This document summarizes research into designing educational games. It describes two versions of a math game called Zombie Division - an "intrinsic" version that integrates learning into the core game mechanics, and an "extrinsic" version that separates learning into multiple choice questions. Two studies found that children spent significantly more time playing and learned more from the intrinsic version, supporting the idea that closely integrating a game and its educational content leads to better motivation and learning outcomes.

1. The Ten Minute Ph.D.
Chocolate, Broccoli and Skeletons
Dr. Jacob Habgood
Head of Serious Games, Sumo-Digital Limited

2. From Industry
 Lead Programmer / Technical Lead
 Gremlin / Infogrames / Atari
 MicroMachines (PS2, Xbox, GC)
 Hogs of War (PSX, PC)
 Actua Sports (PSX)
 Reloaded (PSX)…
Hogs of War
ELSPA Silver Sales Award
Electronics Boutique’s
Best Multi-Player Game of 2001

3. To Academia
 The University of Nottingham
 The Learning Sciences Research Institute
 Psychology
 Computer Science
 Education
 Chocolate-Covered Broccoli
 Poor marriage of games and learning

4. A Little Bit of Psychology
 Intrinsic Motivation (Deci and Ryan)
Engaging in an activity for its own sake with no obvious
external incentive
 Linked to the concept of flow (Csikszentmihalyi*)
 Being “in the zone”: total concentration, distorted sense of
time, and extension of self.
 Video games have it…
 Education would like it.
 More effective learning?
 Longer time-on-task?
*Chick-sent-me-high

5. “Edutainment”
 Failed to harness intrinsic motivation
 Shavian Reversal (Papert, 1998)
 Chocolate-Covered Broccoli
 “Bargain Bin” Products
We should have a child together. With my body
and your brains, what a wonder it would be!
Yes, but what if it had my
body and your brains?

6. Intrinsic Integration
(Habgood, Ainsworth and Benford, 2005)
 Better Integration
 Integrate the game mechanics and learning content.
“mechanism through which players make meaningful choices and
arrive at a meaningful play experience”
(Salen & Zimmerman, 2004).

7. Zombie Division
 A Gaming Episode
 Designed to empirically test the value of
our definition of intrinsic integration.
 Is this integration better or worse for
motivation and learning.
 Contrasting Versions
 Two versions that differ only in the way in
which they integrate their learning content.
 Intrinsic Zombie Division
 Extrinsic Zombie Division

8. Intrinsic Game
 Core Mechanic
 Action-adventure game.
 Defeating numbered enemies by attacking
them with a weapon that divides their
number into whole parts.
 Weapons map to different divisors.
 Supported by a multiplication grid.

9. Intrinsic Game

10. Extrinsic Game
 Core Mechanic
 Enemies labelled with symbols which
show their vulnerability to weapons.
 Weapons map to controls only.
 Learning Content
 Multiple choice questions at end of level.
 Supported by a multiplication grid.
 Identical numbers to those in the intrinsic
version (on the skeletons).

11. Extrinsic Game

12. Control Game

13. Study 1: Motivation
 Version Switching
 Class of 9-11 year olds attending a regular
after school club.
 Free switching between versions of ZD or
their usual club pursuits.
 No loss of progress for switching.
 Recorded time playing ZD over 2½ hours
of potential play.
 Lengthy group interview at end.

14. Study 1: Results
 Motivation
 Children spent significantly longer playing
the intrinsic than extrinsic (61% vs. 8%)
 Girls spent statistically longer playing
intrinsic than boys! (84% vs. 50%).
 Interview Data
 “more fun because it’s like subliminal
advertising with maths.” (intrinsic)
 “you think: oh I’ve had the fun part, now I
have to do a test – I’m just going to turn it
off and not bother.” (extrinsic)

15. Study 2: Learning
 Fixed Time-on-Task
 Fifty-nine, 7 and 8 year olds
Day 1 Pre-Test
4-5 20 mins on game
6 30 mins reflection + 20 mins game.
7-8 20 mins on game
11 Post-test
2 weeks
25 35 minutes on game.
Delayed-test
W.E.
W.E.

16. Study 2: Results
 Learning Outcomes
 Larger overall percentage gains (15%pts).
 Percentage gains between post and
delayed were significantly higher for the
intrinsic (7%pts) than extrinsic (<1%pts)
or control (<1%pts)

17.  Intrinsic Integration
 You can create more motivating and more effective
learning games by creating a closer integration
between a game and its learning content.
But…
 They may take longer to
produce and be more difficult
to re-purpose…
Discuss :-)
Take Away Message:

18. Zombie Division
(okay so they’re not actually zombies – but they’re close)