This book provides an overview of the design and development of learning games using examples from those created by the authors over last decade. It provides lessons learned about processes, successful approaches, and pitfalls that befall developers of learning games and educational transmedia experiences.

1.Introduction.- 2.What Is (And Is Not) A Learning Game?.- 3.Why And How Can Games Influence Learning?.- 4.Ethical Challenges To The Design And Study Of Learning Games.- 5.Should I Really Use Or Design A Learning Game?.-6.Some Tools For Learning Game Design – Game Engines, Virtual Worlds, And Transmedia.- 7.Three Approaches To Designing Games For Learners.- 8.Anytown – A Literacy Game And Its Background.- 9.The Core Anytown Design And Development Process.- 10.Media, Method, And Anytown’s Instructional Design.- 11.Lessons From Anytown.- 12.Chalk House – Trying Again Using The Lessons Of Anytown.-13.Accidental Transmedia Design With The Door – Designing An Undergraduate Computer Literacy Course Experience.- 14.Teaching Computer Literacy With Transmedia Designed By Learners With Broken Window.- 15.The Study Of Learning Games.- 16.Conclusion.

This book provides an overview of the design and development of learning games using examples from those created by the authors over the last decade. It provides lessons learned about processes, successful approaches, and pitfalls that befall developers of learning games and educational transmedia experiences. The book includes stories from the authors’ lives that give context to why and how they built these products to help the reader understand whether or not building a learning game is right for them and what challenges they might face. It also gives a framework for thinking ethically about design and research when it comes to designing complex digital systems like educational games. 

Provides examples of effective learning game designs Systematically reviews implemented design examples for serious learning games Provides clear, step-by-step directions for game design from three or more epistemic perspectives Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras