Gamification of Apollo lunar exploration missions for learning engagement

Abstract

The design, development, and evaluation of a serious game that gamifies the Apollo lunar exploration missions are presented. The gamification methodology and underlying implementation are motivated by the goal of game-based learning for youth and young adults and the intention to promote their interest in STEM learning. The game is a multidisciplinary composition that simulates a set of lunar roving activities including planning a traversing route, loading communication and science equipment on the lunar rover, and driving the rover to explore the lunar surface. Accurate 3D terrains and spacecraft models are created and used in the game to maintain the high realism of the environment. Every gameplay step reflects real scientific procedures and behaviors that the astronauts performed in the past on the Moon. A usability study is conducted to gather feedback from a group of participants of different ages and with different game experience. The results of the study show the success of fostering great user engagement in STEM learning.

Usability and Engagement Study for a Serious Virtual Reality Game of Lunar Exploration Missions

“…The concept of game design in this work is similar to the lunar roving game presented by Peng et al [4]. In this work, we develop a VR version of the lunar roving game, which is compared to the non-VR version presented by Peng et al [4] in terms of usability and game engagement. The game is composed of three playing phases: planning, preparing, and driving.…”

“…During the driving, the player operates a navigation system to determine the driving direction, control the rover's speed, and avoid overheating. The game presented by Peng et al [4] is a non-VR video game running on a PC with a single screen. The player uses a keyboard/mouse to place markers and select scientific instrument and uses a joystick to drive the rover.…”

“…Audiences are immersed in activities such as boarding the rocket, experiencing the launch, witnessing travel through space, and landing on the Moon. Peng et al [4] gamified the Moon mission and created three playing phases. They presented the lunar roving game on a PC platform and employed a standard screen.…”

“…In this game, we implement planning, preparing, and driving activities of the Apollo 16 mission by utilizing VR technologies and handheld motion controllers. In our previous work, we developed a similar serious game [4], but it was a non-VR version playable with a single-screen display and keyboard-mouse/joystick inputs. Besides the contributions in game design and development, we investigate how the VR technology effects usability and game engagement compared to the non-VR version.…”

Increasing middle school students’ awareness and interest in manufacturing through digital game‐based learning (DGBL)

“…In their systematic literature review, pointed out that empirical evidence of the motivational effects of DGBL in STEM has been collected, even though the results are still scant and mainly for students aged 14 years or above. In particular, few studies have provided evidence of the motivational effects of DGBL in engineering education, such as those of and for mechanical engineering, for space engineering, and for electronic engineering.…”