Game History Education

Introduction

Game history education has become one of the essential components of the educational systems in the modern world, providing entertaining and immersive ways of examining the tremendous history of humanity with the help of various video games. Our paper is entirely devoted to examining seldom-seen areas where gaming and education intersect and, in particular, to producing a game with a game history that owns its curricula. Our goal is to explain the meaning of gaming as an instrument for historical education and give an example of how the gaming industry can utilize it to involve people in studying past events, developments, and cultural heritage via games.

Audience and Learning Goals

Our target audience for game-on-game history education is mainly people who are students or game fans with a great passion for the development of games as a part of social life and industry. While the content and complexity of the game can be tuned to various age groups, we target mainly middle and high school students, college students, and adult learners who have experienced the golden era of gaming. The game will have exciting and immersive gameplay, which will be attractive to bothplayers who are just gambling for fun and those who are super interested in the subject matter. The mission of our game is based on the foundation of forming an ultimate knowledge of fundamental historical events, landmarks, and changes using the framework of the video game as a vehicle. The game will be more than just a correcting tool for the players to let them get acquainted with the history of games (Liu et al., 2020). Specific learning goals involve discerning the most influential games and eminent creators, recognizing technological advances, diving into the social and cultural impact of gaming, and analyzing the historical context that shaped the emergence of the medium. By ensuring these objectives, players will know their importance. They will appreciate the art of gaming and also have a more comprehensive understanding of gaming as a social phenomenon in modern society.

Topic or Theme

The theme for our game-on-game history education focuses on how gaming devices and technologies have evolved. Mainly, the game will be concentrated on arcade machines and computers, home consoles, and nowadays, which game systems will get highlighted, will be illustrated with several key innovations, leading releases, and the cultural impact of each period. The theme is particularly applicable to my game design and development major, as it provides a general description of the technological breakthroughs and design functions that have been contributing to the development of the gaming industry.

The selection of this topic is due to the fact that it is a post about the future buildup of gaming history and consequently provides a non-partial view of the development of mass media. By following the advancement of gaming platforms, players will get an idea about the connection between technology and consumers, the birth of entirely new game types and ways to play, and the expansion of certain stereotypes among gamers (Mayer, 2019). Additionally, finding the historical background of every period for the game is complementary to understanding the improvement and changes in game design and the effect of socio-cultural factors on game development. Such an idea is linked directly to game history education by presenting a systematic approach to learning about the development of gaming platforms and technologies (Challenor & Ma, 2019). Through social gaming platforms, gamers play historical scenarios to acquire a more intimate and long-term interaction with historical content. They make connections with historical facts more firmly. The game induces an atmosphere of the historical settings of each of the eras under discussion.

Research on Existing Games

In our analysis of the current games, which covered the evolution of gaming platforms and technologies, we have come across several outstanding games offering relevant information on that issue. For illustration, imagine a game called “Evolution of Gaming,” a board game that faithfully portrays the course of gaming development from primitive arcade systems toward modern consoles. Players pit themselves as they go from crushing to collecting legendary gaming artifacts. As they progress through the various gaming eras, they begin to face odds and opportunities from which they take appropriate actions (McCall, 2022). As an additional illustration, “Pixel Museum,” a web-based game, draws together a virtual museum to unveil the history and developments of video gaming hardware and software technology. Gamers journey through different simulated exhibits where they discover the fascinating story of transformations and inventions in the gaming sphere.

The creation of such a learning and play environment teaches us many lessons about the nature of learning and play. In “Evolution of Gaming” and “Pixel Museum,” a timeline that hosts players for various epochs of gaming history might be used as the basis of structure. The historical events that happened over a certain period in this chronological order allow us to discern the context and technological development of each era. Secondly, both of these games make use of interactive activities, including quizzes, mini-games, and six- or seven-question challenges that help the learning goals and keep the players involved in a participatory mode.

The exploration of successful games is helpful in determining how the game we are developing can be planned and executed, and it has provided us with many considerations and insights. To achieve the required balance between education and entertainment value, we ought to ensure that our players are not just watching but also learning about gaming history while being entertained. Exploiting interactive details and multimedia resources can make the learning experience enjoyable and engaging by addressing the learning styles of individuals. Besides that, planning set objectives along with feedback mechanisms is crucial for the design of player advancement and the evaluation of learning (Rajkovic et al., 2019).

Game Bits and Significant Elements

Game Components

Characters: Players will fill in gaming enthusiasts who are marching towards an exciting gaming journey through time.

Settings: Among various points of time and place, the game would embody the diverse past of gaming: arcade, home, and the ‘cloud’ or ‘virtual world’.

Cards: The poker card visual grids will be set with gaming symbols dating from the requested times, technological advancements, and historical events.

Dice: Custom dice specify that players will get options and responses to actions done and hurdles encountered during the gameplay.

Integration with Major Game Elements

The rules will be made with the perfect balance of giving some leeway while at the same time following the learning objectives (Leblanc, 2019).

Game Rules

• Setup

• Set the game board in the center.
• Mix the playing cards in shuffle and put them down below the board in a deck.
• Each player picks a role card and sets it on the opening base of the game setting.
• Decide on a starting player (for example, the youngest player gets the first turn).

• Gameplay

• On your turn now, you roll the die to see where you are going next.
• Move your game piece ahead by the amount mentioned on the dice roll.
• Read the instructions for the space you are in. This might be through puzzling a game card, answering trivia questions, or accomplishing the challenge according to gaming history.
• If you successfully finish a challenge or give the right answer, you win extra space ahead.
• The player who makes it to the end of the board is proclaimed the winner and wins the game.

