Let the Game Do the Talking: The Influence of Explicitness and Game Behavior On Comprehension in an Educational Computer Game

Abstract

An endogenous educational game is a game where the educational content is integrated in the game play mechanics themselves. These games rely on a constructivist approach to learning, where the learner constructs knowledge through concrete experiences. Endogenous educational games which are specifically developed for educational purposes mostly make this purpose explicit: they make it clear in advance what is about to be learned. This research tried to find out how such an explicit purpose influences the game behavior and comprehension by developing two versions of an endogenous educational game about overfishing, one with and one without an explicit purpose. It showed that children who played the explicit version got more shallow knowledge and showed more active game behavior. The players who showed more explorative game behavior acquired more deep knowledge about the game.

Keywords: educational games, endogenous games, exogenous games, game design, game experience

JEL Classification: I20, M53, C79, C91