Effective learning through meaning construction in digital role playing games

Abstract

Game-based learning (GBL) is promising, almost as promising as learning when sleeping. But why does it work? And how to implement it? For which purpose is it appropriate? And when is GBL doomed to fail? Serious games design is an art. How can game designers and developers utilize deep and well-established results of the humanities to make the design and implementation of digital games for learning a routine process? The understanding of digital role-playing based on theories of social psychology such as symbolic interactionism leads to the authors' original generic approach to game-based learning design. A serious game has already been designed, implemented, and evaluated for language learning that runs on conventional computers, as well as on varying mobile devices such as tablets. The stage is set for a series of similar role-playing games which allow for learning in largely varying domains.