“Game Playing” and “Game Making”: Gamified Applications of Topical Education

Abstract

Through games, adults and children can practice concentration, learning abilities, analytical power, and problem-solving skills. To inspire and increase students’ learning motivations, teachers have attempted to introduce games into the classroom, but they often encounter difficulties in practical application. Many instances of game integration into lessons are reduced to “games are games, and teaching is teaching,” and student engagement disappears at the end of the game; student motivations are unable to be integrated completely with the learning goals. Furthermore, many games designed for teaching are unenjoyable and do not easily engage students. This demonstrates the difficulties of integrating knowledge with gameplay: student motivation is increased in gameplay-based learning, but it cannot be sustained through knowledge acquisition. However, in knowledge-based learning, although teaching goals are met, student motivation is not activated. Our exploration of gamified education does not simply connect games with teaching but investigates how to design appropriate game strategies based on teaching requirements to achieve learning goals. This paper focuses on topical teaching to discuss the applications of two gamified educational methods: game making and game playing.