Designing a Digital Game on Ratio and Proportion Concept: Integrating Environmental Awareness Through Contextualized Problem-Solving

This study presents the design and iterative development of a digital game aimed at teaching ratio and proportion through environmental contexts, contrasting green and industrial settings. Built on four problem types drawn from Lamon's framework and developed through design-based research, the game was refined across prototype, alpha, and beta phases. Its central premise is that embedding mathematical reasoning within environmental scenarios can make abstract proportional thinking more meaningful, while maintaining student engagement.

Development was guided primarily by expert and student feedback, which led to substantive design changes. Typed answers were replaced with button-based interaction, non-responsive controls and script errors were corrected, and an information box and visual aids were added to help novice players understand camera controls and objectives. In later iterations, levels were reordered by difficulty, playtime was extended from roughly 20 to at least 30 minutes, and context-driven cutscenes were introduced. The beta phase, involving six seventh-grade students working in pairs, indicated that increased cognitive challenge did not diminish motivation, and that students tested varied solution strategies and collaborated productively.

The evidence base is modest in scope. Across iterations, the study drew on a total of 24 students, with different groups participating at different stages, and the research focused on design refinement rather than measured learning outcomes. The reported findings are qualitative, and no quantitative data on learning gains are provided. Accordingly, the work is best understood as a formative account of design decisions and usability insights for middle school ratio instruction, situated within the broader literature on game-based learning, serious game design, and design-based research methodology.