Abstract

In this paper we present WEEV (Writing Environment for Educational Video games), a methodology for educational point-and-click adventure game authoring. Our approach aims to allow educators to actively collaborate in the educational game development process, using a narrative-based representation. WEEV is based on a pragmatic reinterpretation of previous works on narrativity and video games, enhanced by the use of a novel visual language to represent the flow of the story or narrative. The WEEV methodology has been implemented into an actual tool based on the already established platform for educational games. This tool was improved with feedback gathered from formative evaluation, end-users testing (i.e. educators), and actual use in the development of an educational game. The system, still under development, presents some user-interaction problems along with a need for the educational effectiveness of the resulting games to be further analyzed. However, this paper highlights that, according to the qualitative results of evaluations, WEEV can indeed be successfully applied to simplify the game creation process and that by using representations of games that educators can understand, WEEV can help provide educational value to games.

Citation

Marchiori, E.J., Torrente, J., del Blanco, Á., Moreno-Ger, P., Sancho, P. & Fernández-Manjón, B. (2012). A narrative metaphor to facilitate educational game authoring. Computers & Education, 58(1), 590-599. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved March 2, 2021 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/50716/.

Keywords

• authoring tools and methods
• educational games
• educational technology
• Feedback (Response)
• Figurative Language
• Formative Evaluation
• games
• improving classroom teaching
• information technology
• Language Acquisition
• Methods
• Serious Games
• Users (Information)
• video games
• Visual Learning