Received: 3 June 2019 Revised: 16 March 2020 Accepted: 16 March 2020

DOI: 10.1002/hbe2.188

REVIEW ARTICLE

To learn scientifically, effectively, and enjoyably:

A review of educational games

Jialing Zeng1 | Sophie Parks2 | Junjie Shang1

1
Lab of Learning Sciences, Graduate School of
Education, Peking University, Peking, China Abstract
2
University at Albany, Albany, New York With the rapid development of technology, the variety, quality, performance, and
social penetration of video games has reached an unprecedented height. The cross-
Correspondence
Junjie Shang, Lab of Learning Sciences, border combination of education and games has received extensive attention from
Graduate School of Education, Peking
various areas of society, including education, technology, and so forth. Educational
University, Peking, China.
Email: [email protected] games can create an attractive learning environment for students, make learning
more interesting, and enable students to learn by doing, thus improving students'
Funding information
China National Social Science Foundation, high-level abilities. Educational games can make learning more scientific, enjoyable,
Grant/Award Number: BCA170072
and more effective. Many scholars and institutions have carried out a lot of research
Peer Review and practice about educational games. Based on the educational games research, this
The peer review history for this article is
review will answer four questions: What are educational games? What is educational
available at https://publons.com/publon/10.
1002/hbe2.188. games research currently studying? What are the outcomes and benefits of educa-
tional games? What are the research directions of future educational games?

KEYWORDS

educational games, educational games application, educational games design, educational

games development, game-based learning, learning environment, learning methods, learning
motivation, learning outcomes, learning sciences, literature review

1 | I N T RO DU CT I O N 2004–2012, which proposed 37 new technologies, but only seven were

confirmed by later reports. Among them, “game-based learning” ranked
In the mid-1960s, researchers discovered the educational value of video first. Educational games' potential as a new educational transformation
games. In the 1980s, some scholars began to investigate the use of edu- force has been widely recognized.
cational games to stimulate learners' motivation and the application of In September 2010, Obama launched the National STEM Game
these games in classroom teaching (Gros, 2007). Scholars in various Design Competition at the White House, aiming to mobilize the youn-
fields have also begun to explore the application of games in education. ger generation of American interest in STEM by designing video
It was not until the late 1990s that the design, development, and appli- games and encouraging students to apply what they have learned to
cation of educational games became increasingly apparent. Educational innovate practices. There are many indications that games have broad
games research has experienced the germination period (mid-1960s to application potential in the field of education. In order to further
the end of the 1980s) and the development period (1990s). Since the explore the educational value of these games, many scholars and insti-
21st century, with the rapid development of technology, the variety, tutions have carried out a lot of research and practice. The British
quality, performance, and social penetration of video games has reached Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA)
an unprecedented height. People's demand for this “edutainment” is selected 11 games, such as SimCity and Age of Empires, for teachers
also rising. The cross-border combination of education and games has to use in primary and secondary classes to explore the application
received extensive attention from various areas of society, including potential of computer games in education (becta.org.uk).
education, technology, and so forth, and educational games research In addition, researchers have also committed to the development
has entered a period of prosperity. Canadian scholar Bagley analyzed of specialized educational games. Since the launch of the Games-to-
the Horizon Report released by the New Media Consortium during Teach project between MIT and Microsoft, 15 game prototypes

186 © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hbe2 Hum Behav & Emerg Tech. 2020;2:186–195.
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ZENG ET AL. 187

