CREATING EVALUATION PROFILES FOR GAMES DESIGNED TO BE FUN: An Interpretive Framework for Serious Game Mechanics

Frank Ulrich and Niels Henrik Helms

Simulation & Gaming, 2017, vol. 48, issue 5, 695-714

Abstract: Background . Games can be great pedagogical tools for educators and students. COTS games (commercial-off-the-shelf) are designed for the pure purpose of leisure but can also contain educational value. Aim . In this paper, we address the potential of COTS games as serious games . We develop an interpretive evaluation framework that can identify the educational value in COTS games . Application . The presented framework can create evaluative profiles of the learning, social, game, and immersive mechanics of COTS games as educational tools . Moreover, the framework can position COTS games between four intertwined dimensions, namely pedagogical, design, knowledge, and sociotechnical considerations. Demonstration . To validate the practical application of the interpretive framework, we apply it to a real-world example. Our demonstration reveals the usefulness of the framework. Conclusions . The framework enables critical reflection on the game mechanics; thereby capturing the complexity of the game mechanics that makes COTS game both educational and fun to play.

Keywords: serious games; evaluation; interpretive research; game mechanics; education; COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) games (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1046878117709841 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:simgam:v:48:y:2017:i:5:p:695-714

DOI: 10.1177/1046878117709841

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Simulation & Gaming
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().