Educational Escape Rooms: Challenges in Aligning Game and Education

Abstract

This article analyzes the design of MasterMind, an escape room that served as a means of professional development in the use and implementation of online educational tools in academic teaching. Escape rooms have inspired educators all over the world to adapt the popular entertainment activity for education. The time-constrained and problem-based games require active and collaborative participants, which makes an escape room an interesting setting for educators. As there are differences in the settings and goals of educational and recreational escape rooms, there is a need for description of the design process, taking into account game design and educational aspects. MasterMind was developed by a multidisciplinary team of educators, educational researchers and game researchers. The design analysis of MasterMind focuses on three related challenges that have informed the design process: 1) the participants' transition from the real world to the game world; 2) the alignment of game design aspects and educational aspects in the game world; and 3) the transfer from experiences and knowledge obtained within the game world back into the real world. The description and analysis is guided by frameworks on persuasive games and the alignment of game goals and learning goals. The analysis gives insights in how to balance game and educational aspects in the design, in order for players to reach both persuasive and learning goals. We recommend an integrated approach of the different design challenges. Therefore, we propose a design model combining and aligning the used frameworks, leading to an integrated approach in tackling design challenges in persuasive, serious games.

No Escape!

“…Other than Van der Linden's framework, this model does not focus on the gameplay as such but describes the participants' transition from the real world into the game world and back. Hence, Veldkamp et al (2021b) combined the frameworks covering all three design challenges in one framework for educational escape rooms, see Figure 4.2. In the context of this escape room, the expected outcome was a persuasive goal, it can be assumed that a similar structure applies to learning goals.…”

“…Figure 4.2 An educational game design framework for escape rooms, focussing on the three main challenges 1) the participants' transition from the real world to the game world, 2) the alignment of game design aspects and educational aspects, and 3) the transfer from attained experiences and knowledge back into the real world (Veldkamp et al, 2021b). The framework is developed in a persuasive game context, in our context this will be replaced by a learning goal.…”

“…Developing adequate pre-set hints for all students appeared complex. An educational game design framework for escape rooms, focussing on the three main challenges 1) the participants' transition from the real world to the game world, 2) the alignment of game design aspects and educational aspects in the game world, and 3) the transfer from attained experiences and knowledge within the game world back into the real world (Veldkamp et al, 2021b).…”

“…A follow-up study was grounded in an educational game design framework for escape rooms which was developed in the meantime (Veldkamp et al, 2021b). The framework acknowledges three challenges in relation to the design process of educational escape rooms: 1) the participants' transition from the real world to the game world; 2) the alignment of game design aspects and educational aspects in the game world; and 3) the transfer from experiences and knowledge obtained within the game world back into the real world, see Figure 5.1.…”

“…In the fourth and last study (Chapter 4), the previous studies come together. By now, a design approach for educational escape rooms had been developed and was used (Veldkamp et al, 2021b). This framework was used in combination with the developed escape boxes (Study 3), and the derived guidelines on designing and implementation educational escape rooms (Study 2 & 3).…”