(Klopfer, 2007) have been launched covering expertise in mathemat- but is not intended for entertainment. By simulating real-life events or
ics, science, engineering, environment, education, and social sciences. processes, users are expected to acquire knowledge, develop abilities,
The Multi-User Virtual Environment Experiential Simulator (MUVEES) or receive treatment during the gaming experience.
project conducted by Professor Dede of Harvard University combined
the virtual environment of the game with the contextual learning in
education, and uses technology to build a virtual 19th century Ameri- 2.2 | Edutainment
can city. There are rivers, hospitals, schools and other buildings in the
city. Students can also help the city solve environmental and health Edutainment means education and entertainment, also known as
problems by observing the water quality of the river (Dede, entertainment education. It is an entertainment-oriented form of edu-
Ketelhut, & Ruess, 2002). The educational game Quest Atlantis, devel- cation that integrates education with some familiar forms of enter-
oped by Professor Sasha Barab of Indiana University, has been open tainment, used in tourism, sports, cultural life, etc. In edutainment,
to the world for free since 2002. By 2009, more than 20,000 children knowledge learning is only an accessory product of happy activities.
had registered and the educational game was used by teachers in the
United States, Australia, Singapore, Denmark and other countries
(Barab, Pettyjohn, Gresalfi, Volk, & Solomou, 2011). 2.3 | “Light game”
Some scholars believe the elements of pornography and violence
that may be contained in video games could have a negative impact “Light game” is an educational software based on learning content
on the healthy growth of adolescents (Anderson & Ford, 1986). There and game elements of mainstream games. It integrates the essential
are still debates about the application of educational games. However, features of mainstream games, such as challenges, curiosity, fantasy,
many scholars believe that games contain rich learning factors, which control, goals, and so forth, and follows the curriculum standard and
can create an attractive learning environment for students and make general rules of school education. It is a gamification learning software
learning more interesting (Malone, 1981). Students can “learn” by or platform for classroom education.
“doing” (Thiagarajan, 1998) and improve their problem solving, collab- We consider that educational games are games designed and
orative learning, innovative thinking and many other high-level capa- developed for specific educational and teaching objectives, which
bilities (Whitebread, 1997). Using regular methods of literature search stimulate learners' motivation and participation by combining educa-
and literature synthesis, this review will answer the following ques- tion and gameplay and helps to achieve the educational goal by all-
tions related to educational games: owing learners to achieve their stated learning goals in a pleasant
experience.
1. What are educational games?
2. What is educational games research currently studying?
3. What are the outcomes and benefits of educational games? 3 | W H A T I S E D U C A T I O N A L GA M E S
4. What are the research directions of future educational games? RESEARCH CURRENTLY STUDYING?

With the continuous integration of technology and education, in the

2 | WHAT ARE EDUCATIONAL GAMES? past 10 years, educational game research has been widely studied by
researchers, and the annual output of the literature is increasing year
Educational games are a unique computer software system, which is by year. So, what is the international empirical study of educational
both fun and educational. It can skillfully integrate knowledge with games currently studying? We can mainly learn from two main dimen-
games, create real problem situations for learners, stimulate learning sions including the design and development of educational games and
motivation, and effectively promote students' learning. Educational the application of educational games in teaching.
games are considered to be software with a certain educational pur-
pose, which can build a real scene and stimulate the internal motiva-
tion of the learner. At present, the academic community has not yet 3.1 | Design of educational games
formed a unified understanding of the concept of educational games.
Here are some similar terms: For the design and development of educational games, researchers have
focused on the design of game elements in educational games, learner
interaction with games, and the learning environment. In the game ele-
2.1 | Serious games ments of educational games, rewards such as points, achievements, and
badges encourage students, promote students with low motivation,
Serious games are games that focus on acquiring knowledge and skill improve students' self-efficacy, and are loved by most students. But
training. They are a type of video and computer game, often used for the cognitive impact is not significant (Attali & Arieli-Attali, 2015;
professional training and education. Serious games are also a type of De-Marcos, Domínguez, Saenz-De-Navarrete, & Pagés, 2014;
commercial game that has the appearance and elements of a game, Domínguez et al., 2013). Competition mechanisms such as a
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188 ZENG ET AL.

