EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES

AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

A Research Paper

Presented to the Senior High School

Tagaytay City Science National High School

Tagaytay City

In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement in Practical Research I

GIANN ERICE MANAIG

LANCE ELMO DEL ROSARIO

EARL MARCUS PAGLINAWAN

JOHN MAVERICK REYES

JIRO ISAAC SEROTE

Researchers

MRS. ADORACION ARELLANO

Research Adviser

December 2020
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

Video games are becoming popular for adults and mostly kids. 97% of

kids play video games in their computer or console (Sanders, 2015). With this

people are making educational games for kids to enjoy learning more, but, they

focus on toddlers more than teens. Teens, especially male, are more familiar

video games than the opposite gender (Pew Internet and American Life Project,

2008). Many of them get low grades for not studying because of these games.

They think of educational games as lame for many of the games are made for

toddlers. A study shows that playing video games may increase manual dexterity

and computer literacy (Norcia, 2014). It is also said that the method of repetition,

which is present in games, has long been considered an effective method in

reinforcing patterns.

Mackay said that we may think we’re pretty smart, but in fact we have

very little notion of how humans learn. Kids know: They play games until, that is,

they go to school. That’s when the games stop. And often, so does the learning.

According to Johnson (2010), games are a way for students to experience the

struggles and successes of collaboratively working towards a solution to a

complex problem set within an interesting storyline. It also points out that

although games have been a staple in classrooms for years, “… they are single-

player or turn-based rather than truly collaborative.” The report defines three
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

types of educational gaming – “games that are not digital; games that are digital,

but that are not collaborative; and collaborative digital games.” the primary focus

of this discussion is digital games that are not collaborative and some

collaborative digital games not collaborative digital games are single player type

games and collaborative games are multiplayer games requiring players to

interact with each other. Some examples of digital games that are not

collaborative are Typing Instructor, Cell Craft, and Sim city. Examples of

collaborative digital games are World of Warcraft, Moonbase Alpha, and DoTA 2.

Collaborative digital games allow students to work with others and develop deep

thinking and problem-solving rather than just memorization of a topic. One

example of these types of games are massively multiplayer online games. Rather

than a single dimension of play, Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG)

include a number of “sub-games or paths of engagement that are available to

players” (Horizon Report). The various levels of engagement require students to

work both on their own and within a group to accomplish a pre-determined goal

within a storyline. The games are challenging and often force students to

research the topic further outside of the game in order to understand and

succeed.

Statement of the Problem

The study focused on the development of an Educational Game. It sought to

answer the following questions:

Main Problem: Are students able to learn from the software?

1. Are there any other benefits that the students may reap while playing the

game?

2. Will the game affect the High school student’s perspective on educational

games?

3. Will the game be able to entertain the players while giving knowledge at the

same

time?

4. Is the game easy to play?

Scope and Limitations

This research is about making an educational game about Science. It

also includes the testing to find out if it is effective. If successful, the researchers

do not plan to sell the product yet. The game will only use Science questions and

will not go further. The game is developed in game engine GameSalad. This

game engine contains a behaviour-based logic system. The game doesn’t

include other subjects, such as Math or English, it only focuses on the subject

Science.

Significance of the Study

It has been observed that there are plenty of students that are not

interested in Science. If this research is successful, it will become very useful in

solving this problem. The game can teach them about Science and increase their

interest all the while they’re having a good time. It will also be economically
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

significant if marketed however the researchers do not plan to do so yet. This

game can be used by teachers in their tests or quizzes. It will make the quiz

enjoyable and help the students learn much easier.

Definition of Terms

This section will help you understand the research more.

Collaborative – produced or conducted by two or more parties working together.

Digital games – is an interactive program for one or more players, meant to

provide entertainment at the least, and quite possibly more. An adaptation of

'traditional' game systems, with rules, player representation, and environment

managed through electronic means.

Behavior-based logic system – a graphical user interface for describing the rules

and the behavior of game objects. Behaviors are components of an actor that

can either instantaneously, or persistently, affect the actor depending on the

rules and conditions that govern them. The application comes with a library of

behaviors (for movement, changing attribute states, affecting collision, saving,

etc.) that can be inserted into rules and other behavior groups to create new

effects.

