The need for self-directed learning for professional development drives an increase in the delivery of easy to use ‘just-in-time’ resources that respond to the often-dynamic workplace and work culture. This is especially important in the era of globalisation, when the number of employees, who are culturally diverse, increases each year. Most medium and large companies operate in an international environment, and this is due to the expansion of international enterprises with branches in various countries that requires cooperation with foreign clients, and the employment of foreign nationals in their companies. In order to guarantee the effectiveness of workings in companies, there is a need for continuous education in the aspect of the cultural diversity. This paper explores micro-learning, which focuses on delivering brevity through bite-sized learning units or short-term learning activities. Learning content in this case can take many forms, from text to interactive multimedia. These contents are often created on demand, which can sometimes be less contextualised and pedagogically informed. Based on a case study of the need for training on cultural risks in multi-cultural organisations, this paper focuses on the design of mini-games as playful learning resources for supporting an online learning platform that has been developed as a response to this training need. Fifteen mini-games have been developed to complement eight main topics related to cultural risks and to promote reflection, practice and the self-assessment of knowledge acquired through the platform. The main eight topics represent the risk areas identified that include cultural awareness, understanding different cultures, communication, learning styles, hierarchy, team-working, qualities in the working place, and stereotypes through a survey carried out with personnel (n=154) from multi-cultural organisations across five countries - Cyprus, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and the UK. The discussions include unpacking the mapping of pedagogical and gameful design considerations based on Arnab et al.‘s (2015) Learning Mechanics-Game Mechanics Mapping (LMGM) model. The paper also discusses the findings from the testing of the online platform across 5 countries including 166 participants (two-step testing). The insights provided will be valuable to researchers, practitioners, designers, and developers of micro-learning resources.

This paper explores the potential of using playful and gameful approaches for facilitating and strengthening the collective action, networking, and negotiation of individuals, groups, and entities related to the farming sector across Europe, which include farmers and land managers.Framed under the EU Funded BOND project (bondproject.eu),we developed, experimented, and reflected on three playful tools for enabling the 'bonding' of various stakeholders in the sector towards creating strong, dynamic and effective organisations that have a voice and a place in policy design.The paper describes playful tools implemented in the project, which are based on the approaches designed under the award-winning GameChangers initiative (gamify.org.uk) and LEGO® Serious Play®.These tools have been repurposed through engagement with stakeholders from 17 partner institutions across 12 countries in Europe.Findings and reflections from practice-based exploratory investigations are discussed.

The practice of self-reflection for some students is often thought of as tedious and more often than not, even though the benefits of self-reflection have long been documented, little time is given (to the fault of both students and educators) to building upon the necessary skills required for aiding this process. Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), a table-top roleplaying games system developed by Gygax and Arneson, utilises a host of game mechanics such as, but not limited to: character creation, customisation, skills development, leveling over time, story-telling and a game-masters feedback. Many of the game mechanics in D&D, require the player to self-reflect on behalf of their character and continually assess how they wish their character to develop for future game sessions. Coupled with interactive feedback (visual/written/auditory/narrative-development) that is provided throughout each game session from a game master who leads the players through a pre-developed story, the basis of the mechanics provides some similarities to a facilitator leading learners through an assignment. In this paper, the authors present a playful example of how role-playing games can be used to facilitate student self-reflection. A discussion of the design, method and mid-pilot feedback of n = 11 students undertaking the Dungeons & Dragons Self-Reflection Tool is presented alongside next stage pilot trials and considerations of future work.

Games, which are more readily blended with existing educational techniques and practices, are more likely to be accepted by teachers as useful resources. Hence, it is worth ensuring the design of game-based learning resources might support such blending, which can range from pragmatic considerations, such as how well an intended play session fits within a teaching schedule or homework arrangement, to pedagogical designs, which seek to address shortcomings in didactic instruction. To promote the sense of ownership and autonomy to break the barriers of adoption, not only that teachers should be part of the development process but they should also be empowered to create or co-create their games - removing the barriers to the development of game-based learning resources. In the CreativeCulture initiative, a project funded by the Newton Fund, teachers are empowered to create their games towards engaging learners with educational contents. Game making can be used to foster the development of transversal skills, such as 21st-century skills, where individuals can design and construct their games, often working in teams, allowing them to engage in a task that involves, and at the same time, fosters collaboration, problem solving and creativity. This case study extends the game design thinking process in proposing a solution for teachers in co-creating and developing their educational games. This process is examined through a study involving 43 teachers over two academic semesters. A total of eighteen game-based learning resources have been developed through the initiative, which has been tested in seven local primary schools in rural and semi-rural areas in Malaysia. This paper reflects on the lessons learnt and observations, which may provide insights on how game-based learning can remove barriers to the process of innovating the way we teach and learn.