leaderboard have caused widespread discussion. Although competi- what they observe in the real world with relevant knowledge, thereby
tion is an effective mechanism to promote students' engagement deepening learners' understanding and memory of knowledge and
and effort (Hwang, Wu, Chen, & Tu, 2015), research shows that promoting meaningful learning, such as in science courses (Bressler &
designs that emphasizes competition may reduce participation (De- Bodzin, 2013; Furió, González-Gancedo, Juan, Seguí, & Costa, 2013;
Marcos et al., 2014); so, how to design effective competitive ele- Furió, Juan, Seguí, & Vivó, 2015; Hwang et al., 2015).
ments in educational games remains to be discussed.
In addition to the influence of game elements on learning, feed-
back is the most important part of learner interaction with games. 3.2 | Application of educational games
More and more scholars are paying attention to the design of educa-
tional games' feedback. Providing timely feedback in educational For the application of educational games in teaching, researchers have
games can help increase knowledge acquisition (Tsai, Tsai, & carried out a large number of educational games learning effective-
Lin, 2015), with different types of feedback achieving different results. ness verification studies, which prove that educational games can
Guo and Goh (2016) believe that emotional feedback has a significant stimulate internal motivation, improve learning effectiveness,
improvement in learning motivation, enjoyment, perceived usefulness strengthening knowledge retention, and promoting higher-order
and behavioral intentions compared to neutral feedback and non- thinking development and cultivating emotions (CalvoFerrer, 2017;
emotional feedback, but the effect of promoting academic achieve- Smith, Li, Drobisz, Park, & Smith, 2013). Today, verifiable research on
ment is not obvious. This may be because the feedback information is educational games continues to illuminate the effectiveness and value
not related to the learning content and cannot be linked to the of them. Researchers have also begun to return to the learning pro-
learner's knowledge construction process. Adams and Clark (2014) cess itself. On one hand, they explored the relationship between dif-
explored feedbacks related to learning content, including single ques- ferent learning experiences brought about by educational games and
tion feedback, self-explanatory reminder feedback, and explanatory their learning outcomes. They found that the fun and ease of use of
feedback. It was found that the three feedbacks groups had no signifi- games are variables that positively affected academic performance
cant difference in learning effects; but, compared with the other two (Cheng, Su, Huang, & Chen, 2014; Giannakos, 2013). On the other
kinds of feedback, the students in the single problem feedback group hand, researchers want to know how to measure the learner's flow
made more progress in the game and learned the most. Although self- experience. For example, Bressler and Bodzin (2013) applied a mobile
explanatory reminder feedback and explanatory feedback can guide AR game in teaching and aimed to study the influencing factors of the
learners to think and study in depth, they have a certain impact on the student's flow experience by using the five-point flow experience
learner's progress and this is something we need to consider when scale developed by Jackson, Eklund, and Martin (2010). Cheng, She,
designing educational games. In addition, considering the differences and Annetta (2015) further explained the hierarchical structure of
of learners, providing personalized feedback for specific learning situa- educational games flow experience and considered that it is divided
tions can help improve learning outcomes and effectively support into three stages including participation, concentration, and complete
learners to maximize their understanding of learning content (Huang, immersion. From these three stages, the Game Immersion Question-
Huang, & Wu, 2014). naire (GIQ) was developed.
Researchers have not only considered the design of educational The integration of educational games and teaching is the key to
games from the perspective of game elements and feedback, but have application and the direction that researchers are constantly exploring.
also enhanced the overall learning experience by improving the In recent years, educational games have been used in the classroom
game's immersion and educational game environment design. Educa- mainly as cognitive tools and knowledge construction tools (Hwang,
tional games can construct real-life learning situations and achieve Hung, & Chen, 2014; Ke, 2014). Nowadays, students no longer inter-
meaningful learning in the process of interactions between learners act with teachers. Instead, they interact with educational games, inde-
and games. The closer the situation is to the real environment, the pendently explore, and discover. As a result, learner-centered
easier it is for learners to transfer and apply knowledge. In order to classrooms are achieved. In such a game-based classroom, learning
provide learners with a more realistic interactive environment and a support from teachers is crucial. Students need guidance and learning
better learning experience, technologies such as 3D and augmented support when playing games (Arnab, Clarke, Dunwell, et al., 2013;
reality are gradually becoming widely used in the construction of Homer et al., 2014; Hong, Tsai, Ho, Hwang, & Wu, 2013; Ke, 2013).
immersive virtual game environments, enhancing the immersion of During the game, learners are more inclined to solve challenges inde-
educational games. 3D technology can simulate the same learning pendently, less request for content-related coaching. Content
environment as the real-life environment and the application environ- coaching before the game begins can help learners with content
ment. This can in turn solve the problem of knowledge transfer and understanding (Ke, 2013). In addition, providing scaffolding in educa-
adapting situational knowledge that is not easily taught by ordinary tional games can help students complete tasks, such as providing
teaching methods, such as English learning (Berns, Gonzalez-Pardo, & word tips or note-taking tools for English vocabulary learning (Chen &
Camacho, 2013), scientific experiment simulation (Lamb, 2016) and Yang, 2013; Huang & Huang, 2015).
company project management (Maratou, Chatzidaki, & Xenos, 2014). In addition, education evaluation is the premise of making scientific
Like the 3D environment, AR technology can help learners connect teaching decisions and is also a crucial link to the teaching process. As a
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ZENG ET AL. 189

