Gaming in the Modern Multicultural Educational Space

Larysa Bondarchuk

, Larysa Kozlovska

, Olesia Lazarenko

, Viktoria Tovstenko

and Tamara Podgurska

Department of the Business Linguistics, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Prospect

Peremogy, Kyiv, Ukraine

Faculty of Social and Cultural Sciences, European University Viadrina, Große Scharrnstrasse, Frankfurt (Oder),

Germany

Keywords: Gaming, Game, Game Method, Gamers, Computer Games, Game Behavior,

Multicultural Educational Space.

Abstract: The current state and prospects of using gaming in modern education is considered. Computer games as a

non-standard innovative learning technology are quite effective because they form the ability to combine

theoretical knowledge with practical activities. Different types of classification of computer games that

contribute to a variety of educational and professional experience are analyzed. Gaming is considered as a

multicultural phenomenon that has undoubted features at the national educational levels. The authors present

the experience of using gaming technologies in the educational process at the Economic University. One of

the results of the study is the emphasis on the prospects of using elements of gaming in language acquisition

and acquiring intercultural communication skills.

1 INTRODUCTION

Game is an important part of a person's life at any age.

In the process of development of thinking and

personality formation plays, not only the educational

factor, but also the nature of gaming activities play an

important role. For a child, gaming is a leading

activity, because during the game he learns the

meaning and ways of using objects, as well as

different options for social relations. In the life of an

adult, gaming is an activity of modeling another type

of activity for entertainment or educational purposes.

Humankind has been playing games since

prehistoric times, starting with ritual games (for

example, the rite of initiation); with the development

of civilization, games have become increasingly

complex and reflected almost all spheres of society:

war, love, history, etc. The most sophisticated modern

games are MMORPGs with multiplayer mode like

World of Warcraft where thousands of users around

the world are connected every minute, and millions of

different actions take place every minute.

Today, computer games are often seen as a means

of acquiring new knowledge, they play a learning

role, because they simulate on different platforms

different situations and options for the hero. They

provide an opportunity to practice practical skills of

any behavior. Game stages include instructions for

actions in game situations, video clips with reference

information and test tasks that determine the player's

readiness for the next stage of the game, which are

formed in increasing order of difficulty.

Game method of teaching in the modern

educational space involves determining the purpose

aimed at mastering the content, the choice of type of

educational and cognitive activities and forms of

interaction between teacher and pupil or student. The

formation of professional competencies of any

specialist also actualizes the use of non-standard

forms of education. One of such forms and methods

is the game as a means of developing creative

potential, gaining new skills, etc.

2 ANALYSES OF RESEARCH ON

THE TOPIC

Herbert Spencer believed that the game is the result

of excess energy in the body and is intended for its

release. He noted the similarities between the playing

of animal cubs and human children, and introduced

the biological theory of games. On the contrary,

according to Carl Gross, games are used to train

physical and mental capabilities. In his opinion, the

game arises as a consequence of underdevelopment

of the initial adaptation to the environment.

446

Bondarchuk, L., Kozlovska, L., Lazarenko, O., Tovstenko, V. and Podgurska, T.

Gaming in the Modern Multicultural Educational Space.

DOI: 10.5220/0011364400003350

In Proceedings of the 5th International Scientiﬁc Congress Society of Ambient Intelligence (ISC SAI 2022) - Sustainable Development and Global Climate Change, pages 446-455

ISBN: 978-989-758-600-2

 2022 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All r ights reserved

Well-known Dutch historian and cultural theorist

Johan Huizinga has written extensively about the

games in life and culture. Along with the study of

historiography and the theory of the origin and

development of the world, the scientist considered the

peculiarities of using games as an element of human

life. In particular, Huizinga notes that the games are

older than culture, because the games are inherent not

only to humans but also to animals. In his opinion,

human culture originates from the game, although the

game does not pass into culture, but remains close to

culture (Huizinga, 2016).