GameSalad – is an authoring tool developed by GameSalad, Inc. used by

educators and non-programmers alike. It consists of a visual editor and a

behavior-based logic system for programming the game.

Coding – the process of assigning a code to something for the purposes of

classification or identification.
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

Convenient – allowing to do something easily or without trouble.

Game Engine – a software framework designed for the creation and

development of video games.

Bugs – a programming fault causing system failure.

(All meanings attained from Dictionary.com)

Research Paradigm

Figure 1. Shows the input, process and output in the study.

Input Process Output

Planning Coding Testing

Figure 1. Shows the input, process and output

First, the researchers will pick the best design and theme of the game. The

design and the theme for the game will be decided by doing a small survey

among the students. The mechanics of the game will be decided also. Then the

researchers will make the animations for the game. It will be developed in the

game engine GameSalad. After the game development, the researchers will get

questions about Science from the internet. Lastly, the game will be played by

chosen people, but before that, the researchers will check if the game is ready to

use. The researchers will ensure that there are no bugs and errors in the game.
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents pieces of foreign and local literature that is helpful

in exploring the topic of the study.

Conceptual Literature

The Benefits of Playing Video Games by Isabella Granic (2007). Video

games are a ubiquitous part of almost all children’s and adolescents’ lives, with

97% playing for at least one hour per day in the United States. The vast majority

of research by psychologists on the effects of “gaming: has been on its negative

impact: the potential harm related to violence, addiction, and depression. We

recognize the value of that research; however, we argue that a more balanced

perspective is needed, one that considers not only the possible negative effects

but also the benefits of playing these games. Considering these potential benefits

is important, in part, because the nature of these games has changed

dramatically in the last decade, becoming increasingly complex, diverse, realistic,

and social in nature. A small but significant body of research on the positive

effects if playing video games, focusing on four main domains: cognitive,

motivational, emotional, and social. By integrating insights from developmental,

positive, and mechanisms by which playing video games may foster real-world

psychological rationale to inspire new programs of research on the largely

unexplored mental health benefits if gaming. Finally, we end with call to

intervention researchers and practitioners to test the positive uses of video

games, and we suggest several promising directions of doing so.

What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by

James Paul Gee (1993). Good games operate at the outer and growing edge of

a player is competence, remaining challenging, but do-able, while schools often

operate at the lowest common denominator as said by Di Sessa (2002). Since

games are often challenging, but do-able, they are often also pleasantly

frustrating which is a very motivating state for human beings. To achieve this,

good games allow players to customize the game to their own levels of ability

and styles of learning. For instance, Rise of Nations lets player tweak almost

every element in the game, and offers skills tests as well, to ensure that nearly

everyone can find the outer edge if the competence. Furthermore, players can

continually adjust the game as their competence grows. Games allow players to

be producers and not just consumers. Along with the designer, the player is

action co-create the game world. As players make choices about what to build in

Rise of Nations, what skills and missions to choose in The Elder Scrolls:

Morrowind, or what moral decisions to make in Star Wars|: Knights of the Old

Republic players are as much come with the game to build new scenarios, maps,

or episodes (for example, a scenario in Age of Mythology or a skateboard park in

Tony Hawk). According to Brown (1994), too often, students in schools consume,

but do not produce, knowledge, and rarely get to help design the curriculum.

Good games confront players in the initial game levels with problems that are

specifically designed to allow players to form good generalizations about what

will work well later when they face more complex problems. Often, in fact, the
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

initial levels of a game are in actuality hidden tutorials. Work in cognitive science

has shown that people need to be presented with problems in a fruitful order,

getting initial problems that set up good generalizations for later problems. If they

are confronted too early with problems that are too complex, they often come up

with creative solutions, but ones that turn out, in the end.