potential educational reform force, educational games are used to game-based learning is indeed better than traditional learning. Game-
explore scientific and effective evaluation methods with the characteris- based learning can mobilize the enthusiasm of the learners and pro-
tics of promoting learning motivation and participation. For example, mote motivation. This is also one of the core educational values of
Attali and Arieli-Attali (2015) introduced the point factor into the exis- games. Among them, the challenge factor in the game is a particularly
ting mathematical evaluation system, giving a fixed point based on the strong predictor of learning outcomes, which can stimulate students'
accuracy of the learner's response, and giving different extra points for intrinsic motivation and make students more likely to invest in contin-
the response speed of the correct answer. Mavridis, Katmada, and uous efforts to solve problems (Connolly, Stansfield, & Hainey, 2011;
Tsiatsos (2017) developed a teacher-configurable mathematics evalua- Hamari et al., 2016). The so-called challenge here does not emphasize
tion game. Teachers do not need to have any programming skills to the difficulty level of the game itself, but refers to the task design in
modify the game's parameters through the manager interface and the game that should follow the short-step principle, in line with the
change the content of the game. Using data mining techniques to ana- requirements of the “zone of proximal development”. The study also
lyze the game data can provide reference for improving the learning found that the competition factor in the game can also greatly stimu-
process, providing learning support and personalized learning experi- late learners' motivation (Huang, Yeh, Li, & Chang, 2010; Smith
ence. Cheng, Rosenheck, Lin, and Klopfer (2017) collected back-end et al., 2013; Wang, 2015). Similarly, the competition here is not to
data from genetics games for high school students and analyzed the arouse students' extreme desire for winning or losing, but to encour-
data using data mining techniques such as classification trees to explore age students to meet their psychological needs of self-realization by
the relationship among tool usage, game selection and task completion comparing with others' advantages and disadvantages and realizing
in the game. Khenissi, Essalmi, Jemni, Kinshuk, and Chen (2017) mea- mutual promotion.
sured learner's working memory capacity (WMC) based on fuzzy logic In addition, there is much discussion about the promotion effect
methods and game data to help adaptive e-learning systems support of games on learning motivation. Lepper, Keavney, and Drake (1996)
both low and high WMC students. believe that external rewards or excessive use of external rewards
have a negative impact on learners' intrinsic motivation or interest.
Filsecker and Hickey (2014) investigated the impact of external
4 | W H A T A R E TH E O U T C O M E S A N D rewards on the motivation of primary school students playing educa-
BENEFITS OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES? tional games. The results showed that the addition of external
rewards did not weaken students' motivation. Therefore, the negative
What is the value of educational games? Can they promote students' impact of using external rewards can be solved in the new generation
learning? Many scholars and institutions have carried out a large num- of learning environments with rich feedback.
ber of studies. The value of educational games and its impact on learn-
ing are mainly considered from stimulating learner motivation,
improving multi-dimensional learning outcomes, creating the learning 4.2 | Improve learning outcomes
environment, and promoting the transformation of learning methods.
In addition to learning motivation, many scholars, teachers and par-
ents are concerned about learning outcomes. Can game-based learn-
4.1 | Stimulate learning motivation ing improve the learning outcomes of learners? Will they reduce
learning efficiency and quality in order to make games fun? Many
Learning motivation is an important factor affecting students' learning scholars have carried out a lot of research on this topic, and believe
performance. We often see a phenomenon that some students are not that educational games contain rich learning factors, which can not
very motivated to learn, but they are obsessed with playing games. only improve students' learning motivation, but also effectively
According to a survey, 21-year-old Americans spend an average of improve their learning achievements, and cultivate learners' problem
more than 10,000 hr playing various games. In comparison, the time solving skills, collaborative learning, innovative thinking and more
spent on reading is only 2,000–3,000 hr (Mcgonigal, 2011). This has higher-order capabilities (Whitebread, 1997).
attracted the interest of many scholars to research why people like Educational games contain a wealth of knowledge and expertise
games so much. There are some famous theories such as the Flow the- in social and cultural life that allows students to learn more. Hwang,
ory and Intrinsic Motivations theory (Carr, 2000; Csikszentmihalyi & Sung, Hung, Yang, and Huang (2013) found that well-designed educa-
Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Educational games can stimulate learning tional games not only enhanced student motivation, but also signifi-
motivation and learning interest by creating learning contexts for stu- cantly improved their academic achievement. Returning to the
dents and attracting learners. learning process, the researchers found that the improvement in
Since video games have such an important potential in stimulating learning outcomes was associated with a better learning experience in
motivation, can we apply them to education, making learning more educational games (CalvoFerrer, 2017; Cheng et al., 2014;
interesting and inspiring learners' deep learning motivation? Plenty of Giannakos, 2013; Su & Cheng, 2015), which means that educational
empirical studies have shown (Jong, Shang, Lee, Lee, & Law, 2006; games allow students to learn more knowledge while having fun. In
Barab et al., 2011; Huang & Huang, 2015; Furió et al., 2015) that addition, some meta-analysis studies have shown that educational
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190 ZENG ET AL.

