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Gifted students’ learning experiences in systematic game development process in after-school activities

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Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate students’ learning experiences in a systematic game development process. The study was conducted at a science and arts center, where gifted students can enroll in after-school activities. Fifteen students and one instructor participated in a 12-week problem-solving implementation. During the last five weeks of the process, the students were engaged in developing educational computer games based on a game design model. Our findings showed that the game design model used in the study allowed the students to become aware of professional game development activities, such as identifying a target audience, prototyping, and evaluation. Furthermore, this game design model enabled a more systematic and faster implementation of the game development activity. The results of the research also showed that game development activity yielded important educational outcomes for the students to become skillful at problem-solving and convey their feelings/thoughts to the artifacts through the experience of the design process.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Education Faculty, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat, Turkey

    Kevser Hava

  2. Gazi University, Gazi Education Faculty Bosnia Building, Beşevler, Ankara, Turkey

    Tolga Guyer & Hasan Cakir

Authors
  1. Kevser Hava
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  2. Tolga Guyer
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  3. Hasan Cakir
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Correspondence to Kevser Hava.

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This study is partly taken form the first author’s Ph.D. dissertation.

Appendix 1: Semi-structured student interview form

Appendix 1: Semi-structured student interview form

  1. 1.

    General

    1. (a)

      Had you ever developed a game before the activity?

    2. (b)

      If you had, could you briefly describe the game?

      1. (i)

        Which processes did you follow in developing this game?

      2. (ii)

        Did you develop the game alone or as a part of a group?

  2. 2.

    Analysis stage

    1. (a)

      Did you identify the target audience for your game?

      1. (i)

        If yes, did you collect information about the target audience?

      2. (ii)

        If yes, how did you decide on the target audience?

    2. (b)

      How did you decide on the game topic?

    3. (c)

      Did you research the game topic?

      1. (i)

        Did you have any difficulties researching the game topic?

      2. (ii)

        What resources did you use during your research on the game topic?

    4. (d)

      In the game development process, how important is it to research the target audience and the game topic?

  3. 3.

    Design stage

    1. (a)

      Did you have any difficulties in the design stage?

      1. (i)

        If yes, please explain these difficulties.

    2. (b)

      In the game development process, how important is scriptwriting and identifying game components?

    3. (c)

      What is the importance of paper prototyping in the game development process?

  4. 4.

    Development stage

    1. (a)

      Were you able to develop your design plans in the MS Kodu game engine?

    2. (b)

      Did you have any difficulties in the development stage?

      1. (i)

        If yes, please describe these difficulties.

  5. 5.

    Evaluation stage

    1. (a)

      Did you revise the game according to the feedback on the game evaluation form?

    2. (b)

      Did you face any challenges in the evaluation stage?

      1. (i)

        If yes, please explain these challenges.

    3. (c)

      What is the importance of the evaluation stage in the game development process?

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Hava, K., Guyer, T. & Cakir, H. Gifted students’ learning experiences in systematic game development process in after-school activities. Education Tech Research Dev 68, 1439–1459 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09750-z

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