Sneak teaching bridge. From learning domain to game mechanics

Abstract

This thesis describes the study Sneak Teaching Bridge, which addresses the curiosity for games that have the intention to teach without the player noticing. These type of games were named Sneak Teaching Games and formed the subject of the main research question how can a digital learning application be shaped as a Sneak Teaching Game?' In order to answer this question, a literature survey on Learning Games was carried out, of which the findings were used to design a prototype of the mobile Sneak Teaching Game Britz! The literature survey revealed that one of the most difficult things for Learning Game designers is to find a balance between the learning domain and the game world: a Learning Game should be educational, but at the same time fun to play. This was pointed out as the area in which Sneak Teaching Games should try to go one step further, by creating a Sneak Teaching dimension. During the design of Britz!, it was discovered that this Sneak Teaching dimension can be created by realising a tight bond between the game mechanics and the educational content. The results from heuristic test and user tests showed that this can be done by smart modelling of the learning domain and embodying learning elements by game elements. The design process of the prototype of Britz! can be seen as an ex- ample of how a learning domain can be shaped as a Sneak Teaching Game.