The Problem

Programming can be an area of considerable difficultly for many first year Computer Science students. Students are required to engage with unfamiliar constructs such as if-statements and for-loops, and develop logical thinking skills. A common issue is the problem of student engagement. Students are not engaged with their coursework enough to grapple with the challenging concepts they are faced with.

Our Solution

A potential solution that has received significant attention in the past two decades is that of Game-Based Learning (GBL). While it is broadly established that game-based learning can be an effective tool to increase student motivation and learning, there is a lack of research into the impact of genre or specific game elements on the effectiveness of GBL software.

In this research, we attempt to identify specific elements of games and to test their effects on student engagement in isolation. We have identified Narrative, Point-of-View and Puzzle elements as underutilized and potentially effective elements of games to maintain student engagement.

Two Educational Games

Two studies were conducted, each focusing on different game design elements.

Code Rover

Code Rover is an educational first-person puzzle game in which students write Python code to control a space rover and navigate an alien planet.

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PyStory

PyStory is an educational programming game with strong narrative elements in which student plays as an astronaut who has crash landed on a distant planet.

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PyPOV

The Problem

Our Solution

Two Educational Games

Code Rover

PyStory