Creating the Foundation for a Virtual Game-Based Learning Lab to Stimulate Distance Education

The paper argues for building a virtual game-based learning lab to support distance education, filling a gap where physical campuses have board game collections but online courses lack digital equivalents aligned to academic subjects. Its central claim is that such a lab must provide user-friendly access to both commercial-quality games and educational games tailored to course content. The work is framed as the first phases of a design science project (problem explication and requirements definition), and the authors identify licensing of commercial games and usability as the primary concerns. The initial scope covers History, Pedagogy, and Computer Science, with the long-term aim of serving all university subjects.

The study draws on a literature review, an analysis of two earlier university projects (HistoTree and SPEDAT), and discussions with researchers in game-based learning. It draws on a student survey on gaming preferences at Mid Sweden University, and the authors note that the work is small-scale and does not involve empirical testing of the lab itself. For history education, the paper recommends pairing strategy games such as Civilization or FreeCiv with role-playing games like Pentiment, reflecting students' preference for experiential learning. For programming, it proposes balancing realism-based games with fantasy-based ones, applying constructionist principles and flow theory to match challenge levels to learners.

The authors acknowledge that their conclusions are provisional. Planned future work includes classroom evaluations across history, computer science, and AI courses, using mixed-method assessment with descriptive statistics and thematic analysis of student feedback. The paper concludes that the proposed lab would strengthen distance education by combining established pedagogical theories with accessible, curriculum-aligned gaming resources.