Using Games to Enhance Learning and Teaching by Dave Moursund. This

work is a well written and easily readable guide for academics and young

researchers interested in using games for an educational purpose. It provides a

useful overview of the key beneficial attributes of games and also discusses

ways and techniques that would enhance the pedagogical effectiveness of their

use. Moreover it provides some very interesting discussion on the use of the

Alternate Reality Game in a pedagogical context. It is perhaps the one game

genre which stands outs the most here. In publishing this work the authors have

very astutely filled a gap in the existing field of books on this topic, and have

done so in a very detailed and comprehensive manner. A thoroughly practical

discussion set in a theoretical framework, this book hones the experiences

gained from earlier research to compile characteristics of games that can be

incorporated in an educational environment. It is quite an interesting compilation

and a highly recommended piece of work. Now think back to your childhood. I’ll

bet that you can think of games that you played that were fun and made

significance contributions to your learning. A personal examples that comes to

mind is the game if monopoly. I probably spent hundreds of hours playing this
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

game. Indeed, as a child I enjoyed playing many different card games, board

games that involved dice or spinners, and board games such as Checkers,

Chess and Go that do not depend on randomness. As a young adult I learned to

play bridge, and in more recent years have learned to play a wide variety of

computer games. Games have contribute significantly to my informal and formal

learning. Playing games that involved two or more people was an important

component of my social development and social life. Game playing was such an

important part of my childhood that I made sure it was a part of my children’s

childhood. In recent years, computers have made older games more accessible.

Research Literature

Scientific Studies Show Why Everyone Should Play Video Games by

Miguel Vidaure (2016). According to recent research, playing video games (in

moderation) can actually help us become better learners. One of the most

convincing studies was performed by Dezhong Yao and a team who actually

performed MRI scans of the brain on two groups: amateur gamers and expert

gamers. Researchers from Priceton University and the University of Rochester

also sought to explore whether video games can help us think and react faster,

C. Shawn Green, PhD, conducted an impressive study during his stay at the

University of Rochester, N.Y. Since video games require a player to view

constantly-moving peripheral imagers, Green sought to prove that active gamers

were better receiving sensory data and translating it into accurate decisions.
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games by Peter Gray (2015). Fifty

hours of action video game play improved visual contrast sensitivity compared to

controls. Games can also treat amblyopia (also called lazy eye), a condition

where one eye essentially becomes non-functional. Li and colleagues (2011)

performed experiments in which some adults with disorder played action video

games using only the bad eye (the good eye was covered). Other adults with the

disorder did other things with the good eye covered, such as knitting or watching

television. The result was that those in the gaming condition showed great

improvement often to normal or near-normal functioning while those in the other

conditions did not.

Synthesis

The literature presented above were found to be useful in this study.

Isabela Granic (2007) stated that games, which are widely popular with people of

this age, have benefits which come with playing with them. Though most

researchers only study the negative effects has studied about the good impacts

on players caused by gamers. A state of pleasant frustration challenging but

double is an ideal state for learning several content areas such as science as

cited by Di Sessa (2000). These two authors agree that games have benefits and

can be used for improvement of the student.

According to Brown (1994), too often, students in schools consume, but do

not produce, knowledge, and rarely get to help design the curriculum. Good
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

games confront players in the initial game levels with problems that are

specifically designed to allow players to form more complex problems.

Researchers de Jong and van Joolingen (1998) concluded that adding

appropriate instructional supports and scaffolding to simulations or games may

help with challenges students may encounter in this type of discovery learning.

The se researchers agree on the fact that games can be used as an effective

way to teach.

Teachers can facilitate the transfer of skills by leading pre- and postgame

discussions which connect the games with other things students are learning in

class Ash (2011). Students can be encouraged to share different ways of

approaching a problem. Based on review 17 students focused on game order for

the lessons learned in computer games to transfer to other contexts. These

authors support each other with the idea that games are very good at interaction

learning.

According to Csikszentmihalyi (1990), games contain the pieces

necessary to engage students and help them enter a state of flow where they are

fully immersed in their learning environment and energized and focused on the

activity they are involved in. When complete attention is devoted to the game, a

player may lose track of time and not notice other distractions. Games support

many of the components of flow such as clear goals, direct and immediate

feedback, balance between ability level and challenge, and sense of control.
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research design and instruments used by

the researcher in conducting the research. It also includes the description of the

Participants of the study.

