New tutorials for digital games: game design meets instructional design

White, Matthew M.(Matthew Martin) (2012) New tutorials for digital games: game design meets instructional design. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (52MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

Contemporary digital games do little to help novice and disadvantaged players wanting to learn to play. The novice-expert divide is a significant barrier for entry for individuals wanting to play digital games. Given that digital games are widely being used in pedagogical situations, these barriers to entry present a significant problem in the use of digital games in the classroom. In response to this problem, three new tutorials for WORLD OF WARCRAFT were designed in an attempt to improve the existing tutorials. These new tutorials offered different modalities of instruction, as well as instructional strategies in assisting players. Tutorials were designed using the Structured Sound Functions (SSF) model of instructional design, following the Attentional Control Theory of Multimedia Learning (ACTML). This work addresses three important and previously unexplored areas of research. First, the exploration and in-depth study of game tutorials is as yet missing from both the education and games studies literature. Secondly, literature concerning tutorial systems in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as WORLD OF WARCRAFT is currently non-existent. Finally, meaningful advice for the design of tutorial systems in digital games is a previously unexplored area in educational research. Results suggest that players react favourably to a faded or "just-in-time" instructional strategy, showing significantly increased motivation for play, engagement, and play mastery. Consistent with earlier research, multimedia sound was once again shown to be durable and resistant to forgetting, as the SSF groups had significantly higher game mastery than their visual-only counterparts. Implications for game design, game studies research, and future educational research are discussed.

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