Gamifying model-based engineering: the PapyGame experience

Abstract

Modeling is an essential and challenging activity in any engineering environment. It implies some hard-to-train skills such as abstraction and communication. Teachers, project leaders, and tool vendors have a hard time teaching or training their students, co-workers, or users. Gamification refers to the exploitation of gaming mechanisms for serious purposes, like promoting behavioral changes, soliciting participation and engagement in activities, etc. We investigate the introduction of gaming mechanisms in modeling tasks with the primary goal of supporting learning/training. The result has been the realization of a gamified modeling environment named PapyGame. In this article, we present the approach adopted for PapyGame implementation, the details on the gamification elements involved, and the derived conceptual architecture required for applying gamification in any modeling environment. Moreover, to demonstrate the benefits of using PapyGame for learning/training modeling, a set of user experience evaluations have been conducted. Correspondingly, we report the obtained results together with a set of future challenges we consider as critical to make gamified modeling a more effective education/training approach.

Literature Review for the Design Methods of Serious Games

“…Level/ Progress bar/ Levels of difficulty, metaphors and semiotics (Bucchiarone et al, 2023); (Tsopra et al, 2020); (Petrina and Gutica, 2021) Progression (Bucchiarone et al, 2023) Point/Reward systems/scores/Achievement (Bucchiarone et al, 2023); (Westera, 2019); (Tsopra et al, 2020); (Karakasis and Xinogalos, 2020); (Tsiotras and Xinogalos, 2021); (Jamshidifarsani et al, 2021) Leader board (Tsopra et al, 2020) Scaffolding (instruction in text format) (Karakasis and Xinogalos, 2020) repeatability (a player masters a task by repeating a set of actions) (Petrina and Gutica, 2021) Gameplay (Tahir and Wang, 2020) Artificial intelligence (AI) (including personalisation, difficulty balancing, evaluation, player analytics, competence modelling, social gamification, technical considerations and affective computing)/ Technical (Westera et al, 2020); (Tahir and Wang, 2020) Dilemma/Challenge provided/Increasing complexity/ Game play (Tang et al, 2019); (Silva et al, 2019); (Tsopra et al, 2020); (Harker-Schuch et al, 2020); (Lui and Au,…”