French sociologist Roger Caillois in his book “Les

jeux et les hommes” (“Games and people”) (Caillois,

1958) defined a game as an activity that necessarily

has the following properties:

• joy: the activity attracts with its easy nature;

• demarcation: the time and place of a game are

clearly defined;

• uncertainty: the outcome of the activity is

unpredictable;

• unproductivity: participation in a game has no

useful consequences;

• rules: such activities have rules different from

everyday life;

• fiction: a game is accompanied by awareness

of another reality.

Many psychologists have studied the ability to

play and play games, including Melanie Klein, Jean

Piaget, William James, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung,

Lev Vygotsky, etc. From a psychological point of

view, the games are especially important at an early

age, when the child's mind and character are formed.

Children's games help children to develop not only

physically, but also mentally and socially.

Well-known Ukrainian teacher M. Fitsula

indicated that game methods are quite effective and

are characterized by the following: presence of game

models of an object, process or activity; activation of

student's thinking and behavior; high degree of

involvement in the educational process; obligatory

interaction of students between themselves and the

teacher; emotionality and creative nature of the

lesson; independence of students in decision making;

their desire to acquire skills and abilities in a

relatively short time (Fitsula, 2002).

Through game activities, the individual abilities

of students are better developed, because they do not

feel the psychological pressure of responsibility,

which is inherent in standard educational activities. A

game teaches to act through action itself.

Assimilation of knowledge is carried out in the

context of certain activities, that creates a situation of

need for knowledge. A game allows you to get rid of

patterns and stereotypes, it can change the students'

attitude to any phenomenon, fact or problem. It

stimulates the intellectual activity of students, teaches

to predict, research and test the correctness of

decisions and hypotheses, cultivates a culture of

communication, and develops the ability to work in a

team and with a team. Pedagogically and

psychologically thoughtful use of a game stimulates

mental activity. This increases intellectual activity,

cognitive independence, and initiative.

Socio-psychological impact of a game is

manifested in overcoming the students' fear of

speaking, in the formation of a culture of

communication, especially the culture of dialogue. A

game forms the ability to make independent

decisions, evaluate own actions and the actions of

others, promotes the activation of knowledge.

The game approach is not the determining way of

mastering educational material, but it considerably

enriches pedagogical practice and expands

opportunities of students (Kvon and Pavlova, 2021).

In the modern Ukrainian educational

environment, the opinions of teachers, scientists and

specialists about the use of computer games in the

educational process are different.

In the computer games, as noted by O. Fedor,

there are often two types of goals: and learning. The

gaming goal is usually consists in obtaining a reward,

which can be presented in the form of score, points, a

place on the podium, a place in the rankings, virtual

cups, awards, virtual cash prizes, etc. The learning

goal is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and

abilities in any field through the implementation of

activities according to the rules (Fedor, 2020).

Thus, in computer games educational and game

components can be distinguished. They can be

correlated in different proportions. If the educational

component predominates, the game provides ample

opportunities to reproduce the knowledge, skills, and

abilities of their application and handling. If the game

component predominates, the game can be used as a

visual learning tool to increase interest in various

issues and motivate their study.

One of the most important tasks that need to be

addressed today is to determine the goals, place, and

boundaries of using computer games in the

educational processes. Solving this problem will

allow conscious choice of content that should and can

be learned by means of a computer game (Ardini and

Manuel, 2018).

Gaming in the Modern Multicultural Educational Space

447

2.1 Research Methods Topic

In this study, we tried to find out the features of

modern gaming as an important tool of modern

educational and cognitive activities, assess its

classification characteristics, outline genre diversity,

and identify possible current areas of development of

gaming technologies in modern education at the

national and international levels.

3 COMPUTER GAMES IN

MODERN CYBERSPACE

Modern computer games are very diverse and include

many different types and genres. Some researchers

point out that “the most effective are open ended

computer games that allow productive creativity,

design, experiments, etc.” (Smirnova and Ryabkova,

2021). Others point out that despite the fact that the

history of computer games has more than 60 years,

the industry was formed only in the 1980s. The

Nintendo Entertainment System consoles were first

released in 1983, and the games for the IBM PC

appeared four years later. In the 1990s, with the

advent of online technology, gaming practices

reached a new level of development. In Ukraine,

computer games have spread at a slightly slower pace

due to objective social and economic reasons, but

these games can be considered a prominent element

of mass culture already in the 1980s (Dyachenko and

Zozulov, 2018).

