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The possibilities that these platforms introduce
have been making them an important terminal for
playing games. In this context, game research and
development on mobile devices has been done in sev-
eral areas. For example, in mathematics, Chang and
Yang (2016) present a game for learning basic geome-
try concepts, such as perimeter, area, surface, volume
and capacity. Based on the results through the appli-
cation of exams before and after the use of the game,
they demonstrated significant progress in the average
score of students.
In other area, namely citizenship, Chee et al.
(2010) used Statecraft X with 15-year-old students.
Yue and Ying (2017) described the development of
the History Learning Mobile Game (HLMG), which
aims to teach history in basic education.
Other contexts can also benefit from serious
games on mobile devices, such as teaching first aid to
individuals with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD),
where Urturi et al. (2011) have developed a game for
smartphones and tablets, with evidences that the game
contributed to enriching and increasing the impact of
education and therapy.
2.1 Related Games
Decision making allows the player to opt for different
actions according to a choice he has to make. There
are some games that build their gameplay and narra-
tive in this mechanics.
Papers, Please is an initially independent game
(Felan, 2014), developed by the American Lucas
Pope. Launched in 2013, it takes place in a dystopian
moment inspired by the cold war, in which a fictional
country, Arstotzka, reopens its borders in 1982, af-
ter six years at war with neighboring Kolechia. The
game’s protagonist is selected to work as an immi-
gration inspector at Grestin’s border checkpoint, Ar-
stotzka. As an immigration inspector, the protagonist
must control the flow of people entering Arstotzka
from Kolechia (Fassone, 2015).
For the inspector’s job at the immigration check-
point, the protagonist uses the documents provided by
the travelers and decides who can enter, who should
leave and later on in the game, who should be ar-
rested. The player’s role in Papers, Please is to con-
trol the protagonist, who at no time is shown or has
his identity revealed.
The player must always check for discrepancies
in travelers’ documents and whether they meet the
requirements for entry to Arstotzka. In addition to
checking travelers’ documents, later in the game, the
resources to search and analyze fingerprints are made
available. Throughout the game, smugglers, spies and
terrorists are hiding among the immigrants, so, in ad-
dition to the approving and refusing, the player has
the option of arresting an immigrant. In addition to
the management of immigrants, the protagonist has a
family to support: wife, son, mother-in-law and un-
cle. Each day of the game, the player must meet as
many people as possible to receive a higher salary,
but if he makes a wrong decision, he suffers a penalty.
Papers, Please is a management and decision-making
game with simple mechanics, in which it brings the
player the responsibility of managing the entry of im-
migrants and supporting their family, allowing the
construction of a character throughout history even
without having their identity revealed (Paul Formosa,
2016).
Reigns is a game developed by Nerial and pub-
lished by Devolver Digital
1
. Released in 2016, it has
support for Android, iOS, Linux, MacOS and Mi-
crosoft Windows platforms. The game takes place in
a fictional medieval world, where the player assumes
the role of a monarch and rules a kingdom making de-
cisions. The goal is to govern for as long as possible
without unbalancing the pillars of society: the clergy,
the people, the army and finance. In case he cannot
keep the balance, the king is killed and a new king
starts to rule, so the player to each new king tries to
conquer new goals (Hern, 2016).
The main form of gameplay used in Reigns is de-
cision making by sliding cards right and left. The
cards are displayed randomly to the player, present-
ing a situation where he must make a decision. Each
card is composed of one character, text and two op-
tions to choose from. With each choice made by the
player, changes occur in resources as consequences,
increasing or decreasing the pillars of his kingdom.
Lapse: A Forgotten Future is an independent
game, developed by Stefano Cornago
2
. Following the
same graphic style and gameplay as Reigns, in Lapse
the player assumes the role of a president, who wakes
up without knowing what happened in the past and
how he became president, so he must make decisions
before several characters to control his country in a
world post-apocalyptic and with nuclear wars in the
year 2075. The game uses the interaction of swiping
right and left when making decisions and with charac-
ters in the form of cards. With each decision making,
a change occurs in the pillars of environment, pop-
ulation, army and finance. The player must always
ensure that none of the pillars zero or fill completely,
as it will cause the president to die. Unlike Reigns,
when the protagonist dies, he is not replaced by a new
1
https://www.devolverdigital.com/games/view/reigns
2
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.
cornago.stefano.lapse
A Decision Game for Informal Learning
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