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The Design Process of a Chemistry Video Game Doug Danforth, Eugene Elkin, Steve Emberton, Kermin Martinez-Hernandez, Naveen Nattam, Ryan Pedela, Kellen Maicher, Carlos R. Morales, Gabriela Weaver

Abstract This paper details the process used by a research team at Purdue University to map out and design an educational chemistry video game sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The design process developed by the team is significant because it integrates the design process used by traditional video game developers and the process used by instructional designers.

In the past, traditional video games have presented a level of immersiveness and game play that instructional video games cannot match. Instructional multimedia on the other hand has been able to deliver targeted and progressive instruction that commercial video games cannot deliver. In short, there has not been a video game that delivers the immersive and game play qualities of entertainment games coupled with the educational value of instructional media.

The goal of our NSF project is to create a set of research-validated recommendations for the development of science-centric video games. Research in instructional design and cognition have helped guide the types and amounts of educational activities that are included in the game. As a result of the development of a 3D immersive video game that includes chemistry-based challenges, we created a process that allows artists and instructional personnel to create the necessary design documents to make an immersive educational video game. This process was developed over 8 months by an interdisciplinary team of chemistry, computer graphics technology, and computer science students and faculty.

Introduction The focus of our research is the identification of the motivational elements in video game design and the use of these elements in conjunction with pedagogical techniques to inform the creation of educational video games that are truly engaging to players. In the course of conducting that research, our team elected to create a game to teach chemistry concepts. The game was created using a production process in which game designers, artists, programmers, and subject matter experts colloboratively build the game. This paper focuses on the pre-production work of this team. In other words, the conceptual design of the chemistry and non-chemistry challenges, as well as the design of the game concepts. Figure 1 illustrates the process and composition of the team.

Proceedings of the 2006 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & ExpositionCopyright © 2006, American Society for Engineering Education

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Nattam, N., & Martinez-Hernandez, K., & Danforth, D., & Emberton, S., & Pedela, R., & Elkin, E., & Morales, C., & Maicher, K., & Weaver, G. (2006, June), The Design Process Of A Chemistry Video Game Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--1431