and removing traps from the
field of play. The instructors also take part in the entertainment aspect through their role
as “Dungeon Master”, placing obstacles in or removing them from the players’ paths
and interacting with them through avatars. In addition to their role with the game, each
player develops a role related to their part within the learning activity. As a result, our
activity features:
a) students (take part in the group activity, debating and providing specific
knowledge to achieve the desired results);
b) spokesperson (coordinates decisions and speaks for the team when a common
answer has to be given to a question); and
c) instructor (guides the learning activity and evaluates the students).
These role types are related. For example, an instructor can inhabit the avatar of a
character that provides a clue that is necessary in order to solve a puzzle.
We must also consider the playability facets and their attributes in the prototype, such
as: a) the satisfaction associated with the videogame; b) learning the game, its levels and
sequence; c) effectiveness in achieving objectives; d) game immersion through the
avatar, the maze and overcoming obstacles and challenges; e) the motivation provided
by overcoming challenges, gathering objects, competitiveness among groups and
interest; f) the emotion, as manifested through greater motivation, happiness, euphoria,
hostility or frustration at not achieving objectives, among others; and g) social aspects
resulting from the communications and support among partners that are necessary to
complete the tasks.
During the design phase we also conceived different collaborative learning activities in
various phases: start, development and finish.
These phases and the activities designed within each are described below:
Stage 1. Start
Activity type: Introduction to the environment
Description: in order to undertake the learning activities proposed in the game, the
students must first learn to “play” in the game environment. To this end, a game tutorial
was designed with different characters to guide the action and tell the player how to
move within the environment and manipulate its objects.
Activity type: Role and Characterization
Description: each student must create their own character, assigning it a personality,
physical appearance, clothing and powers. They must also give it a name that is related
to the student’s own name, such that the instructor and fellow players can identify it
within the environment. Then, within this environment, they must travel through a maze
and become acquainted with each other. This activity also features entertaining action
elements such as monsters, demons and other characters with which to interact. In this
phase they also have to acquire the tools they will need to face the challenges presented
in the concept maze.
Activity type: Grouping
Description: the students are supposedly teletransported to a library where they must
come together as a group and, above all, learn to communicate. This library has
different rooms with chairs and sofas where they can sit and speak, as well as scattered
treasure chests with different colored cloaks: blue, green, red and yellow. Each color
identifies a group, and the students have to don the corresponding colored cloak. In this
phase of the game, team members have to assign a leader who will interact with the
other groups and with the instructor.
Stage 2. Development
Activity type: Search for concepts
Description: In this activity they must look for and gather concepts from various
subjects. The subjects to which the concepts belong are initially unknown. At the end of
the maze, they must select a subject and have a minimum number of concepts before
proceeding to the next phase. If they do not, they must return to the maze and find more
concepts and/or negotiate for any missing concepts with the other groups. The roles
played in this phase of the game by the team members are: a) gatherers (find and collect
various objects, they can also speak to other gatherers to obtain objects); b) guardians
(protect other members in their missions and safeguard any treasures that are found);
and c) leader (responsible for interacting with other groups and with the instructor).
Activity type: Negotiation
Description: In this phase the teams must acquire additional concepts, some of which
must be obtained through negotiating with other teams or the instructor. Each team must
set up a store and visit the other teams’ stores in search of the concepts missing from
their subject (chosen in the previous phase). The instructor also has a store with
“exclusive” concepts, at a higher price, which must be obtained by answering a series of
related questions posed by the instructor. Even though the leader interacts with the
instructor, the former can consult with teammates at any time before answering the
questions posed by the instructor.
Stage 3. Finish
Activity type: Joint building of the final product
Description: Once the different activities proposed in the game (search, discovery,
negotiation, competition and cooperation) are completed, teams obtain all of the
concepts needed to build a collaborative conceptual map of a specific subject assigned
to the group. The maps are then integrated into an overall conceptual map of the subject
within the virtual classroom.
