e-Bug Junior GameDesign & Evaluation

David Farrell, City University Londondavid.farrell.1@city.ac.uk

e-Bug Launch Meeting3rd September 2009

e-Bug Junior Game• Design Choices

• What kind of game?• How does it teach?• How can we evaluate?

• Quantitative Results (preliminary)

• Qualitative Results

• Comments and Next Steps

Target Audience• 9-11 year olds

• Suitable for play at home or in school

• Short attention span

• Enjoy Flash games (Kongregate, Newgrounds)

• Necessary to provide an action oriented game

• Whilst still teaching required Learning Outcomes

Effective GBL?

• How are games best used for learning?

• Shaffer’s Epistemic Frames

• SodaConstructor1, SimCity

• Squire’s work with Civilization2

Game Concept• Designed game rules (mechanics) to support

learning outcomes

• Decided on a “Platform Game” (like Mario)

• Player is shrunk to a tiny size and interacts with microbes

• Photograph different types of cartoon microbes!

• See that some microbes are useful and some harmful!

• Throw soap to remove harmful microbes!

Platform Game

Mini Game

• Mini game used for Food and Respiratory Hygiene learning outcomes

Game Show

• Context

• Competition

• Pacing

• Evaluation?

Capturing Data

Quantitative Results

• Final statistics not calculated• Data has been cleaned• only minor changes expected

• Total Plays: • Round 1 :• Round 2 :• Round 3 :• Round 4 :• Round 5 :

1736652317181

8154

Introduction to Microbes

Round 1 Results

%?

• Timing of evaluation == high awareness• end of school year• swine flu

• Results are % change from incorrect to correct.

• Question 1• PRE: 512 correct, 31 not sure, 102 wrong

• 31 + 102 == 133 incorrect

• POST: 536 correct == +24 change• (24 / 133) * 100 = 18% change in incorrect

Harmful Microbes

Round 2 Results

Useful Microbes

Round 3 Results

Hygiene

Round 4 Results

Antibiotics

Round 5 Results

Qualitative Results

• Very positive response from players

• In initial focus groups, the game ran slow • 50% of pupils said that they would “play

this game again” or “recommend this game to a friend”.

• When fixed, the positive rate was over 90%

Teacher Comments

• A small number of teachers filled out questionnaire

• All said they would use the game in the classroom and indicated that they had enjoyed using the game with their pupils.

• Some teachers requested that audio be added to the game in order that those with lower reading ability could still engage fully.

Teacher Comments Cont…

“I liked the way it was an educational but also fun game the children learned things from it”

“I would definitely use the game as it is both fun and educational”

“I think that the content is good, especially if the game is being used to enhance or consolidate learning on the

subject matter through taught sessions”

“The children really took to the game once the technical problems had been addressed and I know that many of

them have accessed the game from home as a result of the workshop.”

Next Steps• The areas of the game which have shown little

impact or which have had a negative impact need to be improved.

• The “Blind Question Round” (part of quiz show) should be removed since the game is no longer in evaluation and users dislike that feature.

• Some software bugs still persist (as with most software)

• A more rigorous analysis of the data will be published