This paper discusses the design and implementation of a browser based game (“e-Bug Detectives”) that teaches 13-15 year olds about hygiene, microbes and appropriate antibiotic use. Despite the recent interest in technology enhanced learning, there has been little investigation of how to develop design a game that teaches specific Learning Outcomes (LOs) using an established pedagogy. We demonstrate that Problem Based Learning (PBL) is an appropriate framework for games that aim to teach a number of disparate LOs. The introduction explains why it was necessary to create a bespoke game to satisfy the project's requirements. Section 2 presents the reasons behind choosing the adventure game genre and the PBL framework. Section 3 discusses the technical implementation of the game. The five stages of PBL are explained and mapped to the game in section 4. Finally, early evaluation results are presented and future work is discussed.
Recent studies have shown that there are many ways in which games can aid learning. Trials in
Scotland used commercial games such as Neverwinter Nights [
e-Bug is a European Commission funded project that aims to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and improve hand and respiratory hygiene through the education of young people in 17 European Countries. e-Bug targets two age groups, 9-12 years olds and 13-15 year olds. For each of these age groups, there is an educational pack for classroom use and an online game which can be played during class time or in pupils’ own discretionary time. LOs agreed by teachers and domain experts from each partner country were used to define requirements for both packs and games.
The games are intended to teach the LOs without requiring that a teacher build a lesson around
them. As such, bespoke games have been created that blend traditional games design with appropriate
learning models. These games are being translated and localised and will be available to play, for free
in 10 languages from the e-Bug website [
In order to ensure that the game be both fun and educational, it is necessary to choose a pedagogical
model that can be supported and implemented by the game’s mechanics. There is little research that
can be used to inform this process. Because e-Bug needs to support youths playing in their own time
as well as in the classroom, it was necessary that the pedagogy support a learner driven process and not
rely on activities such as classroom discussion.
A focus group with the 15 boys and girls identified game types that would appeal to 13-15 year olds.
Most of the popular game types were unsuitable for teaching e-Bug (e.g. shooters and sports games).
A few individuals enjoyed playing narrative driven adventure games such as Sam and Max [
Because adventure games feature interactive stories driven by puzzles and exploration [
In order to avoid what Habgood calls “Chocolate Covered Broccoli” [
Problem Based Learning (PBL) is “any learning environment in which the problem drives the
learning. That is, before students learn some knowledge they are given a problem.” [
By posing a problem before any learning takes place, students are able to contextualise new knowledge instead of simply learning stand-alone facts. PBL encourages independent learning with minimal intervention from a teacher. Used extensively in medical training, PBL can be adapted to teach a wide range of LOs, making it suitable for e-Bug.
There have been a number of studies on the effectiveness of PBL and whilst there isn't conclusive
evidence that PBL is preferable to other successful methods of teaching, it has been shown to be
effective [
Whilst the evidence supporting PBL’s use in games based learning is not conclusive, the concepts behind PBL map very well onto the core game mechanics of adventure games. Given the lack of a clearly established pedagogy to support this type of game and considering the wide remit of e-Bug and the flexibility that is required to cover all LOs, it was decided to use PBL to underpin the game’s teaching.
Each European partner completed a survey identifying the technology infrastructure in their country’s
education system. The widely varied responses meant that the game would have to be playable on a
basic system. Additionally, teachers do not typically have the rights to install software on machines so
we were unable to require installation of a game via download or CDOM. Flash Player version 8 was
chosen for implementation due to its wide penetration (95% of internet enabled machines [
There are game authoring tools available to create Flash based adventure games (most notably
Lassie Adventure Studio [
The stages of PBL vary between implementations. For e-Bug, the Queens University definition was
used [
Each chapter of the game covers related LOs and presents the player with an overall problem. The player does not have the information required to solve the problem and must solve multiple subproblems first. Similarly, each sub-problem covers other LOs and may be further sub-divided.
Below, we will look at how the game delivers two LOs using PBL. In the scenario, the player is tasked with investigating why an actor has fallen ill. The LOs covered in the scenario below include: “different types of microbes are found in different places”; “microbes can be found on our food and can transfer to humans”; “separate chopping boards should be used for meat and vegetables”.
NPCs use dialogue to describe the initial problem. Here, an actor has fallen ill and his bodyguard suspects foul play. The overall problem is to identify the cause of his illness.
The bodyguard offers theories that may explain the illness. One such hypothesis is that the chef deliberately poisoned the actor. Another theory suggests that poor food hygiene is responsible.
In order to solve the problem, the player has to investigate one of the hypotheses. If the player switches on “Microbe Vision” (MV), she can identify potential evidence that may suggest which of these is most suitable. Relevant to the food hygiene hypothesis are evidence of microbial concentrations on the actor’s leftover food as well as the chopping board in the kitchen.
Having decided to pursue the food hygiene hypothesis, the player may speak to NPCs, visit locations, collect and test evidence. If the player tests the chopping board and food leftovers, an NPC passes information to the player, teaching the desired LOs. For example, when the player tests the chopping board, salmonella is present. The player is told that this is normal for chopping board used for meat. If the player tests the leftovers, she is informed that the chicken is clear of microbes (it was properly cooked) but that the salad is infested with E. coli. Together, these items refute the food hygiene theory.
During dialogue with NPCs, the player has the option to present an item of evidence in response to a statement. By showing evidence that the microbes on the plate are of a different type than those on the chopping board, the player disproves the bodyguard’s hypothesis and completes the problem.
The game is complete and an evaluation has taken place with 346 pupils. Evidence for knowledge and attitude change has been collected through an online pre and post game questionnaire. Qualitative feedback has also been collected through focus groups and an open ended questionnaire.
Throughout development, the game was evaluated and revised to reflect feedback. Analysis of data is ongoing but early results highlight some interesting issues.
PBL has at its core an assumption of learner independence. It is expected that the learner will be proactive in seeking out information and research. Contrary to this, evaluations showed that youths are conditioned to expect significant help from games. Many players frequently asked “what do I do now?” and the game interface had to be revised multiple times to provide help to the player.
The game does not feature spoken audio. Players must read a significant amount of text. Those
who have poor reading ability or who have no interest in reading may not enjoy or learn from the
game. This is consistent with a recent industry article in which the Gameplay Director for World of
Warcraft explained that players are not interested in reading quest text [
This paper presents an implementation of a narrative driven adventure game called e-Bug Detectives that attempts to combine a modern approach to player centric videogame design with the established pedagogy of Problem Based Learning to teach children about microbes, hygiene and appropriate antibiotic use. Unlike previous studies which have discussed PBL in games without implementation, or which have not shown how they applied the stages of PBL to their design, this study shows in detail how PBL can be used to teach a wide range of Learning Outcomes using an adventure game. The game is still being evaluated but feedback has shown that whilst players are receptive to this kind of game, care is needed in developing a game interface that helps guide the struggling player whilst still allowing agency. More analysis will be carried out to determine the effectiveness of learning through the game. Further research could also look at the implications of the trade off between player independence and in-game help.