5.2 Implementation
The prototype was implemented using the Neverwinter Nights engine. Neverwinter
Nights is ideal for role-playing activities because it was designed to be modified,
allowing you to create in a simple and flexible manner a variety of game scenarios (and
in our case, learning); Moreover, it is a multiplayer game that includes the possibility
that users have different access privileges, allowing among other things, teachers to
have some ability to change the scenario as it occurs or embody different avatars that
interact with players. It also allows researchers to observe the action taking place in the
game by avatars undetectable and therefore not interfere with the development of the
students' actions. And, it allows creating experiences with controlled environments,
unlike what happens in massively multiplayer games where it is not possible to prevent
interference from people or elements of the game that have nothing to do with the
activity itself.
We also used the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) connected with our
prototype. We implemented several online tests in the Moodle platform to check the
overcoming of objectives associated with each topic, but covered from the videogame
prototype. Thus, for the student the game was a motivating interface to explore and
study these concepts, and the teacher could check the results of this activity from the e-
learning platform and relate them to other activities of the subject not included in the
game. Moreover, the students have to complete their “mission diary” (blog) that is
connected with Moodle. Thus, the teacher can observe the student progress easily and
follow the activity in the videogame jointly with the other course activities.
6. Experiments with collaborative educational games in different educational
contexts
The prototype for the collaborative educational videogame described in Section 5 was
used in different educational settings, such as at the University of La Laguna’s
Computer Engineering Department (Figures 1 and 2) and at the La Orotava and Mencey
Acaimo (Guímar) secondary schools in Tenerife. The various experiments are described
below. We should note that for the secondary school setting, in addition to using the
Neverwinter Nights prototype, other educational videogames were used, including
World of Warcraft, which highlight the acquisition of social skills both inside and
outside the game.
Figure 1. Students using the prototype of the collaborative videogame in the classroom.
Figure 2. Collaborative scenarios of the prototype for the Neverwinter videogame.
6.1. University education
a) Setting
The prototype was evaluated during several sessions in a computer classroom with 25
third-year students of the HCI course offered by the University of La Laguna’s
Computer Engineering Department. The students were not required to attend and the
sessions had no bearing on their final grade.
During the various gaming sessions, each student kept a blog, recording their progress,
problems and perceptions, as well as the answers to questions posed by the instructor
during each session.
b) Conduct of the experiment
The following conclusions were drawn after observing the various sessions:
During the first session, we noted that the game interface was more difficult for the
students than we had anticipated, since it took them some time to become acquainted
with elements such as the characters’ inventory and the game’s verbal and gestural
communication tools. The students were not able to act in a coordinated manner or to
communicate effectively within the game. For example, they tried to face monsters in
the maze individually, resulting in their defeat. The leisure nature of the activity meant
that some of the students did not take it very seriously, as manifested by the use of
“offbeat” nicknames and slightly disruptive attitudes. They were quick to adjust their
behavior, however, with barely any prompting.
In the second session the players were given a complementary activity in addition to the
main one. This activity stripped the game almost entirely of its “action” component and
focused on communication. The players also had to form into teams, with their
characters exhibiting a clearly distinguishable color (cloak), which aids in
distinguishing the different players at all times. Most of the time, the teams must
cooperate and communicate. During this session, the students learned to communicate
within the game. The idea of clearly distinguishing the team members visually was
extraordinarily useful to the students themselves. Despite the successful
communications, the students were unable to complete the activity, which we attribute
to its excessive difficulty and to the short duration of the session.
During the remaining sessions, the activity was carried out as planned. Most of the
students were able to manipulate the game interface reasonably well and were able to
coordinate their actions. They divided into teams, though it was noted that some teams
further subdivided into groups of two or three students. There was a certain amount of
competition among the teams, all of which completed the first part of the activity. Only
one, however, had time to finish the second part successfully (the winning team).
