A Reflective Game Design Framework for Game-Based Learning

This paper proposes a Reflective Game Design (RGD) framework intended to help designers, educators, and researchers build game-based learning (GBL) experiences that deliberately incorporate reflective practice. The authors argue that digital games are inherently reflective, since elements such as feedback interfaces, head-up displays, maps, prompts, and social discourse invite players to revisit and reassess their actions. However, the authors contend that existing research treats reflection as a whole set of game features rather than accounting for individual differences in how learners reflect, and that practical guidance for embedding reflective learning into GBL remains limited.

The literature review draws on Dewey, Mezirow, and Schön to define reflective learning, and on Khaled's principles of reflective game design. A systematic review by Shaheen et al. (2021) is summarized as finding that process displays, prompts, social discourse, and process models support understanding, critical thinking, and retention. The authors observe that most reviewed studies use offline post-gameplay debriefs and assessments, with relatively few integrating reflection within the technology itself. They also review several existing GBL frameworks, including Kiili's Experiential Gaming Model, the Adaptive Digital Game-Based Learning framework, the LEAGUE framework, and a gamification engagement framework, noting that few of them explicitly employ active reflective methods.

The proposed RGD framework maps Kolb's experiential learning cycle onto game design elements across four stages: gameplay as concrete experience, reflective feedback as reflective observation (distinguishing in-action from on-action feedback), formative assessment as abstract conceptualisation, and level-up progression as active experimentation. Illustrative examples from platforms such as CodinGame and CodeCombat are used to demonstrate each stage. The framework is presented as iterative, though it has not yet been empirically evaluated. The authors plan to implement it in a serious game aimed at improving self-awareness among young people and to use the results to refine reflective design guidelines.