Teaching with Games: Formative Gaming in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics

Teaching with Games: Formative Gaming in Religion, Philosophy and Ethics is a special issue of Gamevironments (Issue 19, 2023), edited by Tim Hutchings, that examines how digital games can serve as educational tools for religious and ethical formation. Its central case study concerns The Aetherlight (2016), a point-and-click adventure for 9–12-year-olds developed by Scarlet City Studios. The game pursues three aims: engagement with the Bible, discipleship, and real-world action. It does so through an allegorical steampunk narrative that alludes to scripture without stating it directly, and through companion mini-games and "life-cycle messaging" intended to move players toward faith, hope, and love. The authors frame the design as a synthesis of learner-responsive, scaffolded pedagogy and established game design principles, positioning the game as an onramp to the Bible rather than a substitute for it.

The evidence offered for the game's effectiveness is largely qualitative. User testing suggested that the intended outcomes were "both possible and probable," but the authors concede that such outcomes cannot be measured accurately, so the claims rest on observation rather than hard data. A recurring tension runs through the account: the difficulty of simultaneously producing an excellent game, educating players, and directing them toward scripture. The development process itself is also treated as formative, with the lead teacher's identity reshaped by working alongside game developers.

The study extends into the game's launch and reception. During Episode 1's 2016 release, moderation was light and players largely self-regulated, with community interaction reflecting the game's ethical and supportive goals. Commercially, however, the project fell short, reaching several thousand users against the hundreds of thousands needed for viability, and funding ended in July 2017, resulting in redundancies at Scarlet City Studios. The concluding autoethnographic reflections, drawn from memory and observation, describe how the project shaped the author's own faith and teaching practice, though these insights remain anecdotal rather than systematically documented.