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Reflections on Serious Games

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Instructional Techniques to Facilitate Learning and Motivation of Serious Games

Part of the book series: Advances in Game-Based Learning ((AGBL))

Abstract

This chapter comments on the contributions in this edited volume and identifies some challenges for future research on serious games. The contributors used rigorous experimental methods to systematically assess the impact of many components of serious games on learning and motivation. The games are serious because there is alignment with relevant instructional content in educational curricula and there is an assessment of associated knowledge, skills, and strategies. The chapters report learning gains for the games compared to comparison conditions, as well as the added value of several game features, such as multimedia, realism, challenge, adaptivity, feedback, interactivity, modeling, collaboration, competition, reflection, fantasy, narrative, and so on. These features are highly correlated in most games so it is difficult to assign credit to particular features when they are implemented in conjunction with many other features. Additional challenges emerge when the games target deep learning of difficult material: (1) game features imposing extraneous cognitive load on working memory, (2) incompatibilities in the timing of feedback to optimize deep learning versus motivation, and (3) control struggles between the game agenda and students’ self-regulated learning. It is argued that researchers could be more involved in the building of games under the guidance of scientific principles even though there are difficulties in the design process and in attempts to scale up researcher-designed serious games. The chapter ends with a quandary in assessing psychological constructs in serious games that are adaptive to the learner.

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Acknowledgments

The serious games developed in the Institute for Intelligent Systems at the University of Memphis were support by the National Science Foundation (ITR 0325428, DRK-12-0918409, and DRK-12-1108845) and the Institute of Education Sciences (R305B070349; R305C120001). The opinions, findings, and conclusions do not reflect the views of the funding agencies, cooperating institutions, or other individuals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis, 202 Psychology Building, Memphis, TN, 38152-3230, USA

    Arthur C. Graesser

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  1. Arthur C. Graesser
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Correspondence to Arthur C. Graesser .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Utrecht University, Utretcht, The Netherlands

    Pieter Wouters

  2. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Herre van Oostendorp

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Graesser, A.C. (2017). Reflections on Serious Games. In: Wouters, P., van Oostendorp, H. (eds) Instructional Techniques to Facilitate Learning and Motivation of Serious Games. Advances in Game-Based Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39298-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39298-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-39296-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-39298-1

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