games are effective with knowledge teaching, emotional cultivating, Secondly, combined with multimedia technology, virtual simula-
behavioral modeling, and so forth (Backlund & Hendrix, 2013; Clark, tion and interactive narrative, educational games can easily set up var-
Tanner-Smith, & Killingsworth, 2016; Hainey, Connolly, Boyle, ious real-life problem situations, and even get rid of the limitations of
Wilson, & Razak, 2016). Brom, Preuss, and Klement (2011) found that real-life environments, making the learning experience more compre-
educational games also have significant effects on the integration and hensive and real (Chan, Leung, Tang, & Komura, 2011). Maratou,
maintenance of knowledge. Chatzidaki, and Xenos (2016) developed a software project manage-
In addition, educational games can be of great help with other ment (SPM) role-playing game based on 3D online multi-user virtual
abilities. For example, educational games can foster basic skills such as world, simulating the situation of real-life companies to promote stu-
hand-eye coordination (Hong et al., 2013). Educational games can also dent collaboration and interaction. Role-playing games can effectively
provide students with non-constructive problem situations and open provide a learning experience of the content, such as a real-world cor-
exploration spaces, which help students develop a variety of high- porate environment, interpersonal relationships between project team
level skills, such as innovation, problem-solving, decision-making and members, and communication and collaboration between team mem-
critical thinking skills (Eow, Ali, Mahmud, & Baki, 2010; Hwang bers. Ibáñez et al. (2014) designed a virtual reality educational game
et al., 2014; Maratou et al., 2014). In terms of developing emotions, focusing on the basic concepts of electromagnetism and found that
attitudes and values, games show their unique advantages and great educational games can help students better understand and focus on
potential. Most studies have shown that games can give players a rich learning content.
emotional experience (Peng, Lee, & Heeter, 2010) and even influence In educational games, students can also repeatedly experience,
their attitudes and values of things. So, can this influence be further learn, and explore virtual environments without increasing costs. This
extended from the ideological level to the behavioral level? In other can solve the problem of the high cost of field training or activity
words, can educational games shape the behavior of learners and learning. Rosenthal et al. (2011) designed a medical surgical learning
make people “good”? In this regard, some researchers have designed a system that enables students to learn and train fine-grained opera-
series of very delicate and interesting experiments (Greitemeyer & tional skills through educational game tasks. With the aid of the joy-
Osswald, 2010). The research shows that games can really affect the stick, students can repeatedly practice procedural skills and the
behavior of people and enhance multiple prosocial behaviors. repeatability of experimental tools is improved. Meanwhile educa-
tional games can enhance the fun of teaching. Bhagat, Liou, and
Chang (2016) designed a virtual reality military shooting educational
4.3 | Create the learning environment game. The study found that the group of educational games had
higher learning effects and learning motivation, while reusable virtual
The learning environment is a place where students can use a variety reality educational games have a lower cost than traditional real-life
of tools and information resources to cooperate and support each training.
other in learning and problem solving activities (Wilson, 1996). The
student acquires information in the interaction with the learning envi-
ronment and constructs the meaning to learn. Many scholars have 4.4 | Promote the transformation of learning
pointed out that educational games contain rich learning factors, methods
which can promote education and teaching through the creation of
the learning environment, so that students can independently explore Educational games, as an emerging force of educational reform, have
and learn by doing in the environment; thus, improving high-level abil- changed the way of learning with teachers and reading materials as
ities including problem solving (Maratou et al., 2014). Educational interaction subjects. Through the interaction and exploration of the
games create a safe trial-and-error environment for students, build environment, students can construct knowledge and realize meaning-
real problem situations, and ultimately achieve the construction of ful learning. The class is learner-centered and promotes the connec-
learning content and the knowledge internalization and transfer, pro- tion and transformation between the student's learning experience
viding students with a quality learning experience. and knowledge. From the perspective of learning methods, educa-
First, educational games create a highly interactive learning envi- tional games can promote and develop experiential learning, collabo-
ronment allowing for trial and error for students. Video games are strip- rative learning, independent learning and inquiry learning.
ping away the physical constraints and interferences of reality, enabling Experiential learning does not have to be achieved through com-
a fast, low-cost, unrestricted environment that allows for trial and error puters and educational games. However, educational games have
in an anonymous space, and reduce students' psychological fears of cer- many advantages. They can create many realistic situations cheaply,
tain specific content, such as insect learning, shooting, and so and remove the limits of actual situations, and replace many danger-
on. Essentially, students are fully engaged in the learning process. Stu- ous scenarios (Laurel, 1991). Students can repeat operations and
dents believe that games, like face-to-face teaching, offer many oppor- exploration in educational games. This is very suitable for medical sur-
tunities for interaction, but unlike face-to-face teaching, interactions in gery operations, occupational complex problem processing, chemical
games enable students to be able to face the fear of failure (Berns hazard experiments and others. In addition to these advantages, it can
et al., 2013). make the learning environment more interesting (Malone, 1981) and
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ZENG ET AL. 191

