Many parents distrust video games, thinking they will negatively affect their children’s performance in school and exams.
However, in reality, playing video games raises students’ IQ levels, concentration, and many more. Yes, we are talking about educational video games.
The education gaming market worldwide will ascend to a whopping $93.53 Billion by 2030. (Verified Market Research)
Since the benefits of educational games for students is exigent, the craze for online games is an uprising. And now, two new players are in the online gaming space: Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality.
AR/VR-driven Video games are effective for both K-12 students and college-goers. Besides being an effective tool for teaching algebra and biology to students, online interactive games encourage critical thinking and problem-solving capability in students.
Many educational institutions have partnered with reputed VR company to infuse AR and VR features in their educational games.
But does educational video games design differ from traditional video games? Or, the game designing aspects are the same, only the presentation is different from one another.
And how AR and VR are bringing jolted changes in designing online educational video games.
Let’s find out.
Unlocking the True Meaning Of Game-Based Learning
Game-based learning is a magical thing. It is a balance between the educational subject matter and the gameplay.
While in traditional video games, a player’s motif is to plunge into fun and entertainment, educational video games for students ensure specific knowledge and skills gained through the gameplay.
Gamification has enabled video game designers to navigate the basic game mechanics and design features to create innovative learning modules.
Precisely, educational games are a compilation of teaching enhancement and the evaluation of the learner.
Elements of Educational Game Designing
We need to evaluate the design features and motifs of online interactive games to assess whether the design is the same as traditional video games.
Developing Learning Objectives
Learning objectives shape educational video games for students. It does not matter how you put your best game-designing efforts into it.
If the learning objective is unclear, it may not affect the student’s learning process. The presentation of the learning objective establishes the foundation of the game.
Interactivity for the Engagement
Interactivity is the main feature of online interactive games. Interactivity adds the fun part to both traditional games and educational games.
While playing video games, the players turn into actors. So, maximizing the interactivity in the learning games is essential to keep your players engaged.
Day by day, considering the popularity of educational games, video game designers are concentrating on minimizing the traditional instruction and passive activity part of educational games. Interactivity is filling the gap.
Game Environment
The game environment is one of the chief aspects of game design and development. It is significant for both educational games and traditional video games.
The design of the environment should seem relevant and recognizable to the learner or player.
For instance, you are designing the background for a game on Biology. So, the background must be relevant to the subject.
On the other hand, if you are developing a shooting game, the environment reflects something between tension and fun.
Never let Experimental Elements Dried up
The best online learning games let the learners level up their skills from their mistakes. Players will get bored if you design only one right way to correct the answers.
After all, you are designing a game, not an online assignment. Players can use different tactics to accomplish the levels like traditional video games. Educational games also should be experimental and fun.
AR and VR Bringing Changes to Educational Video Games
97% of students would like to study a VR course. (E-Student) So, there is something about Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality development in education that makes educators to students go crazy about VR learning.
While discussing critical concepts, educators often need more scope to exemplify and explain the concept in a better comprehensible manner.
The lack of practical elements in conventional classroom learning leaves students needing clarification.
AR and VR-driven learning can make describing concepts less challenging. This learning solution encompasses interactive audio-visual elements, gamified elements, and other advanced methods.
It expands the scope for teachers to explain topics and for students to understand the defined topics clearly.
Wrapping up
To conclude, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are pushing the boundaries of what could be possible in the education space.
By partnering with a VR company and implementing AR/VR in education, schools and colleges can ensure the efficacy of their learning games. Another factor also becomes clear: there is no such difference in the essential elements of educational video games and traditional video games.
While designing a game, the designer’s prime motive is to create fun and entertainment. In designing learning games, an extra thing gets added: to ensure the process is swelling up the learner’s knowledge and skill on a particular subject or topic.
