Custom-Designed Video Game for Chemistry Revision Gamification

Gamification has become popular in education to increase motivation and academic performance of students. However, video games developed by educators have so far been limited in their applications and gameplay. Here, we report on a video gamification of chemistry exam revision: “Revision Party”, a custom-designed video game for grade 10 students (aged 16). “Revision Party” video game was developed using Unreal Engine 5, a state-of-the-art engine used by professional video game developers. “Revision Party” consists of four minigames, each having a different gameplay. The challenge and exploration of “Revision Party” was refined to increase students’ motivation. The efficacy, engagement and enjoyment of “Revision Party” video game were assessed using a test group ( N = 60) and a control group ( N = 62). A set of 34 questions were provided to both groups of students. The test group did the questions via “Revision Party” video game on their personal phone or laptop while the control group did the same questions via a classical pen and paper worksheet. After analysis, “Revision Party” was as effective for exam revision as a classical worksheet. Interestingly, “Revision Party” scored significantly higher enjoyment scores ( M = 4.35 versus M = 4.03; p = 0.01673) and engagement scores ( M = 4.40 versus M = 4.14, p = 0.03226) on 5-point Likert scale. This report demonstrates the potential of “Revision Party” as an interactive, engaging and enjoyable exam revision tool. In the future, “Revision Party” could be modified to suit different curricula and expanded to incorporate multiplayer gameplay.