A game design assignment: learning about social class inequality

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe what students in an undergraduate course otherwise unrelated to games demonstrated about their learning during an analog game design assignment, and to explore what two of the resultant games revealed about designers’ understandings of the structural nature of social class inequality.

Design/methodology/approach

Students’ documents associated with game production were analyzed for overt statements of learning, which were then coded and categorized. The researcher also assessed analog game prototypes to explore their usefulness to learning assessment.

Findings

Students’ perceptions of their learning in both cognitive and social domains were apparent in written reports. Faculty assessment of game artifacts found evidence of designers’ grasp of structural aspects of social class inequality beyond that apparent in written documentation.

Research limitations/implications

The case study approach limits the generalizability of the researcher’s observations.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that an analog game-making assignment can provide students with opportunity to document learning in both cognitive and social domains, through self-reports and game artifacts. Several avenues for further research are proposed.

Originality/value

This descriptive case study can assist educators developing game design assignments in courses focused on non-game topics, and educators considering the usefulness of game artifacts in learning assessment.

Citation

Sandoz, J. (2016), "A game design assignment: learning about social class inequality", On the Horizon, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 121-125. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-08-2015-0041