Learning Through Level Design : Using a learning taxonomy to map level design to pedagogy

Abstract: Entertainment games are known for their motivational and engaging benefits when it comes to teaching the player how to play games. Still, there is little research about the connection between pedagogy and entertainment games. This knowledge could be used to develop educational games that utilize those sought after benefits of engagement and motivation. The purpose of this research is therefore to conduct a case study that identifies the underlying pedagogical elements in the level design components game progression and pacing in the entertainment game Space Team: Pocket Planets. The results show that by breaking down gameplay into level design components, used to teach the player how to play the game, and mapping them to a learning taxonomy, the pedagogical elements that corresponds to those components can be identified. This information can be used as a method when it comes to evaluating the pedagogy present in other games and to bridge the knowledge gap between game designers of educational and entertainment games.