attractive, providing students with a safe and easy trial-and-error human immune system works and related concepts. In the storyline of
environment and allowing students to actively participate in learning, the game, aliens continue to release a large number of pathogens to
so many scholars believe that educational games can be used to pro- attack life on Earth, and players must change the deployment of
mote experiential learning (Kiili, 2005). immune system to resist the invasion of pathogens. The study found
In the educational game team or peer activities, various game ele- that Humunology contributes to the understanding and application of
ments promote all the students to work towards a goal, communicate, knowledge and can bridge the gap between abstract concepts and
share and collaborate, which can cultivate the collaborative learning abil- specific understandings, enabling learners to apply knowledge to
ity of students and promote collaborative learning. From the time the problem solving. In fact, almost all games are a learner-centered learn-
player enters the game, a series of game activities require interaction ing environment. When players enter the game, they must use their
and communication between players, forming a more open sharing and own experience and constant attempts to learn to survive in such an
collaboration environment. Kusunoki, Sugimoto, and Hashizume (2000) environment and to win. In this process, the player needs to discover
used a virtual world game to help students learn about urban planning rules, summarize rules, find problems, collect information, analyze
and environmental protection. The results show that games really help problems and solve problems, naturally promoting inquiry learning.
to promote collaborative learning. After the game is over, many players It can be seen that educational games can create an attractive
will share their game experience and results with each other through learning environment for students, make learning more interesting,
forums and other means. In addition, Chang and Hwang (2016) proposed and enable students to learn by doing, thus improving students' high-
a cooperative learning strategy by setting the team task synchronization level abilities, including problem solving, collaborative learning, inno-
point in the game activity. When the player successfully completes the vative thinking, etc. Educational games make learning more scientific,
synchronization point game task, only part of the code is provided. The happier, and more effective. With the development of information
team leader needs to collect the code of all members to form the whole technology and its tremendous changes to society, educational games
password before the team can enter the next game stage. Therefore, all will inevitably have broad application prospects. With government sup-
members need to pass the task so that the team can enter the next stage port, public expectations, and scientific research, empirical research on
of the game. Such a task synchronization mechanism can encourage educational games is in full swing.
players who have already received the password to help their team
members and promote teamwork.
To promote independent learning, the first condition is to stimu- 5 | WHAT ARE THE RESEARCH
late learners' motivation, which is precisely the most important advan- DIRECTIONS OF FUTURE EDUCATIONAL
tage of educational games. Regardless of how people pay attention to GAMES?
the effectiveness of the educational game, most people admit that
educational games do stimulate motivation (Prensky, 2001), which can With the development of technology and the deepening of educational
promote independent learning. Vos, Meijden, and Denessen (2011) game research, we believe that educational game design and develop-
conducted a study to explore whether there's different between learn- ment research will focus on providing learners with a quality learning
ing by designing games and using existing games in stimulating learning experience and personalized learning. Based on the self-adaptation and
motivation and promoting deep learning. The results show that self- learning analysis techniques, personalized learning will be put into prac-
designed games can encourage students to call more previous knowl- tice. In the application of educational games, gamification such as educa-
edge and experience, facilitating assimilation, accommodation, and tional game plug-ins became a new direction of application with its low
meaning construction. And self-designed games are more challenging threshold, low cost and universality. In addition, researchers will pay
and competitive, which can stimulate students' inner learning motiva- more and more attention to the internal cognitive process of students.
tion. Baytak (2009) allows fifth-grade students to design games using Based on the research of learning sciences, the relationship between
Scratch in a group collaboration based on the content of the science learner performance and internal cognitive processes is established, and
curriculum. Through observation, it is found that the game designing the learning process is deeply interpreted.
effectively promotes the explicit of tacit knowledge and the sharing of
knowledge and strategy. Ke (2014) also designed an interdisciplinary
course that integrates computer programming, mathematics, and game 5.1 | Exploring and adaptive personalized learning
production. The middle school students are divided into small groups,
and Scratch is used to design and develop math games. The results of Due to the high cost of game development, educational games are
the study show that this experience-driven game design process helps one of the most difficult forms of multimedia to obtain. When provid-
to stimulate learners' reflection on everyday mathematics experience ing a personalized learning experience for students, considering the
and enhance mathematics thinking. budget and versatility of the game, the adaptive game system is the
In addition, educational games use multimedia and web technolo- direction that scholars are actively exploring. For example, some
gies to create a complex game context for students, enabling students researchers have developed adaptive educational games based on
to interact and explore independently. For example, Cheng et al. (2014) learning style or player performance, which can dynamically and con-
developed Humunology, an educational game that learns how the tinuously adjust learning content according to students' interaction
 25781863, 2020, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbe2.188 by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND GALWAY, Wiley Online Library on [22/10/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
192 ZENG ET AL.

with the game. The adaptive educational games can effectively enable
students to maximize understanding and mastering of knowledge con-
tent and reduce the cognitive load of students (Clark et al., 2016;
Soflano, Connolly, & Hainey, 2015). Torrente, Freire, Moreno-Ger,
and Fernández-Manjón (2015) focused on special groups and devel-
oped a (semi) adaptive educational game “My First Day at Work”
based on the player community. The game configures the user inter-
face through the initial role selection, including the blind character,
the wheelchair character, the hearing impaired character, and the
fourth character without obvious disability. For example, the scene
adapted to the low vision crowd uses a high contrast rendering mode
to darken the background and highlight interactive elements.

