Designing and developing a narrative driven serious game for teaching information theory

Abstract

A serious game called "Codebreakers" was developed and designed for a fourth year Telecommunications module at the University of Johannesburg. The goal of the game was to assist students to prepare for tests. The game was played for the first time in 2017 and received positive feedback. During a collaborative design session with students, educational specialists, developers and the lecturer, it emerged that students would also gain from a serious game that not only allows them to prepare for tests, but also to explore and understand the content from the start. A linear and narrative driven serious games called "EnigmAI" was designed and developed with this goal in mind. This paper explores the design and development of the new game, based on the experience gained from the previous game and from collaborative design sessions