Assessing Game Design Experience: Insights from Educators in Design Studio Environments

Abstract

Although video games, one of the most popular tools of new media, have become an important focus of playing and informal learning, their lack of active use in education is an important phenomenon to be considered. Though researchers have focused on the potential benefits of using games in education and integrating them into curricula, this transition has yet to be effectively implemented. Especially why educators do not use games effectively and make them a part of education is an important situation that needs to be emphasized. Certain problems are mentioned in the literature about the reasons for this situation. The reasons that come to the forefront are that educators have doubts about the benefits of including games in the curriculum, educators do not have enough experience in games and game-based education, and the idea that efforts to include games in the curriculum will not yield the desired results. Well-designed digital games or digital game-based learning environments gain a more powerful and potential structure in terms of education as they offer positioned learning experiences with transferable information and instant feedback, unlike the structure of traditional education that focuses on knowledge rather than doing. In order to see the perspectives of educators and to understand how to create a common framework, this study has identified focusing on the game design experience and educators' approaches and perceptions towards digital game-based learning environments as a research problem. The fact that most of the research in the literature is on student experience supports the approach of the study.

Keywords

• Game design
• Video games
• Design studio
• Design studio experience
• Educator perspective

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