Play Attention: Thinking Like a Game Designer with Online Instructional Design

Game-based learning is an excellent way to build motivation in virtual environments. As instructional designers, we have used theories from education and game mechanics to design game-based learning in online higher education courses. In this chapter, we explain why game-based learning can be impactful and describe strategies for thinking like a pedagogue and a game designer simultaneously. First, we describe how Self-Determination Theory (SDT) can be leveraged to enhance the design of games and game elements in learning, and explain how SDT can be used to enhance students’ intrinsic motivation to learn. Then, we focus on the principles of game mechanics and gameplay as applied to online higher education, and review how game-based learning is currently being implemented in educational contexts. Last, we propose a way for educators to use motivational and pedagogical theory, as well as the principles of game mechanics and gameplay, to optimally include game elements into learning to enhance student motivation. At the end of this chapter, we describe two projects we worked on where we used the principles and methods outlined in this chapter to design game-based learning at a small scale (i.e., within a learning activity) and a large scale (i.e., within a full course) in online higher education.