Exploring emerging design patterns in student-made climate change games

Abstract

While scholarly interest typically focuses on what student designers learn from creating digital games, there has been little investigation into what student designers make. This paper analyzes what design patterns emerge within a set of games from student designers who were instructed to design educational games about climate change using a particular design tool called Scratch. In this preliminary investigation, 19 games are analyzed using the triadic game design framework, which explores relationships between the topic (Reality), learning goal (Meaning) and genre (Play) of serious games. Here we suggest that these decisions fell into a few prototypical patterns, and suggest further paths of inquiry into students' designs regarding considering students' experience with games and supporting the representation of abstract concepts.