Research Design

First, the researchers made the sprites for the characters, buttons,

options, etc, needed on the output then, they converted it into png format. After

making the sprites, they imported it to GameSalad, the game engine that the
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

researcher used to make their product. Then after they put the sprites into the

output of the game, they set some attributes and the codes needed for the

sprites to gain movements and functions. Then after setting some attribute they

placed the behaviour of the sprites was made, after the sprites, the researchers

put the questions, and the answer that is needed in the game. And they also

put some rules to the answers so the game can function well. Lastly, after

putting those things, they input the other decorations like the soundtracks,

music, and background as well.

Participants of the Study

The study involves ten (10) Grade-X learners of Tagaytay City Science

National High School, batch 2018-2019 and a test that was prepared as the

basis for comparing which involve lessons related to the game's questions and

the first quarter of Grade-X Science. Five (5) of these learners studied before

testing the product. These five (5) learners got a perfect score in the test, while

the other one who used the game as a reviewer got a score of four (4) out of

five. These learners are important because their curriculum is centered on

learning Science and they focus on academics better on the campus.

Data Gathering Instrument

The data gathering instrument used in this study is a self-constructed

test. The items that are included in the test were based on Grade-X's first

quarter modules and also their feedback about what they experienced while

playing the game.

For introduction, first the researcher explained how their study works

for the respondents to gave knowledge on what to do. Then after that they

showed the product and let the respondents play the game which is the

product. After playing the game the researchers gave the respondents some

questions in the test to answer and compare.

The test consults of having 5 questions. For every question there is a blank

space beside the number and choices which they will choose the answer based

on their preparations. They will answer the questions by putting their answer's

letter before the number.

Data Gathering Procedures

After answering the test, the researchers calculated the answers of

the respondents. The researchers finalized in calculating the data of the no. of

respondents (including their scores) that are involved in their study.

Statistical Treatment

In interpreting the data gathered, the Mean was used. Also,

interpreting this data by using the Slovin’s fomula. Those were used to find
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

the average of the responses for each item in the test under those five (5)

items.

The formula in computing the Slovin’s formula is:

n = N / (1+Ne2)

n = No. of samples

N = Total population

e = error margin / margin of error

The formula in computing Mean is:

n
- computed mean

x – response of the respondent

∑ - summation of responses

N – total number of respondents

Chapter IV

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of data based on the

responses of the participants of the study. Data presented include the difficulties

encountered by the learners at playing the game ‘Quest for Knowledge’.

1. Difficulties Encountered by Respondents in Playing the Game Quest for

Knowledge

Table 1 shows the summary of these difficulties based on the controls,

gameplay, and graphics. It could be seen that the Gameplay is marked the

highest with a weighted mean of 2.91. It was followed by Graphics with a

weighted mean of 2.09. This means that these two areas gave the respondents

difficulties in playing the game.

Table 1. Summary of Difficulties Encountered by Respondents in Playing

the Game

Areas of Weighted Mean VI Rank

Difficulty

1. Graphic Design 2.09 Disagree 2

2. Controls 1.81 Disagree 3

3. Gameplay 2.91 Disagree 1

It was revealed in Table 1 that the respondents experienced difficulty on the

Gameplay of the game. This means that the gameplay needs improvement in

order for the people who will play Quest For Knowledge be immersed to the

game. As McGonigal (2010) said, “A game is an opportunity to focus our energy,

with relentless optimism, at something we’re good at (or getting better at) and

enjoy. In other words, gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.”

Table 2. Difficulties Encountered by Respondents in Terms of Graphic

Design

Learner’s

encountered Weighted Mean VI Rank

difficulty in…

1. Graphic 2.23 Disagree 1

realness

2. Smoothness 1.90 Disagree 2

3. Graphical bugs 1.40 Strongly Disagree 3

It is revealed in Table 2 that the respondents had experienced difficulty in the

Gameplay of the game in terms of its realness showed with a weighted mean of

2.23. It was seconded by smoothness with a weighted mean of 1.90. Then it is

followed by graphical bugs with a weighted mean of 1.40. It It is said by Freilich

(2013) that “…graphics is a way of communication that we use to portray our

ideas to our audience, and the better we communicate the more information that

they can retain.”

Appendix
EFFECTIVENESS OF VIDEO GAMES AS AN EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE

Figures