Working with Educational Games : Fundamental guidelines for developers and educators

Abstract

This short guide to using and developing games for use in classrooms was written during the European Union Interreg IV A funded project Scandinavian Game Developers. Scandinavian Game Developers is a collaboration between researchers (the University of Skövde), educators (Århus Social- og Sundhedsskole), and developers (Arsenalet and The Ranch Game Incubator), and this guide is an abridged overview of some of the important conclusions our group has reached during our work in the project. Whether you’re a game developer, teacher, or principal interested in educational video games, we hope that this guide will serve as a good tool for you to improve your understanding of what educational games are. As an educator, you’ll get some insight into what a game might bring to a classroom environment as well as the different challenges you might face when trying to use games in your regular teaching environment. For developers, we’ve put together some guidelines that will hopefully make your first educational game projects flow smoother and properly prepare you for some of the more common challenges that many educational game projects encounter.Scandinavian Game Developer