Researching and Developing Serious Games as Interactive Learning Instructions

Abstract

As serious games gain momentum in the academic arena, no doubt more educators and instructional technologists will begin considering the possibility of making their own games for instruction. As developers of instructional resources, instructional technologists need to steer clear of producing more ‘video’ games, and instead, developing more ‘serious’ games that incorporate both learning and assessment. The research community needs to learn from tested processes and best practices to avoid repeating old mistakes. The model for serious game making presented in this article has been used successfully for the creation of an award winning project, and will now be shared for the benefits of fellow researchers, educators, and instructional technologists.