3.1 Classification of Computer Games

Computer games, or games for PC, console, mobile,

tablet, browser, etc. are video games that are now

very actively used by the users in cyberspace.

Among the wide variety of classifications

(Bulander, 2010) there is the simplest classification

of computer games, some components of which,

obviously, can also be considered the most relevant

for educational activities:

• quests: the hero performs tasks, communicating

with other characters, looking for and using different

objects, solving problems and puzzles;

• shooters are the games on reaction speed, so-

called first-person shooters;

• role-playing games (RPG): the player can

improve the abilities of his character by defeating

enemies and completing tasks, as well as to sell and

buy resources;

• strategies: one needs to control not a character,

but the game process; it is often the development of a

city/country/race;

• simulators that simulate driving a car, piloting an

airplane, steering a ship or a spacecraft, or a sports

game;

• logic games bring the player to consistent

thinking, make one think outside the box and build

logical chains;

• gambling and the like.

This classification is incomplete, there are many

genres of computer games, they are transformed, and

new ones are constantly emerging. Nevertheless, the

most popular game genres today are the following:

• MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). This

is a team game that combines action, RPG, and real-

time strategy. The player controls a character with

unique abilities, who fights in one of two rival teams.

To win, one needs to destroy the enemy base. The

most popular games of the genre are Dota 2 and

League of Legends (LoL).

• FPS (First-Person Shooter). In first-person

shooters, the gameplay is based on fighting with

firearms or any other weapon. Unlike other shooters,

the player perceives what is happening through the

eyes of his character. The top games are Counter-

Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO), Tom Clancy's

Rainbow Six Siege, Overwatch, Valorant.

• MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online

Role-Playing Game). In massive multiplayer online

role-playing games, players actively interact with

each other in a single world and perform certain tasks.

These games appeared as RPG subgenre. The most

famous game is World of Warcraft.

• Battle Royale. The genre of royal battle has

emerged recently, it combines elements of MMO

games and survival simulator with last man standing

mode. Many players appear on the map, and their

number decreases over time. The winner is the one

whose character remains the last survivor. Player

Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Apex Legends,

and Fortnite belong to this genre.

• Sports simulators. There are various simulators

of sports competitions. The most popular are team

games such as football and basketball. There are also

simulators of boxing, racing, billiards, etc. The top

games are FIFA, NBA, F1.

• CCG (Collectible Card Game). Collectible card

games have lost some of their popularity in recent

years, but still have a large audience. Players collect

their own collections of cards released in separate

sets, and make their decks from them. They

competete with each other with these decks.

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Hearthstone, Magic: The Gathering Arena belong to

this genre.

• Auto battler. Autobatlers emerged as a

modification of MOBA. Eight players fight with each

other, forming their armies and improving units. The

four players who last the longest win. The popular

games of the genre are Hearthstone Battlegrounds,

Teamfight Tactics, Dota Underlords.

It is worth noting that games of different types

form a special experience for gamers. Strategy games

give a lot of knowledge about different kinds of

objects, their development and interaction. These

games develop logical thinking, the ability to take

into account various factors, plan their own actions

and anticipate possible moves of the enemy. They

give great potential for intellectual development.

Simulators develop reaction speed, sensorimotor

coordination, the ability to perceive spatial images;

they give way to emotions and the realization of

unattainable desires; these games can develop certain

skills, such as driving a car, and they are are often a

great game exercise to learn new skills (Jackson and

Morsi, 2007).

Quest games, adventures with a plot are a separate

area of life, namely social life, as friendly contacts are

established among the players, and communication

goes beyond the game frames. Online role-playing

games require a fairly high degree of mastery of

computer skills (networking, and often knowledge of

foreign languages) (Kobynec, 2020).

