Advanced Gamification and Mega-games to Enhance Lifelong Learning in Higher Education

This study examines advanced gamification and a "Mega-game" implemented in higher education at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, during a semester running from February to June 2022. The research focuses on 35 sixth-semester Digital Art and Video Game Studies students, delivered through a Discord-based platform called OASIS that incorporated Prestige currency, experience points, and assigned roles. Using a mixed-methods approach combining participatory observation, questionnaires, and interviews, the authors investigate how such intensive gamified environments shape student involvement and learning.

The principal findings indicate that gamification substantially enhanced student engagement and motivation. Students rated the challenge of the course at 8.9, instructor rapport at 9.1, and instructor support at 9.0 on the study's scales, signaling strong satisfaction with the teaching relationship and academic demands. Reactions to the gamified experience itself were more divided, with 41.6 percent of students responding negatively, 41.7 percent neutrally, and 16.6 percent positively, underscoring that these approaches do not land uniformly.

The authors identify several significant drawbacks alongside these benefits. Intensive implementations requiring up to 48 hours of weekly engagement raised concerns about burnout, stress, and anxiety, while competition-related pressure and emerging wealth inequality among students surfaced as inclusivity problems. The authors also warn of gambling-like dynamics and experience-point farming that can undermine educational goals.

The study concludes that advanced gamification and Mega-games can strengthen commitment and curiosity, but only with deliberate safeguards. The authors call for further research into the psychological effects, ethical implications, and long-term sustainability of sustained gamified learning, and they report no competing interests.