The Challenges and Opportunities of Analogue Game-Based Learning

The present white paper provides an overview of the current discussion of game-based learning (GBL) in higher education. It begins with a brief introduction to GBL, and provides a definition for games that is representative of their use in education. A systematic literature review of GBL is then given, which highlights specific areas where further work is needed to improve the effectiveness of GBL in Higher Education (HE). Interviews were then conducted with numerous educators and game designers across Europe in order to determine if the issues raised in academic research are replicated in the vies of those teaching. The resulting analysis showed a strong similarity between written and spoken opinions regarding GBL. Whilst all participants felt there were clear benefits to using GBL there were several barriers to their use. Most commonly mentioned, was a large amount of time taken to create GBL experiences. Participants also mentioned a lack of support, or understanding of the benefits of GBL, both from students and the institutions at which they teach. The report argues that there is a clear need for a simple, easy to use, framework for the creation of GBL. Such a framework would reduce the time needed by educators to create such games and would aim to increase their use across Europe.