• Game Cards

• The game cards consist of a collection of facts (history), questions (trivia), and challenges related to gaming history.
• When asked to use a game card, please read the card aloud and then follow the instructions.
• Play the card’s effect, and then put it in the discard pile.

• Winning the Game

• The player who reaches the end space first wins the game.
• In the event of a tie, the players who correctly answer the final trivia question will be declared the winners.

Objectives: The chief goal is to succeed in the completion of the game by picking up all of the necessary artifacts and attaining all of the achievements available. The secondary objective can involve the completion of challenges, the answering of trivia questions, or the search for the highest scores.

Mechanics: The game mechanics will include a pool of actions and interactions, including the rolling of dice, drawing of cards, strategic thinking, divergence in player attitudes, and friendship or rivalry between players. Subjects will be created to mirror the primary feeling of navigating through gaming history, while critical thinking and understanding of the historical facts will be facilitated.

Physical Prototype and Playtesting

The process of making prototypes included drawing concept sketches, designing cards and components of the game, and making one playable version that could be played with the materials at hand. We met with some obstacles in trying to achieve a balance between play and learning with the application of consistent mechanics and dynamics of the game. It is mentioned that the rules are made to be easy to understand, and there is an emphasis on the gameplay components, which will allow for better player interactions (Yatim, 2019).

Playtest results provided feedback regarding the specifics of game pacing, the clarity of guidelines, and the overall difficulty balance. They praised the game as thematically immersive but requested that rules be better explained or game mechanics be adjusted in order to get a better game flow. Due to feedback, development has evolved to include fine-tuning the language of the rulebook, simplifying the structure of the game actions, and correcting the number of cards passed to each player depending on the flow of the game (Yatim, 2019). The changes were made with the purpose of better engaging players and improving learning effectiveness, as well as preserving the authenticity of the game’s educational goals and objectives. When reflected on and updated in the process of continued playtesting, the prototype turned out to be a more interactive and entertaining educational game about game history.

Synthesis and Reflection

The incorporation of historical analysis and game design into our game, as well as the use of these principles to make it a learning tool, is one of our main goals. After reviewing the course materials, we realized that using a combination of up-to-date gaming techniques and integrating educational content into the game was the best direction to take to create a successful educational platform. Our game has been designed in such a way that it allows players to delve into interactive simulations of gaming-designed history. Such an approach will help players develop thinking capabilities, critical thinking, and historical understanding. It is reviewing the design process and recognizing that there is a close relationship between play testing, polishing the gameplay mechanics, and reaching the learning objectives. Pupils’ and playtesters’ comments led our development team to fine-tune game features that, together with the learning aspects, the game is coming up with. An iterative approach is incorporated through this process, which reflects the standardized instructional techniques by deprioritizing the individual and seeking a continual turn of events.

Furthermore, our game possesses a broader range of uses that are not limited to classrooms, businesses, and athletics; it extends to all settings when the need for educational purposes is felt. The game needs to be more relevant in the academic context, where it becomes a valuable tool to demonstrate the game’s history, bringing the learning process to another level that goes beyond conventional methodologies. For instance, escape rooms are ideal for undertaking team-building exercises and promoting the development of collaboration and problem-solving skills among employees in a business environment. Apart from this, sports games could also be adopted for educational purposes to introduce strategic thinking with an organizational view that can be used in sports administration courses.

Conclusion

The main argument in our paper is game development for game history education, providing gamification of the content with both engaging gameplay and educational content. Through my ability to integrate game design principles with academic theories and actual historical analysis, such learning fundamentals are highlighted. These pillars of deep understanding and critical thinking can effectively be created by game-based learning. In this game, users will feel themselves in the process of transitioning from platform to platform, at each stage, learning and mastering the basics of computer games before finally approaching the platform with the latest graphical effects, technical achievements, and the most interactive storylines of all time. The power of our game is its potential to attract players of different age groups and provide them with a way to learn something new and retain information through an exciting and entertaining way of learning. Despite the fact that this method is equally applicable universally, the fact that it can be implemented in classrooms, businesses, and sports falls in line as an extension of its agility and sheer adaptability. In future studies, there is a need for more profound research into game-based learning in these areas and the expansion of the number of historical topics and cultural issues to increase their coverage. Through continuous innovations and game-based learning model improvement, we are ensuring that students, educators, and learners get unmatched, powerful chances at interactive and revolutionary educational experiences.

References

Challenor, J., & Ma, M. (2019). A review of augmented reality applications for history education and heritage visualization. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 3(2), 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/mti3020039

Leblanc, C. (2019). Creating games.

Liu, Z. Y., Shaikh, Z. A., & Gazizova, F. (2020). Using the Concept of Game-Based Learning in Education. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning.

Doi: 10.21125/learn.2019.1686

Mayer, R. E. (2019). Computer games in education. Annual review of psychology, pp. 70, 531–549. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-102744

McCall, J. (2022). Gaming the past: Using video games to teach secondary history. Routledge.https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003272229

Rajkovic, A. I., Ruzic, M. S., & Ljujic, B. (2019). Board games as educational media: Creating and playing board games to acquire knowledge of history. IARTEM e-journal, 11(2). DOI: 10.21344/iartem.v11i2.582

Yatim, M. H. M. (2019, April). Lessons Learned In Game Playing Activities Using Playtesting In A Game-Based Learning Approach. In 8th UPI-UPSI International Conference 2018 (UPI-UPSI 2018) (pp. 126-132). Atlantis Press.