Project Abstract

This project surrounds the development of a video game to teach soft skills (e.g. teamwork, communication), and to examine its benefits compared to analogue game-based teaching, which is currently more common. The research question asks, ?��Does teaching soft skills through video games enhance the learning experience in comparison to the more popular current method, non-digital games??��. This project involved creating a soft skill teaching video game, made up of many minigames, and then performing a user study to compare it to two non-digital games and review users?�� thoughts on both after playing. The questionnaire focused on how enjoyable each set of games were and how much the user felt they had learnt, and then asked users to compare the two. Overall, it was found that users felt the digital games taught them more, were more motivating and they were preferred by most users. On top of this, the use of a digital platform provides a much easier set-up for the host, as well as being tailored for a more accessible experience than if non-digital games were in use. Therefore, this project provides an improved way in teaching soft skills which both enhances the user?��s enjoyment and learning, as well as offering a simple solution for schools and workplaces to teach them where opportunity has been limited before.

Keywords: Soft Skills, Education, Video Game Development

 Conference Details

Session: Poster Session B at Poster Stand 69

Location: Sir Stanley Clarke Auditorium at Wednesday 8th 09:00 – 12:30

Markers: Tom Owen, Mukesh Tiwary

Course: BSc Computer Science, 3rd Year

Future Plans: I’m looking for work