c) Observations
At the end of the activity, the students were given a questionnaire that allowed them to
respond, on a scale of 1 to 5, to a series of questions involving the activity and to the
emotions and motivation present during the work sessions. With regard to the activity’s
level of difficulty, the students regarded it as easy, though some stated that the time
allotted for the activity was insufficient. By other hand, the 30% of the students did not
feel that the activity’s objectives were not clear. We believe that the fact of including a
videogame in the course represented a clear disruption to the lectures and practical
sessions that accounted for most of the students’ class time. We asked the students if
this activity improved their motivation toward the subject and if it was useful, which
yielded very promising results, with 79% of the students replying that this activity
increased the appeal of the subject and 71% saying that the activity proved useful. In
addition to these types of questions, others were analyzed involving the playability, the
interaction with the interface and the communications in the 3D setting. There were also
open-ended questions intended to provide a qualitative analysis of why certain emotions
were produced and why the activity did or did not increase the appeal of the subject, as
well as regarding the usefulness of the activity. Some of the answers revealed the
positive features of the activity (entertaining, different, useful, a new way to interact
with classmates and instructors), as well as the negative (not gradable, adds to
workload, unclear). Likewise, the answers regarding the activity’s usefulness yielded
opinions that were both positive (perception of videogames as a means of
communication, expands view of HCI, learning of concepts, stimulates curiosity) and
negative (should include more class content, loss of lecture classes, not enough time).
6.2. Secondary Education
6.2.1 La Orotava Secondary School
a) Setting
The experiment was carried out in two grades within the program leading to the
completion of the required secondary education curriculum in Spain at the La Orotava
secondary school in Tenerife. This type of learning is intended to promote diversity and
is designed for those students who did not finish their mandatory education curriculum
through traditional means, either because they dropped out or because of poor academic
performance. These studies combine the same subjects that are taught in normal
secondary education programs, though they are structured into generic areas, such as
scientific-technical or social-linguistic. Practical work is emphasized in workshops,
given the generally low disposition shown by these students for classroom work. While
all of the students demonstrated poor performance in previous stages of education, the
reasons are varied and are often related more to training deficiencies carried over from
previous educational stages and with their social and/or family environment than to
intellectual deficiencies.
b) Conduct of the experiment
The videogame activities were carried out as part of the scientific-technical curriculum,
which includes subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and geology.
They were conducted over the course of 15 sessions lasting 55 minutes with 19 students
from the first grade, and over 20 sessions lasting 55 minutes with 26 students from the
second grade, at the rate of one session per week on average. The instructor played the
role of a participating observer and doubled as the activity organizer, both during the
preparation and execution phases. The instructor focused on the course’s own teaching-
learning processes during the design and selection of the activities, as well as during
their execution.
Due to the limitations of the corporate network and to the restrictions on installing
software on the computers of the Board of Education, it was decided to use a “live CD”
with various games that could be run on the computers in the Medusa classrooms of the
Government of the Canaries. In addition to the prototype of the first-person online role-
playing game (Neverwinter Nights), other games were used, such as first-person
shooters with a low level of violence (Assault Cube) and board games (GNU Chess). In
terms of the activities developed, they were designed to be relevant to large parts of the
curriculum, which in this type of program is simpler than in traditional schooling given
the more open vision of the material to be taught. At the conclusion of the activities the
students were asked to respond to a series of questions or to provide their impressions of
the activity.
The students were allowed to communicate verbally in the classroom as long as the
normal course of the activities was not disrupted. They were also allowed to sit
wherever they wanted to in most of the sessions and for several people to use the same
computer. When teams had to be formed, the instructor made the arrangements, though
students were allowed to change teams if they so requested. They were motivated by
being offered extra credit if they performed the activities correctly.
c) Observations
The objective tests show that the curricular content was not always assimilated. The key
could be in the design of the activities, specifically in the way that the content is used.
This could be the focus of future research. For example, the activity in which the
students had to obtain some type of information (such as when they went inside the
library in Neverwinter Nights with books whose contents involved the subjects being
taught) and, after finding it, had to write it on an index card did not achieve the desired
result. On the other hand, the activity in which the information had to be used
repeatedly in order to advance in the game yielded better results (for example, objects
with symbols from the periodic table were used in which the name had to be associated
with the element). In any case, if the content is not relevant to the students’ experience,
the format in which it is presented does not appear to have much of an influence.
Activities with games motivate students and generate other learning that contributes
noticeably to the development of basic skills. Students show a preference for these
activities over those normally used in the classroom. They talk amongst themselves
about their results; they form small communities and share information; they solve
technical problems and take an interest in relatively complex technical issues (computer
networks, BIOS settings); they organize teams, develop rankings and propose
educational projects (such as, for example, organizing an “Assault Cube” tournament or
league); within the game setting they are much less disruptive and more predisposed to
accept mediation, whether from instructors or peers; they are participative and express
preferences for subsequent sessions.
