Background In 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe, public health systems worldwide faced severe challenges. Amid the pandemic, one simulation game, Plague Inc., has received substantial attention. This game has indirectly drawn greater public attention to public health issues by simulating pathogen transmission and disease symptoms. Objective Against this backdrop, this research investigates whether the gameful experience of Plague Inc. has indirectly affected public knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19. Methods An online survey was conducted through social networking services in Taiwan from May 6-28, 2020. Results A total of 486 subjects participated in this study, of which 276 (56.8%) had played Plague Inc. This study had several findings. First, participants who had played Plague Inc. demonstrated higher levels of knowledge (P=.03, median 7, IQR 7-8) and attitudes (P=.007, median 8, IQR 7-8) than participants who had not played Plague Inc. (knowledge: median 7, IQR 6-8; attitude: median 7, IQR 6-8). Second, there was a significant correlation between creative thinking (ρ=.127, P=.04) and dominance (ρ=.122, P=.04) in attitude. Finally, there was a significant correlation between creative thinking (ρ=.126, P<.001) and dominance (ρ=.119, P=.049) in practice. Conclusions Serious games highlighting the theme of pathogen transmission may enhance public knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19. Furthermore, the creative thinking and dominance involved in gameful experiences may act as critical factors in public attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19. These findings should be further verified through experimental research in the future.

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This study aims to explore whether high school students can enhance students’ learning motivation through challenging learning situationsin programming courses. This study was conducted for 12th-grade students in high school. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. Measurements included Pre- and post-tests measure MSLQ (Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) and the performance of programming. The experimental group learning design the game interactive project in Unity with C# programming language, and the control group learning build Arduino interactive project in mBlock with block-based programming. The results showed that there was no significant difference in performance, but the learning motivation of the experimental group was lower than that of the control group.

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BACKGROUND In 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe, public health systems worldwide faced severe challenges. Amid the pandemic, one simulation game, <i>Plague Inc.,</i> has received substantial attention. This game has indirectly drawn greater public attention to public health issues by simulating pathogen transmission and disease symptoms. OBJECTIVE Against this backdrop, this research investigates whether the gameful experience of <i>Plague Inc.</i> has indirectly affected public knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding COVID-19. METHODS An online survey was conducted through social networking services in Taiwan from May 6-28, 2020. RESULTS A total of 486 subjects participated in this study, of which 276 (56.8%) had played <i>Plague Inc.</i> This study had several findings. First, participants who had played <i>Plague Inc.</i> demonstrated higher levels of knowledge (<i>P</i>=.03, median 7, IQR 7-8) and attitudes (<i>P</i>=.007, median 8, IQR 7-8) than participants who had not played <i>Plague Inc.</i> (knowledge: median 7, IQR 6-8; attitude: median 7, IQR 6-8). Second, there was a significant correlation between creative thinking (ρ=.127, <i>P</i>=.04) and dominance (ρ=.122, <i>P</i>=.04) in attitude. Finally, there was a significant correlation between creative thinking (ρ=.126, <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and dominance (ρ=.119, <i>P</i>=.049) in practice. CONCLUSIONS Serious games highlighting the theme of pathogen transmission may enhance public knowledge and attitudes regarding COVID-19. Furthermore, the creative thinking and dominance involved in gameful experiences may act as critical factors in public attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19. These findings should be further verified through experimental research in the future.