Designing Video Games that Encourage Players to Integrate Formal Representations with Informal Play

Abstract

In this paper we present a case study of a player of the game FormulaT Racing--a prototype racing video game we created to explore design principles that could transform popular games into powerful learning environments--shifting between and ultimately integrating video game and school-based epistemological framings. We show a player shifting from describing acceleration and velocity in a purely game-based narrative during a pre-game interview to descriptions that seamlessly integrated both game and formal representations in a post-game interview. We contend that this change is due to novel interactions with key representations introduced throughout the game and discuss design implications for future games.