The pervasive spread of computer games h
as made a
significant impact on game
-
based learning as a serious
topic in the field of education. Research evidence has
shown that fun and enjoyment are central to the
process of learning
because they increase
learner
motivation [
2
]
. Games embody core elem
ents of
intrinsic motivation such as challenge, fantasy,
competition, and recognition [
9
] that make game
-
play
a potentially powerful means for learning. Good games
often induce
a state of flow,
a psychological setting in
which the player is so absorbed in
the game that the
activity persists purely by virtue of intrinsic motivation
[
11
]. Games also offer learners opportunities to
practice a new skill and consolidate mastery through
“cycles of expertise”
[4
]. In striking a balance between
mastery and challeng
e, games can motivate players to
learn through repeatedly doing the game itself until
they have virtually automatized their solutions.
To date,
research on
educational games has focused
primarily on the design of custom
arcade
-
style learning
games or elab
orate extensions of virtual environments.
Less
research has explored the potential of combining
the addictive
effect
of
existing arcade
-
style games
with
the potent learning gains of
retrieval practice
. Retrieval
practice, the act of repeatedly attempting r
ecall from
memory, not only benefits learning as much as non
-
recall
studying
, but also improves long
-
term retention
over study alternatives [
8
]. Retrieval practice is posited
to be powerful because it offers opportunities to
strengthen memory encodings thr
ough multiple
exposures to
memory cues
. In some cases, retrieval
practice has demonstrated an advantage even over
more complex active learning strategies, such as
elaborative studying with concept mapping [
8
].
Although the highly repetitive nature of
exis
ting
arcade
games make
s
them natural settings for embedding
retrieval practice, most
adaptations of existing games
emerge from
turn
-
based
frameworks
like card games
[10]
or
from
complex virtual envir
onments [12
],
perhaps due to
less time pressure on learne
rs
and
greater
amenability to structural changes. However,
arcade
-
style games
such as Tetris and Pacman are
advantageous in that they are logically much simpler to
manipulate, have open source code bases, and allow a
wider range of time commitment from pla
yers. Just as
flashcards enable students to review vocabulary on the
run, arcade games allow players to either indulge in
short spurts or stay indefinitely.
In this paper, we focus on investigating useful
techniques to modify existing arcade games for the
purpose of learning, using Tetris as a prototypical
example.
There are two challenges in this research.
First, it is unknown what constitutes a good design for
learning amidst an already cognitively intensive and
fast
-
paced game. Second, although previous
studies
evaluated the effectiveness of retrieval practice, to the
best of our knowledge there have been no studies
measuring the impact of retrieval practice within a time
sensitive, arcade
-
style game. Because retrieval practice
exerts greater cognitive ef
fort than non
-
recall studying,
and the interactivity of gaming introduces an additional
cognitive load [3], it is unclear whether retrieval
practice will remain advantageous in an intense game
setting. Cogniti
ve research suggesting somewhat
independent wor
king memor
y channels for visuo
-
spatial
and phonological
processing [1] gives some hope to the
possibility of uniting vocabulary learning with visually
demanding arcade games.