3.2 Gaming and the COVID-19

Pandemic

In 2020-2021, the number of fans of computer games

has increased significantly, as after the quarantine

restrictions related to COVID-19, the whole world

began to move to the virtual world. Attitudes toward

computer games have also changed. This is no longer

a way to “kill time” and have fun, but also a method

of gaining new knowledge, a separate system of

learning and making money (Mukhidin, 2020).

Unlike many other industries, 2019-2020 has been

a growth point for gaming. Self-isolation and social

distancing have led users to spend significantly more

time in the virtual world, and their involvement in

games has broken all records. In 2020, 70% of people

started spending more time with mobile devices

(Nadtochiy, 2021).

For example, Facebook studied gaming on its

platform. They surveyed 13,246 respondents from

nine countries and presented in the final version of the

report the results on new (those who did not play

mobile games before the first pandemic, but started to

play at least an hour per week) and old (those who

played mobile games before the first peak of the

pandemic, and continued to play at least an hour per

week) gamers from Germany, South Korea, the

United States, and the United Kingdom

(Zamostyanova, 2021).

In the US, UK and Germany, new gamers are

much younger than old ones. In South Korea, the

situation is different: new gamers are older and prefer

more casual games. Interestingly, in all the countries

analyzed by Facebook experts, new mobile players

spend more money on games than gamers who played

before the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number

of game groups and their members on Facebook has

increased. From January to August 2020, more than

185,000 new game groups appeared, and more than

130 million participants joined the game groups. In

the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany,

these new gamers are 25-34 year old, and in South

Korea, more than half of the new gamers are 18-24

year old.

Comparing the situation in Ukraine with world

trends, the researchers note that “a typical Ukrainian

gamer is pupil, student (66.6% of this social group

play computer games), employee with higher

education (33.1%), or unemployed (31.5%)”

(Zozulov and Dyachenko, 2018).

4 GAMING AS AN INNOVATION

OF THE EDUCATIONAL

PROCESS: WORLD PRACTICE

AND UKRAINIAN

EXPERIENCE

Today, there is a new, special trend of transition from

the purely entertaining nature of computer games to

educational and entertaining one. New generation

games are often filled with meaningful initial

information, so they are used in education,

specialized, and filled with special content. Many

games of this type already exist as a separate type of

innovative methods, and are used in the educational

processes in different countries, taking into account

the national educational specifics (Smolsky, 2006).

This War of Mine. In 2020, for example, a

computer game was for the first time added to the

Polish school curriculum. The initiative belonged to

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and concerned

only high school. This War of Mine game, created by

Polish developers, is based on real events. The game

got 18+ rating in Europe, so it will be used from this

Gaming in the Modern Multicultural Educational Space

449

age in the school curriculum in literature (Kobynec,

2020).

Minecraft. For example, computer game

Minecraft has a separate version MinecraftEdu that

has been used for many years in schools in the United

States, Europe, and Australia. It is especially popular

in studying geography, physics, chemistry, biology,

and history. Game tools allow you to reproduce cities,

study probability theory, conduct chemical

experiments, and model the structure of the human

body. Canadian researchers became interested in the

phenomenon and found out that during the game

children develop skills of teamwork and problem

solving.

Minecraft is one of the most successful computer

games today. As of 2017, its total worldwide sales

exceeded 122 million copies, and the number of

unique players reached 55 million. The game was

developed in 2011. The gamer travels through a three-

dimensional world comprised of cubic blocks. The

gamer is free to rebuild this world, creating complex

structures out of blocks. This makes Minecraft similar

to the LEGO constructor. Minecraft does not set any

clear goals for the gamers, but offers them many

opportunities and activities: for example, exploring

the world, creating a variety of structures and objects.

The educational version Minecraft Edu is sold only to

schools, individuals cannot buy it. The main feature

is that the teachers can create a virtual world using

their own methods of lessons. There are no fairy-tale

characters and the ability to kill.

