University of Huddersfield Repository Carter, Daniel Can video games technology be used for educational purposes? Original Citation Carter, Daniel (2017) Can video games technology be used for educational purposes? Masters thesis, University of Huddersfield. This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/31582/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD Can Video Games Technology be used for Educational Purposes? Daniel Carter A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA by Research Submission date January 2017 1 Copyright statement i. The author of this thesis (including any appendices and/or schedules to this thesis) owns any copyright in it (the “Copyright”) and s/he has given The University of Huddersfield the right to use such copyright for any administrative, promotional, educational and/or teaching purposes. ii. Copies of this thesis, either in full or in extracts, may be made only in accordance with the regulations of the University Library. Details of these regulations may be obtained from the Librarian. This page must form part of any such copies made. iii. The ownership of any patents, designs, trademarks and any and all other intellectual property rights except for the Copyright (the “Intellectual Property Rights”) and any reproductions of copyright works, for example graphs and tables (“Reproductions”), which may be described in this thesis, may not be owned by the author and may be owned by third parties. Such Intellectual Property Rights and Reproductions cannot and must not be made available for use without the prior written permission of the owner(s) of the relevant Intellectual Property Rights and/or Reproductions 2 ABSTRACT The question about the usage of video game technology to create successful educational games and learning tools has been extensively debated (Prensky, 2006). This research will explore these topics in order to develop a practical case study that could be used as a learning tool. There will be two main topics discussed and analysed, the first being the relevance of gaming in education, the second a quantitative case study of an educational video game prototype. In the 21st century, video games have grown more sophisticated as new technologies have advanced. Video games can be used for more than just home entertainment, as many recent games and projects have proven (Rosser et al., 2007). This research inquires on these successes and how to develop a project, which educates as well as entertains. The second major aspect of this research, which is the prototype, will implement these findings into a practical commercial product set with a prehistoric thematic featuring accurately researched extinct fauna and ancient biomes. Prehistoric visualizations, more commonly known as “Paleoart”, are a respected development in the toolkit for palaeontologists. Paleoart is vital to scientists as it helps visualize prehistoric life millions of years ago (Witton, 2014). This prototype will combine and then expose Paleoart and educational gaming to the public. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 Literature Review ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Learning and Teaching Methods .......................................................................................................................... 11 Education and Vdeo Games .................................................................................................................................. 18 Virtual Reality ................................................................................................................................................... 31 Researching the Triassic Environment .................................................................................................................. 33 Animal Species .................................................................................................................................................. 35 Foliage............................................................................................................................................................... 37 Development of the Game ................................................................................................................................... 38 Environment 1: North America. ........................................................................................................................ 42 Environment 2: South America ......................................................................................................................... 43 Environment 3: Europe. .................................................................................................................................... 43 Audio................................................................................................................................................................. 45 Optomization .................................................................................................................................................... 46 Key Educational Features of Triassic World.......................................................................................................... 48 Testing and feedback ............................................................................................................................................ 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................................ 54 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................................ 58 Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................................................ 59 Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................................................ 59 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................................................... 63 4 INTRODUCTION It has often been thought that videogames have a negative impact on children, as Dr David Walsh (2001) writes ‘Children (and adults) who play more violent video games are more likely to experience aggressive feelings, thoughts, and actions’. However,Prensky (2006) calls Walsh out on his comments stating that he ‘deliberately frightens parents into thinking that their normal children might also be “addicted,”.Prensky (2006, p.5) also states that most children will tell you that they know the violence in games isn’t something one should, or would, do in real life, due to it being common sense to not act in such behaviour. ‘It’s just a game’. Some people still believe that videogames should only be played by children. As Adam (2015) says, in the eyes of some adults, playing video games makes you look immature, rather than appreciating the art and technicality that videogames portray. In recent years however, video games have become more than just mindless games. They have developed compelling narratives with characters that the audience can feel attached to, and feature huge complex worlds and stories that players can become immersed in and explore. Video games like Bioshock and The Last of Us, the latter winning BAFTA Games Award for Story in 2014, are perfect examples of such games. They have devised complex and challenging puzzles, making players think and use their brains in order to progress further and uncover more, and have crafted beautiful in-game scripted cinematic scenes matching Hollywood quality movies, with believable characters that have true personalities and backstories that players can get inspired