Date of Award

Spring 5-10-2025

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Computer Science

Department Chair or Program Director

Marshall, Andrew

First Advisor

Polack, Jennifer

Second Advisor

Anewalt, Karen

Third Advisor

Zeitz, Jessica

Major or Concentration

Computer Science

Abstract

Educational video games are a vastly underutilized and poorly developed method of teaching individuals. Research has shown that implementing fun into the learning environment has many benefits, including increased comprehension and knowledge retention while decreasing the cognitive load experienced by the learners. Given this information, educational video games seem like a natural route. However, previous iterations have failed to capitalize on these benefits.

This research focuses on player engagement for the new development model, emphasizing imparting educational material. The goal is to create an educational video game that properly educates the player on a given subject while promoting an entertaining environment that doesn’t feel academic. To accomplish this, three primary design principles will be observed. Firstly, to create an engaging storyline that draws in players and provides a narrative reason to progress in the game. Second, a transparent milestone system should be implemented to track knowledge retention and student engagement while rewarding players for progressing with in-game items and cosmetics. Finally, the educational material should be integrated into the game's core mechanics to force the player to learn to play the game.

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