To confront children's addiction to the game or at

least get it back on track, Microsoft has developed an

educational version of the game, MinecraftEdu. This

game is now used in Ukrainian schools, such as

Britannica School.

In Swedish schools, Minecraft has been a

mandatory part of the program since 2013. In

Australia, the game is used in science lessons, in the

United States — to study history. In Northern Ireland,

the game platform has been installed not only at all

high schools, but also at libraries.

The Ukrainian localization of the game has

recently appeared. Now it has been introduced into

the curricula of 92 schools in the country. Until

January 31, Microsoft is offering schools running

Windows 10 an annual free version of MinecraftEdu.

Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed is a series of

multiplatform video games of the action-adventure

genre, developed by the French company Ubisoft.

The plot of the Assassin's Creed games focuses on

crypto-history, according to which the main historical

events are due to the confrontation of two secret

societies: freethinking assassins and authoritarian

Templars. The developers of Assassin's Creed went

even further. In 2018 and 2019, they released the

additions Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour: Ancient

Egypt, and Assassin's Creed Discovery Tour: Ancient

Greece — real interactive textbooks on the history of

Ancient Egypt and Greece. With the participation of

professional historians, the game developers have

prepared special short lectures on political system and

philosophy, everyday life, wars and myths. The

“guides” are real and mythical characters, and you

can test your knowledge after each round. Millions of

players have played the game in the “educational”

mode. In one of the high schools in Richmond

(California, USA), students used the game for

additional extracurricular activities (AlFarsi and etc.,

2020).

Entertainment or action games are shooters,

platformers (platform games where the character

jumps on different platforms), and fighting games.

These games require speed of reaction and

coordination of hand and eye movements. People

who enjoy action games have high visual attention

and spatial orientation. Professors the University of

Geneva S. Green and D. Bavelier discuss this in their

work “The brain boosting power of video games”

(Green and Bavelier, 2016.). These games also

develop the ability to switch between tasks, identify

small objects, and focus for a long time on one thing.

In experiments on the ability to concentrate on

various factors, children who previously played a

dynamic shooter showed a better result than children

who did not play.

In video games, the load (speed or complexity)

gradually increases. In this way, learning is

individual, and everyone plays to the limit. Action

games also demand constant adaptation, as new

environments, tasks, and requirements emerge at

higher levels. This forms the habit of “learning to

learn”, because the gamer has to adapt to the new

things, and this is an important skill for the modern

student (King and etc., 2009).

It is a mistake to think that video games make

children more irritable and aggressive. On the

contrary, they can distract from painful memories and

negative emotions, as well as reduce anxiety. Another

positive effect of action games is the skill of planning.

In order to play successfully, one needs to learn to

predict the consequences of own actions and think

strategically. If the game is dynamic, then the

decision has to be made quickly enough. All these

skills work not only in the virtual world, but also are

transferred to real life.

German scientists S. Kuhn, T. Gleich, U.

Lidenberger, R. Lorenz, and J. Gallinat studied the

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effect of the game Super Mario on the brain (Kuhn

and etc., 2014). A group of young people played daily

for 30 minutes for two months. Afterwards, the

researchers found an increase in the density of grey

matter in the zones of the brain associated with

navigation, strategic planning, memory, and motor

functions.

Note that the winners of the most prestigious

video game award The Game Awards in 2020 are

mostly serious and high-quality action games that

teach to analyze, think strategically, and offer new

experiences (Zubchenko, 2020).

The Last of Us Part II, which won first place, is a

continuation of the best game of the last decade,

according to Metacrtitic users. The game shows the

world 20 years after the pandemic, which has changed

a lot: infected people have become barbarians, and

survivors are ready to kill each other for food,

weapons, and personal gain. The Last of Us is a

survival-action video game developed by Naughty

Dog. The game was released on June 14, 2013, and

was highly praised by critics and users. At the heart

of the plot is the relationships between smuggler Joel

and 14-year-old Ellie, who may be the key to escape

from a deadly pandemic that has struck humanity.

Among Us. One of the most famous games of

recent years is also Among Us which won awards as

the best multiplayer and best mobile game of the year.

