Authors:
Marcello Passarelli
1
;
Jeffrey Earp
1
;
Francesca Maria Dagnino
1
;
Flavio Manganello
1
;
Donatella Persico
1
;
Francesca Pozzi
1
;
Thomas Buijtenweg
2
;
Mata Haggis
2
;
Chris Bailey
3
and
Carlo Perrotta
2
Affiliations:
1
National Research Council of Italy, Italy
;
2
University of Leeds, United Kingdom
;
3
NHTV: Breda University of Applied Science, Netherlands
Keyword(s):
Video Games, Game Research, Serious Games, Entertainment Games, Game Development.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Computer-Supported Education
;
e-Learning
;
Game-Based and Simulation-Based Learning
;
Immersive Learning
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
Abstract:
Video games clearly have great educational potential, both for formal and informal learning, and this avenue is being thoroughly investigated in the psychology and education literature. However, there appears to be a disconnect between social science academic research and the game development sector, in that research and development practices rarely inform each other. This paper presents a two-part analysis of this communicative disconnect based on investigations carried out within the H2020 Gaming Horizons project. The first part regards a literature review that identified the main topics of focus in the social sciences literature on games, as well as the chief recommendations authors express. The second part examines 73 interviews with 30 developers, 14 researchers, 13 players, 12 educators, and 4 policy makers, investigating how they perceived games and gaming. The study highlights several factors contributing to the disconnect: different priorities and dissemination practices; th
e lag between innovation in the games market and research advancements; low accessibility of academic research; and disproportionate academic focus on serious games compared to entertainment games. The authors suggest closer contact between researchers and developers might be sought by diversifying academic dissemination channels, promoting conferences involving both groups, and developing research partnerships with entertainment game companies.
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