The Effects of Game Design on Learning Outcomes

This article details the administration and results of an experiment conducted to assess the impact of three video game design concepts upon learning outcomes. The principles tested include game aesthetics, player choice, and player competition. The experiment participants were asked to play a serious game over the course of a week, and the learning outcomes were measured by comparing their pretest and posttest scores. The results of a one-tailed t test indicated, with a p value of 0.043, that there was a statistically significant effect of the aesthetic presentation of the game upon the learning outcome. There was no indication of a significant effect by the player choice or player competition conditions, but the results from these experiment groups point to some potentially interesting interactions between the conditions and learning, as well as possible future lines of experimental inquiry.