Game On: Leveraging Game Design for Simulating Real-World Scenarios
Wednesday October 25, 2023 - 3:45 PM to 4:30 PM
Concurrent Session 3

Brief Abstract

Discover how to leverage immersive game design to simulate real-world scenarios. See a live demo of our urban planning simulation and learn about translating in-person activities into engaging asynchronous experiences serving online learners worldwide. Gain insights into our design process and explore how emerging technologies can create effective learning experiences.

Extended Abstract

As the world of online learning continues to rapidly grow, it is more important than ever to deliver accessible educational content that provides increased social, cognitive and emotional engagement for students at scale. This presentation will explore the use of gamified learning experiences as a means of teaching real-world urban planning scenarios asynchronously. By leveraging both emerging technology and game design expertise, we were able to bring our faculty’s vision to life and create dynamic choose-your-own adventure type experiences that foster critical thinking, curiosity, and emotional engagement in an online course.

In this presentation, lead immersive game designers will share their process of collaborating with faculty, instructional designers, and engineers to bring a traditionally in-person activity to an asynchronous simulation that provides online learners the opportunity participate in an urban planning workshop, make decisions for their city, and see the reactions of the stakeholder NPCs (non-playable characters) in the simulation. The project explores the convergence of course content and learning outcomes with GIS technology and UX and game design, and presenters will walk through the efforts required to translate an in-person group activity to an engaging and immersive digital experience that online students can access at any time, from anywhere. The presentation will also include results from qualitative surveys where students provided excited and actionable feedback on the digital experience.

Presenters will provide a demo of the simulations, and attendees can see the value of using storytelling and immersive content inside a course experience. Takeaways for attendees include a deeper understanding of how immersive game design can be used to enhance learning outcomes, insights into the design process, and seeing the value that students felt in participating in the simulation within the course.

Level of Participation:

In this session, attendees will first be introduced to the game design process through a project overview presented by the simulation’s lead game designers. Following this, attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a live demo of the simulation, which is built as a choose-your-own-adventure game. At the end of the demo, presenters will have the ability to scan a QR code and try the experience for themselves, providing an interactive and engaging experience for all.

Session Goals:

The goal of our presentation is to demonstrate how game design can be used to create an innovative, effective, and accessible learning experience for online learners at scale. We aim to inspire attendees to think creatively about how they can leverage emerging technologies and immersive simulations to enhance the student experience. Individuals in attendance will leave the presentation with a clearer understanding of strategies to apply game design thinking to their own courses.