This paper discusses the potential for player-data interaction enabled through the medium of gameplay that is procedurally generated using crowd-sourced data. A mobile game, which is called 'Balance Trucks' procedurally generates levels containing terrains derived from data collected through the SmartRoadSense (SRS) application. SRS allows data on the quality of roads to be collected via a user's mobile device whilst driving along various routes, providing open data towards boosting traffic conditions in Europe. Data collected can then be used to unlock game levels and the subsequent terrains. The paper describes the development considerations and process, providing insights on the technical infrastructure that could be adopted and adapted for different types of data. The player-data interaction demonstrated by this game provides a new form of human-computer interaction from the perspective of games and crowd-sourced data that can inform future data-driven games and also the engagement strategy for other crowd-sourcing and sensing initiatives.

This article discusses the application of game design thinking as a learning process for scaffolding co‑creativity in Higher Education based on the GameChangers initiative (gamify.org.uk) part‑funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE). Taking into account the relationship between play, technology and learning, the game design thinking approach fully embraces and accommodates for the creation and development of games of any typology (board games, card games, digital games, etc.) and playful solutions (gamified products) as freely chosen by the learners, aligning with the importance of autonomy, relatedness and purpose in motivating learners to be deeply engaged in the process. Through this process, learners are expected to gain valuable knowledge in creative and collaborative problem solving and experience game design and development process towards addressing real challenges and opportunities in their communities. The focus of the process is on the creative process rather than the end products/solutions produced by the learners. The paper will specifically discuss the methodology and findings from an experimental module developed based on the approach involving four cohorts of Level two undergraduate students (n=122, 2017‑2019). The students came from the different schools and faculties at Coventry University, UK. Based on the qualitative feedback and reflections collected through the Module Evaluation Questionnaire (MEQ) and the final reflection pieces, the co‑creative process inspired by play and games demonstrates that through the process, students discover the importance of elements such as empathy, purpose, meaning, art, creativity and teamwork in their learning regardless of the specific disciplines they are pursuing.

As British/UK Universities move towards more business oriented models of education, largely driven by financial goals, league tables and achievement metrics, students are increasingly relying on educators to hand-lead them through their assessments in Higher Education settings. This has been seen to be a particular issue since tuition fee increases, leading to a fee-entitlement approach to education exhibited by some students. This has also had a negative influence on how students approach their learning, leaning more towards a result driven focus with no room for development of discovery and exploration, a lack of curiosity-led learning motivation or an allowance for developing a love of learning. The authors therefore propose that there is a need to rekindle students love of learning in Higher Education by sparking their curiosity through playful methods. This paper explores the theory and background of the use of curiosity in education, presents 'Curiology' as an approach, and documents a playful example of how different types of curiosity can be developed through the theoretical 'making of' approach of an interactive 'Curiosity Box' designed to foster curiosity-led learning around the subject of women's roles at Bletchley Park in World War Two. A discussion of the design, method and pilot feedback of (n = 12) participants undertaking the curiosity box experience is presented alongside next stage considerations of future work.

This paper presents the formulated 'play-to-engage' model for community engagement that incorporates factors in cultural protocols and the game design thinking approach. The model was experimented in an indigenous rural village in Borneo. Engagement was done with a group of indigenous community leaders, teachers and indigenous students from the village. It is a known fact that all indigenous cultures have overwhelming cultural protocols and rural custom practices for researchers to adhere to and follow. Since game is a universal language, the creation of a trustworthy partnership between the community and researchers was made easier using play during the engagement process. Incorporating a fun gameplay approach could also be a solution to thrive on reflection and creativity of those individuals in capturing the needs of the study. The outcome of the engagement was positive and the communities' needs, issues, experiences and motivation were collected during the play.