The grade reward for this type of student, whose only academic interest is simply to
pass, was only useful initially, since the activity proved motivational in and of itself.
Moreover, the general effect on “normal” class days was also positive, as evidenced by
the improved attitude of the students.
6.1.2 Mencey Acaimo Secondary School
a) Setting
The experiment was conducted with two groups of 4th year ESO (obligatory secondary
education) students (15-16 years of age, up to 18 for those left back) who had opted for
the science curriculum. The performance of these groups at the school was considered
satisfactory overall, though around 20% exhibited low academic performance (five or
more subjects pending). The reasons for this notwithstanding, we note that at this
school, those 4th-year ESO students choosing the science-technology curriculum
(Technology, Biology and Geology, or Physics and Chemistry) have a higher average
grade in previous courses than those opting for the humanities curriculum (with subjects
such as classical culture or Latin) or who are assigned “diversification” courses. We
may thus assume that some of these students could be considered “gifted”, though some
with an acceptable or even outstanding academic record were in the low performance
group. When interviewed, the students admitted to being “hooked on a computer game”,
World of Warcraft.
b) Conduct of the experiment
On this occasion, the experiments were not structured and were organized outside a
school setting. Of note in this case was an experiment involving the game World of
Warcraft, due to the social skills that were exhibited as part of the game, but not within
it. This experiment featured a group of 17 students from both classes who were
participating on a private World of Warcraft server, with some of the students
administrating the game while the others collaborated in its maintenance or
development. This server had hundreds of player accounts and its use was in no way
restricted to the school’s students; rather, it was used by hundreds of Spanish-speaking
players. Seven of the most devoted students had a low academic performance and spent
a good part of the day not only playing, but developing content for the game,
administrating it and participating in the community of forums associated with the
server.
Over the course of the activity, the teacher’s role was initially that of just another player
and community member. Later, a plan was developed to make a server in which to input
modifications such that, in order to play, it was necessary to solve small problems or
answer questions involving the material in their physics or chemistry classes.
c) Observations
Parents, teachers and even students themselves often point to videogames as the culprit
behind the low academic performance of students. As we saw in Section 1, this is not
true. In this case in particular, it is obvious that in certain students, there was a complete
disconnect between the content taught in some subjects, and which they considered
irrelevant, without this being caused by a lack of ability. The reasons for this “academic
failure” are beyond the scope of this analysis. And yet, these students, through their own
initiative and with the school’s socializing influence as a catalyst, embarked on a
parallel educational project in which they had to acquire the skills necessary to:
•Install and maintain the software for the game server, including also a web
server that hosted the forums.
•Conduct online searches and read documentation in English (and use machine
translation methods).
•Organize and distribute tasks and assign specialized roles, including organizing
the rotation for being the “leader” inside the game server.
•Create and enforce a set of rules, including a system for mediating and judging
questionable cases.
•Sharing thoughts within the community, discussing improvements to the server
(changes to the rules, installing content, etc.), arguing for their points of view
and accepting advice. On this point it is interesting to note that though there was
no “formal” leadership structure, more importance was given to the opinions of
the leaders. And yet, since several of those servers competed for the audience,
the decisions had to please the majority of the community’s components. In this
regard we note how, despite the great efforts that instructors must make to have
the students read and write, the players spent many hours not only reading the
forums but also posting in them, as they did inside the game, where all
communications are in written form. While the writing contained spelling
mistakes and abbreviations, it nevertheless fulfills its communicative purpose in
this context.
Lastly, it is particularly interesting to note how in the game, the students mirror the
social patterns they perceive in the adult world: the financial and ownership structures,
the methods of reciprocity and trade (by means of the game’s “gold coins”), the
distribution of power and the assignment of prestige.
Conclusions
In educational games, learning principles tend to be more focused at practice and
exercise than at understanding. This means that the student can memorize the answer to
a question that shows many times, but without understanding the underlying rules. On
the other hand, most games have a very basic gameplay, often derived from classic
games or a simple adventure that takes place in a world where the player can travel.