Among Us is a multiplayer video game on social

deduction, created by the American company Inner

Sloth on June 15, 2018. The game is performed in a

space environment. Players have two roles: civilian

crew members and impostors. The goal of civilians is

to find impostors and neutralize them, and the goal of

imposters is to kill all civilians. In 2018, the game did

not receive wide publicity, but in September 2020,

thanks to Twitch, YouTube and other platforms, it

became popular, with 1.5 million simultaneous

players. The game has inspired many users on stories,

theories, drawings, and other creativity.

Hades on Greek mythology has become the best

action game and the best independent game, i.e. game

released without the help of a major publisher. Hades

is a roguelike and action/RPG video game developed

and released by the American studio Supergiant

Games. The game was released in early access in

2018 as a temporary exclusive for the then launched

Epic Games Store; the full version for Microsoft

Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch was released

in 2020. The plot of the game is based on ancient

Greek mythology: the main character Zagreus, the

son of Hades, tries to escape from the underworld of

the dead and get to Mount Olympus; in this way he is

helped by the Olympian gods who send Zagreus

certain gifts. Numerous adventures of Hades are

connected by various scenes and dialogues which

reveal the background of the game and the

relationships of its characters. Hades got

exceptionally high reviews from critics;

commentators noted both the exciting gameplay and

high replayability, and carefully elaborated characters

and world.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons. This game was

recognized as the best family game. Animal Crossing:

New Horizons is a video game in the genre of life

simulation. Users come to a desert island and have to

arrange their lives. They create tools, home furniture,

and street territory. The island varies depending on

the time of year and time of day or night. The game

was released on March 20, 2020. It quickly became

popular in the world, including among celebrities. It

has a circulation of 31 million copies worldwide.

Microsoft Flight Simulator. The best simulator of

2020 is Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS), the

authors of which, with the help of maps and neural

networks, recreated the planet Earth on a scale to each

other. Microsoft Flight Simulator is a series of civil

flight simulators manufactured by Microsoft. MSFS

differs from many series of flight simulators by quite

realistic physics of normal flight, and, as a

consequence, the great complexity of aircraft control.

The presence of almost all major airports in the world

with realistic data, real landscape (the entire globe is

simulated from the version Flight Simulator 2020),

realistic weather conditions, excellent graphics make

this series of simulators one of the best in its class.

The games in this series include the use of autopilot,

dispatch support, and the ability to download real

weather conditions for flying from the Internet. The

series includes traffic of aircraft flying on schedule

and under the control of the ATC services. There are

also built-in tools for flight analysis, repetition. There

is a training course. The strongest feature of this

series is its openness to create own models and

airports.

Ukraine not only ranks 4

in the world in the

number of certified IT specialists. It is also famous

for developing its own computer games which are

known far beyond Ukraine.

Cossacks: European Wars is a video game,

historical strategy in real time, developed by the

Ukrainian studio GSC Game World. The game is

dedicated to the wars of the XVII century in Europe.

It is one of the first Ukrainian video games widely

known abroad. Released in March 2001, it features a

remake of Cossacks 3, released in 2016. The project

was continued with additions to the game and updates

Cossacks 2. The release of a new version, Cossacks

Gaming in the Modern Multicultural Educational Space

451

3, was announced in 2015. The study of Ukrainian as

a foreign language at the Kyiv National Economic

University named after Vadym Hetman using the

game Cossacks is quite promising. Foreign students

learn new vocabulary and phraseology of the

Ukrainian language, passing the levels of the game,

and perform the tasks of the teacher directly in the

game mode. This contributes to a deeper assimilation

of theoretical material, and promotes the formation of

practical communication skills.

Venom. Codename: Outbreak is a first-person

shooter video game developed by the Ukrainian

company GSC Game World and released by

Russobit-M on October 8, 2001 for the Windows

platform. The events of the game take place in 2034,

when the Earth almost died from collision with a

comet and hundreds of meteorites. Together with

meteorites, spores of alien life forms were brought to

the Earth, which began to develop rapidly in the

terrestrial conditions. The game went on sale in

October 2001. It was developed by GSC Game

World.