This study examined students’ experience of a gamified, mystery-driven problem based learning approach in a postgraduate strength and conditioning module. A series of mystery packages were delivered to the students over a 4 week period providing information that was potentially relevant to their problem scenario. Focus group interviews revealed that students believed the approach was interactive, developed new skills and was vocationally relevant. However, students felt confused by the approach, perceiving this to be negative, unaware that the confusing elements were designed to prompt deeper learning. This study suggests that this approach can add value to the postgraduate experience.

Within the field of procedural content generation (PCG) research, the use of crowd-sensing data has, until now, primarily been used as a means of collecting information and generating feedback relating to player experience within games, and game aesthetics [1], [2]. However, crowd-sensing data can offer much more, supplying a seemingly untapped font of information which may be used within the creation of unique PCG game spaces or content, whilst providing a visible outlet for the dissemination of crowd-sensed material to users. This paper examines one such use of crowd-sensed data, the creation of a game which will reside within the CROWD4ROADS (C4RS) [3] application, SmartRoadSense (SRS) [4]. The authors will open with a brief discussion of PCG. Following this, an explanation of the features and aims of the SRS application will be provided. Finally, the paper will introduce 'Balance Trucks', the SRS game, discussing the concepts behind using crowd-sensed data within its design, its development and use of PCG.

A learner's capability to critically reflect on an ongoing or newly accomplished learning experience, shapes their own proficiency to further connect previous knowledge to build on and construct rich meaning from new assignments (Zimmerman, 2002). These meaningful insights are essential for learners, allowing them to consider knowledge learned and apply relevant skills into different contexts and settings at a later date. Self-reflection allows students to develop their metacognition skills and work towards a practice that encourages continuous learning. Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), a table-top roleplaying games system developed by Gygax and Arneson (1974), utilises a host of game mechanics such as, but not limited to: character creation, customisation, skills development, leveling over time, story-telling and a game-masters feedback. Many of the game mechanics in D&D, require the player to self-reflect on behalf of their character and continually assess how they wish their character to develop for future game sessions. Coupled with interactive feedback (visual/written/auditory/narrative-development) that is provided throughout each game session from a game master who leads the players through a pre-developed story, the basis of the mechanics provides some similarities to a facilitator leading learners through an assignment. By remixing D&D with Self-Reflection and formative assessment principles, the authors present a playful example of how roleplaying games can be used as a basis to develop lifelong learning skills. This paper presents the design, method and mid-pilot feedback of the Remixed D&D: Reflection and Assessment system. The authors present a discussion of the next stage of the pilot trials and present their considerations of future work.

This paper discusses the importance of co-creativity in facilitating an engaging learning process based on the GameChangers initiative (gamify.org.uk) part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE). Taking into account the relationship between play, technology and learning, the design of the initiative itself fully embraces and accommodates for the creation and development of games of any typology (board games, card games, digital games, etc.) and playful solutions (gamified products) as freely chosen by the participants, be them students or staff. By engaging in these practices, participants were intended to obtain valuable knowledge in creative and collaborative problem solving, experience game design and development process and even, possibly, address real challenges and opportunities in their communities. The focus however is on the creative process rather than the end products/solutions produced by the participants. The paper will specifically discuss the methodology and findings from an experimental module developed based on the approach involving level 2 undergraduate students (n=30) from the different schools and faculties at Coventry University, UK. Based on the qualitative feedback and reflections collected in week 5 and week 10 of the modules, the co-creative process inspired by play and games demonstrates that through the process, students discover the importance of elements such as empathy, purpose, meaning, art, creativity and teamwork in their learning regardless of the specific disciplines they are pursuing.

Collective awareness is a means by which communities can engage in collective action and crowdsourcing through citizen participation, leading to the accumulation of big data essential for informing decision making and for solving difficult problems. However, engaging a huge number of the general public in a crowdsourcing initiative is a mammoth task. This paper explores the approach implemented by the Crowd4Roads (C4Rs) project, which aims at combining smart sensing, ride sharing and gamification applications to harness collective intelligence for providing open data towards boosting traffic conditions in Europe. Drawing on the theory of gameful/playful successes of using gamification as a motivating and behavioural change tool, Crowd4Roads adopts gamification as an innovative strategy for fostering user-engagement and promoting growth within the projects user acquisition and retention metrics. This paper presents the development approach of the C4Rs' SmartRoadSense system and the design of the gamified layer that is employed to actively engage a large number of users for the pilot trials of the system. The paper provides a discussion and reflection on the development approach.

