Introduction on games, serious games, simulation and gamification

Abstract

We play games as part of our psychological need to grow as well as to have ‘fun’. We enjoy success and revel in the opportunity for a sweet release of dopamine. Playful Learning and Games Education are ways of integrating this natural urge into our learning and teaching and thus better engage with and enhance the education of our students. In this introductory chapter we explore pleasure-creation as a pedagogical approach. We then detail the different types of teaching within this approach: playful learning, serious games, simulation and gamification. Each of these is briefly summarised as a taster to the chapters to come in the rest of the book.