Examining the productiveness of failure in serious gaming
by Wim Westera
International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL), Vol. 14, No. 1, 2022

Abstract: Serious games are games used for non-entertainment purposes, e.g. in education and training. As most serious games are highly performance-oriented and consequently include scoring systems that reward correct performances, players tend to adopt error-avoiding strategies. But thereby the players are deprived of the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. This study investigates how the differences between performance and learning can be described and formalised. To this end, it presents a computational model that takes into account the learning from mistakes. The model was empirically validated by comparing its outcomes with real-world game data. The results show that performance metrics systematically overestimate the player's actual learning at early stages in a game and underestimate these at the end. Three evaluation metrics describing the progression, efficacy and efficiency of learning show how these differences depend on the players' knowledge growth capacities and their success rates in the game. Game scoring systems should best avoid penalties for making mistakes, should reward error correction positively and should provide sufficient feedback on failure.

Online publication date: Wed, 26-Jan-2022

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning (IJTEL):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com