In higher education, maintaining student engagement in voluntary activities remains a challenge. While serious games are recognized for enhancing motivation, evidence regarding their long-term effectiveness in non-graded contexts is limited. This study evaluates the impact of “The Time Machine”, an interactive branching-narrative serious game, on academic motivation and participation. A quasi-experimental study was conducted across 14 undergraduate courses. The Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire-Short Form (MSLQ-SF) was administered in three surveys (Survey 1, Survey 2, Survey 3). In total, 404 students completed at least one survey (635 questionnaire records). Longitudinal analyses (Friedman test) were conducted on the complete-case sample (n = 65) comprising students who responded to all three surveys and revealed no statistically significant changes in motivational dimensions. Completion rates (defined as responding to all three surveys) were significantly dependent on the implementation context (Fisher’s test, p < 0.001), being higher in groups with direct instructional support. Additionally, female students reported significantly higher test anxiety than males, while prior affinity for video games showed no influence on motivational outcomes. Narrative-driven serious games can sustain motivation over time effectively. However, their success relies critically on pedagogical scaffolding and teacher involvement rather than solely on game mechanics or students’ gamer profiles.
Callejo-Martín et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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