Playing for Climate Change: The Design and Development of a Game Prototype to Promote Scientific Literacy

Abstract

This design case describes the work involved in developing a digital game-based learning environment, work that was part of a PhD research project. The designer was involved in all aspects of the project: conducting research into content that was included in the game, exploring the gaming platform (Second Life), adapting scientific literature for use in the game, consulting with science instructors, building the gaming environment, and writing scripts for objects in the environment. The gaming environment was a fictional town site called Budworm. The game was designed to promote scientific literacy in first and second year science undergraduate students through collaborative work on an open-ended problem related to the management of water resources in a region of western Canada subject to extremes in water availability. One of the design goals was to model the kind of environment that scientists encounter while they formulate research questions, a complex environment that involves collaboration with colleagues, creativity and a willingness to explore. Instructional experts in three scientific fields (biology, chemistry, and geosciences) were consulted during the course of this design, as was an expert in instructional design. The final product was the game and a set of game design principles that were informed by the literature on educational gaming and consultations with the instructional experts.