Toward a Taxonomy Linking Game Attributes to Learning An Empirical Study

• Published in: Simulation & gaming Vol. 43; no. 6; pp. 729 - 760
• Main Authors: Bedwell, Wendy L., Pavlas, Davin, Heyne, Kyle, Lazzara, Elizabeth H., Salas, Eduardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2012; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescents; Adults; Categories; Classification; Communities; Community; Comparative Analysis; Computer Assisted Instruction; Computer Games; Computer Simulation; Definitions; Design Requirements; Educational Games; Educational Technology; Evaluation Criteria; Evaluation Methods; Expertise; Federal Aid; Focusing; Game theory; Games; Instructional Design; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Materials; Internet; Learning; Literature Reviews; Online Surveys; Questionnaires; Simulation; Studies; Taxonomy; Training; Training Methods; Video Games; Vocabularies & taxonomies; card sort; mental model; game attribute taxonomy; simulation/gaming; computer-based training; learning outcomes; learning; serious games; game attribute; taxonomy; subject matter experts
• ISSN: 1046-8781; 1552-826X
• DOI: 10.1177/1046878112439444

The serious games community is moving toward research focusing on direct comparisons between learning outcomes of serious games and those of more traditional training methods. Such comparisons are difficult, however, due to the lack of a consistent taxonomy of game attributes for serious games. Without a clear understanding of what truly constitutes a game, scientific inquiry will continue to reveal inconsistent findings, making it hard to provide practitioners with guidance as to the most important attribute(s) for desired training outcomes. This article presents a game attribute taxonomy derived from a comprehensive literature review and subsequent card sorts performed by subject matter experts (SMEs). The categories of serious game attributes that emerged represent the shared mental models of game SMEs and serve to provide a comprehensive collection of game attributes. In order to guide future serious games research, the existing literature base is organized around the framework of this taxonomy.