The concept of serious games, or using games and gaming technologies for purposes other than purely entertainment, became popularized with the creation of the Serious Games Initiative in 2002 and has continued to grow. While this trend may appear new, the use of games for learning has a rich history and the idea of using a game as a learning platform is an established concept that had has withstood the test of time. Research in this area must move from if games can teach, to how do we improve games that do. Proponents of serious games suggest that they should improve motivation, time on task, motivation to learn, and a litany of other benefits based primarily on the thought that what works in an entertainment game will work in a learning game. Unfortunately, this might not always be the case. For example, a commonly held misconception in learning games is that competition will motivate learner to succeed, as it motivates players of an entertainment game to continue to play. This is, however, not well supported by the learning science literature. Cooperative goal structures commonly lead to increased motivation to learn as well as improved learning outcomes when compared to competition. This research seeks to provide a framework to view games for learning and more specifically explore the structure of challenge in the context of cooperative and competitive goal structures, as well as explore the use of the word game and how it could possibly modify the expectations of the learner.

The term "serious games" became popularized in 2002 as a result of an initiative to promote the use of games for education, training, and other purposes. Today, many companies are using games for training and development, often with hefty price tags. For example, the development budget for the U.S. Army recruiting game, "America's Army" was estimated at $7 million. Given their increasing use and high costs, it is important to understand whether game-based learning systems perform as billed. Research suggests that games do not always increase learning outcomes over conventional instruction. However, certain game features (e.g., rules/goals, fantasy, challenge) might be more beneficial for increasing learner motivation and learning outcomes than other game features. This study manipulated two specific game features: multimedia-based fantasy (vs. text-based fantasy) and reward (vs. no reward) in a computer-based training program on employment law. Participants (N=169) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions or to a traditional computer-based training condition. Contrary to hypotheses, the traditional PowerPoint-like version was found to lead to better declarative knowledge outcomes on the learning test than the most game-like version, although no differences were found between conditions on any of the other dependent variables. Participants in all conditions were equally motivated to learn, were equally satisfied with the learning experience, completed an equal number of practice exercises, performed equally well on the declarative knowledge and skill-based practice, and performed equally well on the skill-based learning test. This suggests that adding the "bells and whistles" of game features to a training program won't necessarily improve learner motivation and training outcomes.

This thesis explores the dynamic field of motion skill acquisition and uses discovery learning as means for learning motions. Differences are discussed between a virtual game environment and a real environment and how this can relate to motion skill acquisition. By testing different instructions for a created serious game, this thesis aims at exploring if there are significant differences in gameplay and motion skill acquisition. Respondents were exposed to different instructions before playing a game based on motion skill. In-game time was measured in order to understand if the time results could be affected with different types of instructions, furthermore, if no instructions regarding motion skill could be beneficial. Results indicate that no instructions lead to greater in-game time as well as tendency for showing greater fondness for the game controls.

This dissertation presents a novel effort to develop ITS technologies that adapt by observing student behavior. In particular, we define an evolving expert knowledge base (EEKB) that structures a domain's information as a set of nodes and the relationships that exist between those nodes. The structure of this model is not the particularly novel aspect of this work, but rather the model's evolving behavior. Past efforts have shown that this model, once created, is useful for providing students with expert feedback as they work within our ITS called Rashi. We present an algorithm that observes groups of students as they work within Rashi, and collects student contributions to form an accurate domain level EEKB. We then present experimentation that simulates more than 15,000 data points of real student interaction and analyzes the quality of the EEKB models that are produced. We discover that EEKB models can be constructed accurately, and with significant efficiency compared to human constructed models of the same form. We are able to make this judgment by comparing our automatically constructed models with similar models that were hand crafted by a small team of domain experts. We also explore several tertiary effects. We focus on the impact that gaming and game mechanics have on various aspects of this model acquisition process. We discuss explicit game mechanics that were implemented in the source ITS from which our data was collected. Students who are given our system with game mechanics contribute higher amounts of data, while also performing higher quality work. Additionally, we define a novel type of game called a knowledge-refinement game (KRG), which motivates subject matter experts (SMEs) to contribute to an already constructed EEKB, but for the purpose of refining the model in areas in which confidence is low. Experimental work with the KRG provides strong evidence that: 1) the quality of the original EEKB was indeed strong, as validated by KRG players, and 2) both the quality and breadth of knowledge within the EEKB are increased when players use the KRG.