FIGURE 1 The core values of educational games

5.2 | Gamification

Gamification has become a new direction for application. Compared research method. Quantitative research methods help researchers to grasp
to complex and costly educational games, using gaming elements and the objective laws of things through the collection and analysis of objec-
mechanics in non-game environments for a light gamification design tive data, which have high reliability and accuracy. Qualitative research
can easily provide students with a gaming experience that is highly methods can build interpretative understanding of research problems
portable and reduces technical threshold for teachers and students. through interviews and observations. The fusion of the two methods can
Studies have shown that light gamification classrooms can continue to not only support each other, but also establish a multi-party interpretation
increase student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes (De- of the problem and form a more three-dimensional understanding.
Marcos et al., 2014; Domínguez et al., 2013; Wang, 2015). In game design, the design and development of educational
games should be viewed in terms of systemic thinking to establish an
effective learning environment. We should comprehensively consider
5.3 | Internal cognitive processes of students the linkage between the gaming elements. With the advancement of
technology, VR and other technologies also have enormous potential
Focus on the internal cognitive processing of students. Any research on for enhancing game immersion. Educational games are expected to
learning cannot evade the two questions of “how learning occurs” and make students indulge in learning.
“how to promote learning.” Learning is a process of change that takes On the theoretical basis, exploring the cognitive laws of education
place within an individual. Without learning sciences research, it is only and the process of learning is the basis. Researchers must develop edu-
possible to explain the learning process through the behaviors and char- cational game research with the learning sciences perspective. It is not
acteristics exhibited by the learner. The perspective of educational games only the use of learning sciences research results to interpret the results
research changed from learner characteristics to internal cognition of educational research, but the integration of learning sciences and edu-
(Kesler, Sheau, Koovakkattu, & Reiss, 2011), which helps us to combine cation from all aspects of the entire research process. For example, we
the results of existing researches with the results of learning sciences can design and develop educational games based on learning sciences.
researches to establish the connection of learner performance and inter- In technology applications, big data technology is the premise for
nal cognitive processes and a more scientific understanding of the learn- personalized learning. We should enhance the design of data collec-
ing process (Fink et al., 2010; Subramaniam, Kounios, Parrish, & Jung- tion points and obtain more real-time and objective process data. Big
Beeman, 2009). This means that educational games research can use data and learning analysis can help understand and evaluate learners'
brain imaging techniques to explore the functional and structural effects learning processes more comprehensively and provide targeted sup-
of the human brain, and to discover the relationship between different port for learners.
game factors and human brain changes. It is of great guiding significance
for designing more effective and targeted educational games. Perhaps the
future educational games can become a precise “non-invasive scalpel” to 6 | CONC LU SION
reshape the human brain and to enhance certain abilities of people.
Besides the three major directions on the development of educa- Unlike other teaching resources and media, educational games are
tional games presented above, there are four inspirations of educa- more like providing a dimension space for learners, in which learners
tional game research, including research methods, game design, actively explore and practice, and even forget that this is a learning
theoretical basis, and technical applications. process. Occasionally learners can substitute their own fantasy, ideas
In research methods, educational game research mainly adopts mixed and innovation to achieve personal development in a fun-filled pro-
research methods, which can break through the limitations of a single cess. Although most of the problems encountered in this space are
 25781863, 2020, 2, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hbe2.188 by NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND GALWAY, Wiley Online Library on [22/10/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License
ZENG ET AL. 193

the reproduction of the actual situation, but they can get rid of the ACKNOWLEDG MENT
limitations of the real-life situation and give learners a more compre- This study is based on the project “Study of Game-based Learning from
hensive and high-quality experience. the Perspective of Learning Sciences,” which belongs to the 2017 General
In terms of the value of educational games, what are the core Projects of Educational Research for the 13th Five-year Plan and was
values of educational games? We believe that the core values of the financed by China National Social Science Foundation (BCA170072).
educational games can be summarized as game motivation, game
thinking and game spirit, as shown in Figure 1. OR CID
Although games have many educational values, the most optimistic Junjie Shang https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9560-025X
is game motivation. Game motivation is the most basic and most opera-
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ZENG ET AL. 195

educational games. Journal of Science Education & Technology, 25 AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

