Finally! I am really happy that my book Educational Game Design Fundamentals: A journey to creating intrinsically motivating learning experiences is out there! This is a project that I have been preparing for a while. Several educators, game designers, user experience professionals and academics have contributed to its creation and I am honoured and thank for that. This book wouldn’t be what it is without their feedback and contributions.
The book addresses the highly challenging task of designing educational games. Educational game design requires an understanding of different elements, from how people learn and understand the world around them to game mechanics and narratives. Additionally, even if it’s possible that individuals can make amazing educational games, in most cases educational game design is the result of the collaboration between different types of experts, that may not always share the same vision about the game they want to make.
The book also tries to address a fundamental question:
Can we learn through play? Can we really play while learning?
Of course! But how?!
We all learn and educate others in our own unique ways. Successful educational games adapt to the particular learning needs of their players and facilitate the learning objectives of their designers.
Educational Game Design Fundamentals embarks on a journey to explore the necessary aspects to create games that are both fun and help players learn. This book examines the art of educational game design through various perspectives and presents real examples that will help readers make more informed decisions when creating their own games. In this way, readers can have a better idea of how to prepare for and organize the design of their educational games, as well as evaluate their ideas through several prisms, such as feasibility or learning and intrinsic values.
Everybody can become education game designers, no matter what their technical, artistic or pedagogic backgrounds. This book refers to educators and designers of all sorts: from kindergarten to lifelong learning, from corporate training to museum curators and from tabletop or video game designers to theme park creators!
You can find the book here: Amazon link
