Achievers, explorers, wanderers, and intellectuals: Educational interaction in a Minecraft open-world action-adventure game

A common dilemma in educational game design is identifying the right balance between freedom and structure. Too much structure limits constructive learning and curiosity, while too much freedom diverts focus away from the educational content. How can we create a feeling of freedom while encouraging students to interact with learning material? We argue that a compelling, open-world action-adventure game with a branching storyline could provide just the right balance. To test this idea, we created a single-player custom map action-adventure game, Ulfberht's Sword, using the popular Minecraft game. Our objective was that the game would support prehistory education and we piloted it with 151 students in their history classrooms. To determine how effective our game was for delivering educational material, we collected and analyzed the students' log files in combination with students' Minecraft experience. Our structure discovery revealed four interaction types, (1) intellectuals, (2) wanderers, (3) explorers, and (4) achievers, which reflect the students' interaction with the educational content and perseverance in challenging situations. Ultimately, the game design engaged Minecraft-experienced player types and guided them toward primary educational materials. Less-experienced player types remained curious but would have benefited from more direct in-game scaffolding, demonstrating the importance of players' pre-existing gaming skills and thoughtful choice architecture. In conclusion, the player types provide insight into how we can best support different types of students in the open-world game environment. In turn, this information allows us to identify design challenges and suggest better ways to strike the structure-autonomy balance in realistically heterogeneous classrooms.