World of Warplanes is a video game and client

massively multiplayer online game in real time in the

genre of arcade aviation action. The game is

developed by Persha Studia in Kyiv (Ukraine),

published by Wargaming.net. It became available on

November 12, 2013. The time period of most of the

aircrafts presented in the game is the “Golden Age of

Combat Aviation” (the period between the First and

Second World Wars), World War II, and the next

decade. In October 2017, the update of World of

Warplanes 2.0 was released. This is the largest game

project created in Ukraine: several hundred people

have worked on the game in the Kyiv office of the

First Studio (now a division of Minsk Wargaming).

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a video

game in the genres of first-person shooter and

survival horror with elements of role-playing games

from the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World. It is

also known as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost. In the

post-Soviet countries, the game and its sequel gained

cult status with large groups of fans; a large number

of books appeared, united by a common fictional

game world and its modifications; various festival

events and role-playing games were held. The

popularity of Shadows of Chernobyl also gave

impetus to the interest in the real Chernobyl nuclear

power plant and industrial tourism.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky is a computer game in

the genre of first-person shooter with elements of

role-playing games, developed by the Ukrainian

company GSC Game World and released in Ukraine

on August 29, 2008.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat is a first-person

shooter with elements of a role-playing game from

GSC Game World, the second stand-alone addition to

the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. The

game was released on October 2, 2009.

Therefore, the best computer games today are

massive blocks of information combined into

entertaining story games. They have not only

informational and cognitive components, but also

often play an educational role, encourage learning

and self-improvement, make conscious value

choices, and so on. There are new kinds of games that

are already often used in the educational processes in

various fields.

5 GAMING TECHNOLOGIES IN

THE EDUCATIONAL

ECOSYSTEM OF THE

ECONOMIC UNIVERSITY

For those who learn, the games already have a

motivating function, and in today's global world this

trend is becoming a leading one. It appears especially

today, when, on the one hand, the dynamic nature of

the educational environment is obvious, which should

work in synchronous and asynchronous formats,

change methods and technologies from traditional (in

a classroom) to innovative, connecting it with the

digital world; and on the other hand, there is trend to

develop a well-established system of remote

mastering the material and to be an important

component of sustainably developing society. Each

country has specifics for all possible common ways

of mastering the digital space, and almost every

higher education institution has its own specifics

depending on the profile. All participants of the

educational process — teachers, students,

stakeholders — experience positive and negative

changes: individualization of learning, independence

skills, mastering new digital technologies, motivation

for distance learning, and also communication

problems, low level of digital literacy, etc. There are

completely polar views on such educational

communication as part of the general social sphere in

a society that seeks stability in the face of pandemic

challenges. In this context, it is interesting to relate to

the game component of learning, as it is often

associated with a negative social phenomenon.

However, the above study confirms the prospects of

special games as an educational technology and as an

element of the educational environment of higher

education, including economic. Two directions of

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their use can be traced in the Kyiv National Economic

University in recent years. The first one is related to

career guidance activities which form a training

contingent. The online format diversifies traditional

events such as the Open Day. For example, it now

takes place as an exhibition fair with master classes

of teachers of various specialties, who actively use

game components. Online meetings “Open the Kyiv

National Economic University”, telegram channels,

site “University entrant” create relevant info content

for the entrants and maintain a positive “digital”

image of the University in society.

The second direction is directly related to

learning. Teachers of specialized departments are

rather active in using the game tool for the formation

of professional skills of students. Our experience of

using elements of gaming in the educational process

at the Economic University has shown their obvious

prospects even for senior students, because it trains

them before the next levels of professional knowledge

through simulations of business environment or

business entrepreneurial content. For example, there

is a Laboratory of Financial and Investment

Consulting at the Department of Corporate Finance

and Controlling of the Economic University. There

are different types of business and role-playing games

with elements of video games. The head of the

Laboratory Prof. Tetyana Mayorova points out that

the game can be a simulation, but the lessons that

students get from this simulation are a real,

meaningful experience that changes their behavior in

the long run. And the teachers who are interested in

using such a powerful learning tool as “serious

games” now have the opportunity to use new

generation programs that allow quick integration of

“serious games” into the learning process.

