Game2Learn

Games are increasingly being used for education and training in a variety of areas. We are developing a game to teach introductory computer science concepts, called Game2Learn, to increase student motivation and engagement in learning CS1, which are critical for recruiting students into computer science. We evaluated student feedback and performance of initial prototypes to examine the Game2Learn concept and provide design guidelines for ongoing game development. In this paper, we present the results of this study, which demonstrate that students can have fun programming within a game, and that in-game rewards and punishments are vital to the motivation and potential learning of students.