This paper consolidates evidence and material from a range of specialist and disciplinary fields to provide an evidence-based review and synthesis on the design and use of serious games in higher education. Search terms identified 165 papers reporting conceptual and empirical evidence on how learning attributes and game mechanics may be planned, designed and implemented by university teachers interested in using games, which are integrated into lesson plans and orchestrated as part of a learning sequence at any scale. The findings outline the potential of classifying the links between learning attributes and game mechanics as a means to scaffold teachers' understanding of how to perpetuate learning in optimal ways while enhancing the in-game learning experience. The findings of this paper provide a foundation for describing methods, frames and discourse around experiences of design and use of serious games, linked to methodological limitations and recommendations for further research in this area.

The application of game-based learning adds play into educational and instructional contexts. Even though there is a lack of standard methodologies or formulaic frameworks to better inform game-based intervention development, there exist scientific and empirical studies that can serve as benchmarks for establishing scientific validity in terms of the efficacy of using games to achieve serious outcomes. The development of these games does not normally follow a specific set of guidelines, which limits replication. There is a need to reflect on such a multidisciplinary process and infuse knowledge from relevant disciplines towards developing a unity of considerations and approaches beyond the disciplinary perspectives. An infused and trans-disciplinary methodological framework could serve as a guideline to inform the development process of a game-based approach. With these perspectives, this paper aims to provide an example of how relevant theories and frameworks can be adopted collectively in order to inform a development process. Based on a digital game intervention aiming to support the delivery of Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) in the UK, this paper reflects on trans-disciplinary considerations, informed by frameworks such as the Four-Dimensional Framework (4DF), the Intervention Mapping (IM) approach, Mechanics Dynamics Aesthetics model (MDA) and Learning Mechanics-Game Mechanics (LM-GM) mapping. IM, when infused with the game design considerations of 4DF, provides a more procedural perspective to game-based intervention development, collectively reflecting a participatory development approach. This subsequently provides the basis upon which other theoretical and methodological frameworks such as the MDA and the LM-GM models can be embedded in order to marry the pedagogical aspects with the entertainment attributes of gameplay. These components, when integrated, may formulate a trans-disciplinary model that can be adopted and adapted by other researchers, designers and developers.

Game-based learning (GBL) is often found to be technologically driven and more often than not, serious games for instance, are conceptualised and designed solely for digital platforms and state of the art technologies. To encourage a greater discussion on the potential benefits and challenges of a more holistic approach to developing GBL that promote human centered interactions and play for learning, the authors present the escapED programme. The escapED programme was conceived following the recent entertainment trend of escape rooms and is used for developing non-digital GBL approaches within education. escapED aids the design and creation of educational Escape Rooms and Interactive Gaming Experiences for staff and students in further/higher education settings. The paper first presents a pilot study that was used to assess the feasibility and acceptance of University teaching staff of embedding interactive GBL into a higher education environment. The authors then present the escapED theoretical framework that was used to create the prototype game for the pilot study as a tool to aid future design and development of on-site interactive experiences. The paper also presents an external developer report of using the escapED framework to develop a prototype game for teaching research methods to Southampton University students. Finally, the authors present a discussion on the use of the escapED framework so far and plans for future work and evaluation in order to provide engaging alternatives for learning and soft skills development amongst higher education staff andstudents.

This paper consolidates evidence and material from a range of specialist and disciplinary fields to provide an evidence-based review and synthesis on the design and use of serious games in higher education. Search terms identified 165 papers reporting conceptual and empirical evidence on how learning attributes and game mechanics may be planned, designed and implemented by university teachers interested in using games, which are integrated into lesson plans and orchestrated as part of a learning sequence at any scale. The findings outline the potential of classifying the links between learning attributes and game mechanics as a means to scaffold teachers’ understanding of how to perpetuate learning in optimal ways while enhancing the in-game learning experience. The findings of this paper provide a foundation for describing methods, frames and discourse around experiences of design and use of serious games, linked to methodological limitations and recommendations for further research in this area.