3 Key Questions to Answer Before Designing a Learning Game

Designing a learning game can be tricky; you need to carefully balance several items to ensure success. To help with this process, ask yourself three key questions.

#1: What Do You Want the Player to Learn? 
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This might seem like a simple question, but the learning goal often becomes lost in the desire to produce a fun or interesting game. The goal of a learning game is not fun—it’s learning. You need to be as clear as possible about what you expect the learning outcome of the game to be. 

#2: What Is the Game Goal? 

The game goal is what the learner needs to do to win the game. For example, is it to answer all the questions in the shortest amount of time, collect all the yellow tiles, or find the treasure? Often game goals and learning goals are not the same, but they do have to work together to create an engaging learning experience. Carefully crafting a game goal that complements the learning goal is not a simple task, but it’s one that is worth the time and effort. 

#3: Is the Game Engaging? 

You don’t need to create a game as addictive as Candy Crush to be successful, but you do need to create something that engages learners and encourages them to continue playing the game. Games tend to be most effective when they include elements of surprise, novelty, and mystery. Think through the activities in the game and determine whether they add to or detract from the overall level of engagement. Strive for optimal engagement with a minimum of complexity. Finally, test your game to find out if the learners playing it find it engaging. 

Answering these three questions can be helpful in crafting an effective learning game.