Over the last few decades, the popularity of video games has skyrocketed thanks in part to their unique ability to engage their audience and to create empathy. Among them, serious games have an additional purpose beyond entertainment; to teach and help people. Serious games have been successfully applied in a variety of different fields, such as: education, health, tourism and also in bringing knowledge about cultural heritage. In this context, this thesis describes a serious game designed to promote Brazilian cultural heritage and  increase interest in tourism. The objective of this serious game was to involve the player in an interactive virtual exploration of Brazil, in order to teach more about its rich cultures and history. Our results show that the  majority of people learned something new about Brazil and became interested in traveling to Brazil, even  people familiar with Brazil.

The digital age has launched numerous opportunities for game developers, yet the transition from traditionaltabletop games to digital platforms presents a unique set ofchallenges. This thesis delves into the intricacies of this transition.Guided by the Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM),the study focuses on the serious tabletop game ”Futuroscopio,”aiming to convert it into a digital format.The research investigates the challenges encountered duringthe digital conversion process, from the implementation of gamemechanics to the design of a digital interface.Utilizing the Unitygame engine and the C# programming language, a digital artifactis developed to closely mimic the original tabletop game.The study contributes to the growing field of game developmentby providing insights for developers and designers. It servesas a guide for those interested in the digital conversion ofserious tabletop games, shedding light onto the benefits, aswell as drawbacks of such conversion. The thesis concludesby emphasizing the research’s utility for future studies and itsrelevance to a broader audience interested in the domain ofserious games.

Det finns olika sätt att presentera historisk fakta i historiska spel, vars material vanligtvis sammanfattas och förenklas för att förbättra spelarupplevelsen. I och med teknologiska framsteg inom serious games har spelmekanik och grafik ersatt skriftlig information. Text i spel har fortfarande sina fördelar, men hur kan dessa bäst intressera spelare? I denna undersökning granskades två sorters fakta i text: struktur (övergripande händelseförlopp) och fetischism (specifika detaljer). En artefakt om Gustav Vasas befrielsekrig utvecklades där båda sorterna av information förekom i form av textrutor, varpå den spelades igenom av sammanlagt åtta respondenter. Efter genomspelning fick varje respondent återge vilken information från spelet som denne fann intressant eller reagerade på. Mängden strukturell samt fetischistisk fakta som återgavs var något jämnt, med aningen fler återgivningar av fetischistisk information. Undersökningen kan kompletteras genom att granska vilken information som kan återges efter en längre period och genom att utföras med en mer utvecklad uppsättning respondenter eller ett annat historiskt ämne som grund. Teorin om strukturellt och fetischistiskt innehåll har även potentialen att användas i utvecklingen av serious games. / <p>Det finns övrigt digitalt material (t.ex. film-, bild- eller ljudfiler) eller modeller/artefakter tillhörande examensarbetet som ska skickas till arkivet.</p>

Detta arbete utgår från frågeställningen om vad det finns för förutsättningar för att använda elektroniska spel med avseende att användas i matematikundervisning (matematikundervisningsspel) i de svenska skolorna. Arbetet ser särskilt till kultur, teknisk infrastruktur och lärarutbildning, men också till vilka krav som skolan ställer på ett matematikundervisningsspel. För att besvara arbetets frågeställning har intervjuer och spelanalyser genomförts. Vidare har också litteratur och föreläsningsinformation studerats. Resultatet tyder på att matematikundervisningsspel behöver betraktas och användas som ett pedagogiskt medel av både elever och lärare för att de ska vara effektiva. Matematiklärare behöver utbildas om hur dessa spel ska användas, då spelen blir som mest effektiva först när eleverna får reflektera över sitt spelande och då läraren kopplar samman spelandet med resterande undervisning. Matematikundervisningsspel behöver utvecklas i enlighet med de riktlinjer som forskning har presenterat för att ett undervisningsspel ska ge bäst resultat. Spelen behöver också utvecklas med avsikt att följa matematikens läroplan och lärandemål, samt påvisa att dessa följs. Idag har inte alla skolor tillgång till den hårdvaruplattform som krävs för att kunna använda matematikundervisningsspel, men fler skolor satsar på att se till att denna tillgång finns.

Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. The main reason for this isthe low accessibility of educational content regarding healthcare in the rural regions. In this thesis weinvestigate the possibility to address this issue through a serious game, something that has proven efficientas a tool for learning in many situations. By designing and creating a game for rural Ethiopians, we aim tointerest them in learning about healthcare and nutrition by playing a game that reflects their culture andlife. In order to validate our solution we conducted a field study in Ethiopia, where we organized andcarried out a usability test with Ethiopian mothers. Our findings suggest that educational games has apotential in developing countries.

Les Serious Games sont des jeux vidéo qui n’ont pas pour objectif premier le divertissement et qui peuvent être utilisé pour l’enseignement. Pertinents dans de nombreux domaines d’éducation, ils posent pourtant des problèmes liés à leur création fastidieuse et coûteuse en moyens et en temps. Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons tout particulièrement aux Serious Games pour l’éducation, appelés Learning Games (LG) et plus particulièrement aux LG pour la formation continue pour les étudiants en école d’ingénieur. Tout d’abord, nous avons procédé à une étude des besoins concrets des créateurs de LG, ainsi qu’à un état de l’art des méthodologies et des outils existants. En premier lieu, ces recherches nous ont montré qu’il n’existait aucune solution adaptée pour faciliter la collaboration entre les différents concepteurs de LG, occupant des rôles complémentaires (expert du domaine, expert pédagogique, game designer…). Nos recherches mettent également en avant le besoin de modélisation et de représentation du scénario du LG pour aider les concepteurs à imaginer un LG qui soit à la fois ludique et attractif tout en gardant le fort potentiel éducatif indispensable à la formation. Pour répondre au premier besoin, nous proposons une méthodologie globale de création collaborative de LG, détaillant chaque tâche des acteurs ainsi que les outils mis à leur disposition. Pour répondre au deuxième besoin, nous proposons un modèle de scénarisation de LG qui représente d’un côté la structure pédagogique choisie par l’expert pédagogique et de l’autre côté la mise en scène ludique imaginée par le game designer. Pour réifier nos propositions, nous avons développé un environnement informatique d’aide à la conception, appelé LEGADEE (LEarning GAme DEsign Environment). LEGADEE guide chaque concepteur avec une « barre d’outils » adaptée à son rôle spécifique et qui propose également un système de validation qui analyse la création en cours. Enfin, nous avons imaginé un protocole d’évaluation pour valider notre environnement auteur ainsi que la méthodologie et le modèle proposés dans lequel nous comparons 24 scénarios de LG dont la moitié a été conçu avec LEGADEE et la moitié sans. Notre évaluation montre que l’utilisation de notre outil a tendance à améliorer certains critères qualité des LG. Elle montre aussi les limites de nos hypothèses et donne des pistes d’améliorations futures, tant sur LEGADEE que sur la méthode d’évaluation elle-même. / Serious Games are computer games that are designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment and that can be used for teaching. Although they are relevant to many fields of education, their development remains very expensive and time consuming. In this thesis, we focus mainly on Learning Games (LGs), that is on Serious Games designed for educational purposes, and more specifically on LGs used for training students in engineering schools. The first part of the thesis is devoted to an analysis of the needs of those who create LGs and a state of the art in terms of methodologies and tools available. Our study shows the need to facilitate collaboration between the various actors, with complementary roles, involved in the development of a LG (domain expert, pedagogical expert, game designer ...). Our research also highlights the need for models and visual representations of the LG scenario to facilitate the design of LGs that are fun and attractive while still maintaining their educational values. To address the first need, we propose a global collaborative methodology for creating LGs in which we indentify the tasks assigned to each actor who is involved in the creation process and the tools available. To meet the second need identified by our preliminary study, we propose a LG scenario model that represents the educational structure chosen by the pedagogical expert and also the way this structure is integrated into a game scenario imagined by the game designer. To reify our proposals, we have developed an authoring environment called LEGADEE (LEarning Game DEsign Environment) that guides each designer with a "toolbar" adapted to his or her role and also provides a validation system that analyzes the ongoing creation. Lastly, we have designed an evaluation protocol to validate our authoring environment as well as the methodology and the models proposed during which we compare 24 LGs of which half were created with LEGADEE and half without. Our evaluation indicates that our tool tends to improve the quality of LGs at several levels. It also brings to light the limits of our work and provides guidance for future improvements of LEGADEE and the evaluation process itself.