Although not designed for educational purposes but ludic, the use of commercial games
like World of Warcraft open up a world of possibilities in education today (Chang,
2008; Corneliussen & Rettberg, 2008; Hui-Yin & Shiang-Kwei, 2010; Golub, 2010;
Ducheneau, 2010; Pirius & Creel, 2010; Bainbridge, 2010), such as: students
collaborating and discussing ideas, possible solutions, connecting with other students
around the world, on topics of study, immersing students in a learning experience that
allows them to grapple with a problem, gaining higher-order thinking skills from
pursuing the solution, among others.
While not targeted at education, nor seeking to cover any type of educational content,
Green and Hannon (2007) cite multiple skills associated with being a “guildmaster”
(one of the roles in WOW), such as: attracting, evaluating, and recruiting new members;
creating apprenticeship programs; teaching children to work together for a common
goal; communication skills; understanding multiple perspectives, respecting and even
embracing diversity of views, understanding a variety of social norms, and negotiating
among conflicting opinions; orchestrating group strategy and organized thinking;
managing disputes, etc.
We see that the objectives intended through the use of these game types in the education
where mainly the improvement of instrumental, interpersonal, informational and digital
competences, which includes cognitive skills, methodological skills, technical and
language skills, teamwork skills, self-critical capacity, ethical commitment, skills about
searching information, selecting it, analyzing it and extracting it and social
communication and interaction (collaborative work, chats, forums). In this sense ,
through the activities around the videogame it is possible to contribute to the use of
information technology and communication and to develop 21st Century skills.
Inspired by the objective to use this kind of videogames for exploring activities that
intended to develop 21st-Century skills, we analyzed in this paper the main areas of
research in educational videogames, the technical trends and tendencies toward social
videogames, as well as the design principles behind educational videogames that
enhance the playing experience and guarantee collaborative learning.
We have likewise presented the design and development of a prototype for an
educational collaborative videogame based on the 3D online multiplayer role-playing
game Neverwinter Nights, which features the collaborative playability and learning
principles noted above.
Lastly, we described various experiments involving this prototype based in Neverwinter
Nights and other online multiplayer educational games, such as World of Warcraft,
conducted in various educational settings: a) in a university learning environment and b)
in a secondary learning environment, the latter of which was specifically tailored to
meet special educational needs.
Concerning the two educational experiences using the Neverwinter Nights prototype,
two ways of evaluation were chosen: a) quantitative, using the log sessions to analyze
collaborative indicators elaborate through the traces of students when collaborates and
the student scores in the videogame, and b) qualitative, with questionnaires, recorders in
video, direct observations of the teachers and the student diary (blog) of the activity.
In the case of the experiences with the WOW in the secondary level we used only the
qualitative method. The recollection of data was done by questionnaires, observations of
the teachers and the student diary (blog) of the activity.
The collaboration process has been analyzed through the interactions in the activities
carried out in the prototype. Thus, it is possible to determine the degree of collaboration
that has taken place during the group learning process, for example, if the set of partners
is working or not. We recorded the interaction that occurs during the resolution of the
problem and the students' conversations, and evaluated five dimensions correspond to
the collaborative process: communication (mutual understanding, dialogue
management), conjunct information processing (sharing of information and consensus
building), coordination (division of tasks, time management and technical
coordination), interpersonal relations (mutual interaction) and, finally, motivation (on
learning).
The findings from these experiments lead us to conclude that:
•There continues to be a mistaken cultural perception regarding the educational
potential of videogames. There is also a persistent and deep-rooted dominance of
lecture classes in our educational systems.
•Collaborative educational videogames promote the development of technical and
social skills, not only as part the activities carried out within the virtual world,
but also outside of it, in the real world.
•Collaborative educational videogames serve a highly motivational function that
favors immersion and learning in a “natural” way.
•Our experiments reveal that, the content notwithstanding, the most significant
type of learning provided by games is the social learning that takes place in
gaming communities. Such a community can, in theory, develop around any
game, as long as the experience’s duration is not too brief.
•Videogames that spawn communities can be very useful to the development of
the basic skills specified in Spain’s educational legislation, such as those
involved in linguistic communications, mathematics, knowledge of and
interaction with the physical world, information processing and digital skills,
social and civic skills, cultural and artistic skills, learning to learn, and self-
reliance and initiative, among others.
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