Getting to the

Abstract

Failure in serious games and its implications for scaffolding learning towards exploration remain understudied. We hypothesize providing more opportunities for safe failure leads to higher retention of concepts. Our case study examines the difference between including extra lives into a prototype serious game for geography through a quasi-experimental design that captured learning outcomes and failure rates. Participants reported more frustration when given fewer chances, and when having less familiarity with games in general. Our findings align with studies suggesting low-stakes environments allow comfortable experimentation and create opportunities for player persistence.