Teamwork and communication skills are well

developed in an educational game. This is a very

important competence in training future specialists

and leaders.

Language is the most important tool of both social

and professional communication. Therefore, the

model of language education at the University of

Economics includes native language courses with an

emphasis on professional goals such as language

culture of business communication or copywriting

and mastering Ukrainian as a foreign language by

foreign students and teaching foreign languages

(including Polish), which increase the

competitiveness of our students in the international

labor market. Thus, the primary aspects are the active

formation of language and communicative

competence of higher education, and the acquisition

of professional skills to work in a multicultural

environment. A computer game or its elements are

increasingly used in the classroom. The students

readily take part in this, obviously also because they

have experience of active gaming in extracurricular

time and gaming communication skills among their

peers. For example, while studying Polish, the

students at the Economic University use the famous

Polish video game - survival simulator This War of

Mine. As known, the game This War of Mine is

recommended by the Ministry of Education of Poland

at the faculties of humanities: sociology, ethics,

philosophy, and history.

This War of Mine has a wonderful Ukrainian

localization with not only the content but also the

spirit of the game translated. This can be felt in

special phrases, proverbs of characters or poems. The

practical use of video games in classes at the

Economic University, namely the study of Polish

vocabulary, grammar, syntax in parallel with the

existing Ukrainian localization, actively promotes the

study of Polish by Ukrainian-speaking students.

The elements of game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are

partially used, for example, at the Kyiv National

Economic University named after Vadym Hetman

when studying Polish in groups of students

specialized in Tourism, Urban Economics and Urban

Planning. The use of the game method promotes

better mastering of theoretical material, develops

skills of creating interesting infographics, forms an

original experience of practical skills of conducting

excursions, etc.

The students of the Economic University can

work in pairs or teams when studying Polish or

Ukrainian as a foreign language. For example, they

need to create a certain world — but how to do it if

another team member does not want to do this? It is

necessary to negotiate. In this method, we focus more

on skills than knowledge. The students are interested,

they perform tasks while studying linguistic and

culturological educational material. After all, it is

more interesting to do it, for example, in Minecraft,

than just copying from a textbook.

6 CONCLUSIONS

Despite all the dynamism of the modern world, we

strive for its stability to preserve the traditions in a

reasonable combination with innovations. The

educational segment of the sustainably developing

society requires digital transformations of not only

the competence characteristics of its participants, but

also the educational content itself. Even the cursory

results of our study confirm the assumption on the

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453

actualization of gaming technology as an important

means of achieving soft skills. In a society where

knowledge rapidly becomes obsolete, it is important

to educate professionals who will be able to

communicate, argue, negotiate, work with

information, and at the same time be stress-resistant.

If “the life is a game”, then we can use the games,

including computer ones, as a tool for success in life.

Computer games play an important role in modern

life and education. The positive potential of most

computer games is not always realized. It depends

mostly not on the game itself, but on the gamer and

prevailing motives in the game. In addition to the

main motive of entertainment, the game can realize

other motives. Due to the variety of motives, the game

can help either prepare for or escape from reality.

Depending on the secondary motives, skills and

abilities completely different for different gamers can

be formed. The implementation of the motive of

training leads to the formation of skills in the field

being trained, and the motive of compensation for

internal problems is more likely to result from the

mechanisms of psychological protection.

For the educational process, obviously, this aspect

of using gaming technologies is relevant and

promising today. The active use of these technologies

in the study of foreign languages and the formation of

intercultural competence of students deserve special

emphasis, because dialogue with a virtual interlocutor

can be a serious alternative to communication with a

real native speaker in the virtualization of learning. In

the context of adequate forecasting of social and

individual consequences of using computer games in

education, it is necessary to form national and

international programs to study this multicultural

phenomenon.

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