Foundation for measuring engagement in educational games

Abstract

This study is part of an ongoing attempt to develop a usable and valid scale for assessing the flow experience in educational games. The purpose of the paper is to operationalize the dimensions of flow experience in an educational game context and to test a constructed GameFlow questionnaire. Furthermore, the study strives to validate flow antecedents, the factors contributing to flow experience, proposed in game design models such as the experiential gaming model. The flow antecedents and the GameFlow questionnaire were studied through a business simulation game, which was used in a university level course (N = 92). Results indicate that the flow antecedents studied contributed to the flow experience and should be considered in educational game design. Furthermore, the results provided some baseline evidence for the assumption that flow experience has a positive impact on learning. Overall, these results indicate that the experiential gaming model and the GameFlow questionnaire are useful tools for studying gaming experience and can be used in educational game design.