Sustainable Life Cycle Game Design: Mixing Games and Reality to Transform Education

The document proposes a "sustainable life cycle game design" (SLC) framework to address the challenges of high development costs and limited adoption in educational games, despite their proven learning benefits. The core thesis is that by integrating existing educational activities and game development, and designing for future adaptability and re-use, educational games can achieve greater sustainability and impact. This approach draws inspiration from the cradle-to-cradle model, distinguishing between "education" (biological nutrients) and "game" (technical nutrients) cycles to promote continuous re-use and modification.

Key findings highlight the importance of blending virtual and real learning environments, as demonstrated by the "Geo Explorer" project in geotechnical engineering. This project utilizes a mobile app to connect virtual assignments, physical lab tests, and industry software, enhancing engagement but also revealing challenges related to inflexible physical schedules and data tracking for assessment. The "Mad Science" project further illustrates the SLC principles by embedding game development within educational activities and designing for re-use, leading to derivative applications like "RePresent" for legal education, even with limited resources.

The SLC framework advocates for using easily repurposable assets, simple generic code, and flexible data output to facilitate future modifications and cost-effectiveness. It also emphasizes treating the entire design process as an educational endeavor. While acknowledging limitations such as designer reluctance for open-source content and the specificity of some game requirements, the framework ultimately aims to foster a more integrated and adaptable approach to educational game development, ensuring longevity and broader applicability across various educational contexts. The scope of these findings primarily covers educational game design principles and their application within specific academic disciplines, without explicit geographic or broad industry segment limitations.