Pump it up! – Conception of a serious game applying in computer science

Abstract

Student attrition in mechanical engineering at German universities currently lies at about 40 %. A lacking sense of practical relevance for a future career are often named as reasons to quit studies. Over the past decade online games have become very popular for educational purposes. The approach of game-based learning, however, has proven to be suitable to motivate students. At RWTH Aachen University engineering students are imparted the relevance of computer science for their field through an e-learning environment including the online game Pump it up! The paper describes the conception and game design of the game including didactical and technical requirements related to it.