(1), 1–15.
Laurel, B. (1991). Computers as theatre. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley
Longman Publishing Co., Inc. Jialing Zeng is a master student majoring in edu-
Lepper, M. R., Keavney, M., & Drake, M. (1996). Intrinsic motivation and extrin- cational technology at the Graduate School of
sic rewards: A commentary on Cameron and pierce's meta-analysis. Review Education, Peking University. Zeng participates
of Educational Research, 66(1), 5–32.
in the Lab of Learning Sciences at Peking Uni-
Malone, T. W. (1981). What makes things fun to learn? A study of intrinsi-
cally motivating computer games. Pipeline, 6, 50-51. versity, utilizing design-based research to
Maratou, V., Chatzidaki, E., & Xenos, M. (2014). Enhance learning on soft- develop educational games in mathematics.
ware project management through a role-play game in a virtual world. Zeng's research interests are educational games,
Interactive Learning Environments, 24(4), 1–19.
game-based learning and learning sciences.
Maratou, V., Chatzidaki, E., & Xenos, M. (2016). Enhance learning on soft-
ware project management through a role-play game in a virtual world. Sophie Parks is a graduate student from the Uni-
Interactive Learning Environments, 24(4), 897–915.
versity at Albany—SUNY. She is currently in her
Mavridis, A., Katmada, A., & Tsiatsos, T. (2017). Impact of online flexible
games on students' attitude towards mathematics. Educational Tech- second year in the school psychology PsyD pro-
nology Research & Development, 65(11), 1–20. gram. Sophie participates in two of the school
Mcgonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how psychology labs at UAlbany, which entail
they can change the world. New York, NY: The Penguin Press (Non-
researching the prevalence and trends of murder suicides in
Classics).
Peng, W., Lee, M., & Heeter, C. (2010). The effects of a serious game on schools with Dr. David Miller (which she presented at the
role-taking and willingness to help. Journal of Communication, 60(4), National Association for School Psychologist's annual confer-
723–742. ence in February 2020) and piloting a flashcard app with
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based learning. New York: McGraw Hill.
Dr. Benjamin Solomon. She is also interested in researching the
Rosenthal, R., Geuss, S., Dell-Kuster, S., Schafer, J., Hahnloser, D., &
Demartines, N. (2011). Video gaming in children improves perfor-
relationships/perceptions of school psychologists and teachers
mance on a virtual reality trainer but does not yet make a laparoscopic in the school setting. In the future, Sophie would like to work in
surgeon. Surgical Innovation, 18(2), 160–170. an elementary school as a school psychologist and continue
Smith, G. G., Li, M., Drobisz, J., Park, H. R., & Smith, S. D. (2013). Play doing research. When not in school, Sophie enjoys watching
games or study? Computer games in ebooks to learn english vocabu-
reality television shows, spending time with her friends and
lary. Computers & Education, 69(4), 274–286.
Soflano, M., Connolly, T. M., & Hainey, T. (2015). An application of adaptive family, and visiting aquariums (hence the picture from the
games-based learning based on learning style to teach SQL. Computers & National Aquarium in Baltimore as seen below)!
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Su, C. H., & Cheng, C. H. (2015). A mobile gamification learning system for Junjie Shang is a tenured associate professor
improving the learning motivation and achievements. Journal of Com- and research professorship and also serves as
puter Assisted Learning, 31(3), 268–286. the director of the Lab of Learning Sciences
Subramaniam, K., Kounios, J., Parrish, T. B., & Jung-Beeman, M. (2009). A
at Beijing University. Dr. Shang is also the
brain mechanism for facilitation of insight by positive affect. Journal of
Cognitive Neuroscience, 21(3), 415–432. President of the China Educational Technol-
Thiagarajan, S. (1998). The myths and realities of simulations in perfor- ogy Association Professional Community on
mance technology. Educational Technology, 38(5), 35–41. Digital Game-based Learning, and the Vice
Torrente, J., Freire, M., Moreno-Ger, P., & Fernández-Manjón, B. (2015).
President of the National Computer Based Education Society.
Evaluation of semi-automatically generated accessible interfaces for
educational games. Computers & Education, 83, 103–117. Dr. Shang's research interests include digital game-based learning,
Tsai, F. H., Tsai, C. C., & Lin, K. Y. (2015). The evaluation of different learning sciences and technology, educational technology leader-
gaming modes and feedback types on game-based formative assess- ship and policy. He has led many research projects, which are
ment in an online learning environment. Computers & Education, 81,
funded by National Science Foundation of China, National Social
259–269.
Vos, N., Meijden, H. V. D., & Denessen, E. (2011). Effects of con- Science Foundation of China, Beijing Social Science Foundation,
structing versus playing an educational game on student motivation and so on. Dr. Shang has edited or authored more than 10 books,
and deep learning strategy use. Computers & Education, 56(1), and published more than 70 papers.
127–137.
Wang, A. I. (2015). The wear out effect of a game-based student response
system. Computers & Education, 82, 217–227.
Whitebread, D. (1997). Developing children's problem-solving: the edu-
cational uses of adventure games. In A. McFarlane (Ed.), Informa- How to cite this article: Zeng J, Parks S, Shang J. To learn
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scientifically, effectively, and enjoyably: A review of
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