A Serious Game for Learning C Programming Language Concepts Using Solo Taxonomy

Abstract

This paper conducts a study to identify pedagogical approaches and gameplay techniques involved in the development of serious games for teaching scientific courses in general especially programming languages. The concept of serious games is increasingly popular and is considered as an innovative teaching practice since it is based on information and communication technology and gamification to foster learning. To this end, a serious game "Perobo" will be introduced and discussed. It is based on a set of gameplay techniques and pedagogical approaches used for teaching pointers, considered as a difficult concept in C programming language, and essential for programming complex and advanced programs. The game is also based on a taxonomy design to define the learning levels.