Employing and accessing BlippAR on mobile devices

To access the BlippAR code, the player/student can download the BlippAR app onto their mobile device from the Google Play Store. The student then opens the application and logs in with the code “LIIKE.” The opened BlippAR app scans the Liike game cards provided to the students by activating the device’s camera. The scanning process allows access to the created BlippAR code, which has been augmented on a marker on the BlippAR website. BlippAR creates an AR image on the mobile device being used. A click option is now available on the mobile device, as seen in Figure 22. Clicking on the AR image on the mobile device provides the player/student access to the game avatar/character’s backstory, sound notes, and game rules.

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Figure 22. Application and employment of BlippAR

The Liike quiz app as well as the BlippAR function were purposefully incorporated as digital components in the overall design of the Liike game. These digital components now only allow students to become familiar with different forms of applications and AR but they also serve the educational purposes of skill development and knowledge application opportunities.

103 6.6. Conclusion of the third iteration and evaluation and research

outcomes

The research questions and objectives proposed for this PhD study provided the theoretical background for the development of a serious game design framework for educational tabletop games with digital components (Figures 12–22). They also provided the theoretical background for the implementation and evaluation of said framework (Figure 4) because it was applied and evaluated throughout the different stages of the Liike design (Chapter 5). An in-depth analysis of the design was conducted during the two three-day workshops (Chapter 5).

To further evaluate the framework (Figure 4) and the overall design of the Liike serious game (in accordance with the framework), two independent lecturers⁸ at NWU were tasked with playing Liike and then (during play) referring to a checklist that accommodated the various aspects of the framework. The feedback from these two lecturers is presented in Tables 22 and 23.

8 Not part of the School of Accounting Sciences.

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Table 22. Independent evaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework: Lecturer 1 QEvaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework Yes/No [√ // x] 1 Game features set out in the framework are present in the Liike game.√ L1The game features are well-aligned with the framework presented in the Liike game. 2 Curriculum outcomes clearly present. √ L1All of the aspects, concepts, and rules of the game are based on the outcomes of the curriculum. 3 Cognitive fidelity (realism incorporation) is observed. √ L1The player is confronted with real-world aspects such as taxes and corruption and needs to outthink the other players to get the highest score. 4 Physical and contextual fidelity are observed. √ L1Physically taking part and constructing your path to success is a great learning mechanism and engages all the players during another player’s rounds. 5 Balance between technology, mechanics, elements, and dynamics exists.√ L1There is a streamlined balance between how the physical board, the augmented reality, and the game mechanics work together to provide a fun and educational gameplay experience. 6 Appropriate feedback to players/students and lecturers possible.√ L1The game allows for interaction between the players and the lecturer during the game as a competitive aspect of the race to the highest score. 7 Appropriate levels of challenge (problem-solving) link with curriculum. √ L1The level of difficulty can be adjusted based on the year-group of the students playing the game by adding or leaving out specific questions that are relevant or not. 8 Game attributes such as luck or change observed. √ L1During the game, the amount of money you make or the questions you get are all randomized and based on luck of the draw, which makes it exciting and fun. 9 An overall fun experience. √ L1Given the mechanics of luck taking and the overall competitiveness of trying to get the most money before the other players, the experience is exhilarating and quite fun. Adapted from Foshay (2014).

105 L1: This independent lecturer is an expert in the integration of technology in education and the aspects of engagement in multimedia learning and online education. Table 23. Independent evaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework: Lecturer 2 QEvaluation and validation of the Liike game and framework Yes/No [√ // x] 1 Game features set out in the framework are present in the Liike game.√ L2The game was designed according to a set framework. The framework used to develop this game has a lot of potential and incorporates various aspects to enable instructional designers to strategically develop board games for educational purposes. 2 Curriculum outcomes clearly present. √ L2The curriculum outcomes were clearly present, and it was clear from the board game design that the outcomes of the degree at hand were covered. 3 Cognitive fidelity (realism incorporation) is observed. √ L2There was real-world application, and players were encouraged to think outside the box. Different real-world scenarios can also be incorporated to further increase cognitive fidelity, such as playing as agencies, playing as tax practitioners, etc. 4 Physical and contextual fidelity are observed. √ L2Yes, a physical game was created, and the evergreen design of the board game is a great way to ensure that students are engaged. 5 Balance between technology, mechanics, elements. and dynamics exists.√ L2Yes, the use of augmented reality and the quiz application incorporates different mechanics to engage learners. Furthermore, augmented reality contextualizes game characters and provides a storytelling element that can further engage students. 6 Appropriate feedback to players/students and lecturers possible.√ L2Yes 7 Appropriate levels of challenge (problem-solving) link with curriculum. √ L2Yes, the fact that students strategically plan how they move along the board and the dynamic nature of constructing the board provide different levels of challenges that enable students to engage with different aspects of the curriculum. The quiz questions can also be adapted according to the year level of students; all these different aspects ensure that levels of challenge link with the curriculum. The fact that there is also scaffolding of knowledge enables final-year students to master skills and concepts of all year levels as questions build on each other. This enables reflection and revision. 8 Game attributes such as luck or change observed. √

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L2Yes, the board is dynamic and can change every time. Students also build the board at random, and they plan the path they want to move in. This feature includes a luck aspect, and the event cards include luck and change aspects. This ensures that the game is always dynamic but also challenging. 9 An overall fun experience. √ L2This game is really fun. The design of the components and game is adaptable to other fields and disciplines. This incorporates another element of fun. The game in itself will engage students and provide them with a learning experience that they will remember. Adapted from Foshay (2014). L2: This independent lecturer is an expert in communication and media studies. The expert researches multimedia learning and instructional design by approaching research from both educational and communications perspectives. As a person, this expert is also a board game enthusiast and plans to develop a board game in the future for corporate communication and media studies education.

107 The feedback from the two independent lecturers indicated that the design aspects contained in the framework were all present and observable during play. The lecturers also indicated that a nexus between teaching and learning was observed and that a symbiosis existed between commercial game identifiers and serious game identifiers.

Furthermore, curriculum outcomes, game elements, game mechanics, and game dynamics were detected.

The lecturers also indicated that the Liike mobile quiz app, as a digital component, adds value because Liike now becomes an evergreen game as the game questions and answers can be updated as learning outcomes are revised.

Furthermore, the lecturers believed a balance between the digital components/technology, mechanics, elements, and dynamics exists. The use of AR contextualizes game characters and provides a storytelling element that can engage players (students).

Moreover, the lecturers verbally indicated that they would be able to use the framework to design their own serious games as teaching and learning tools in their respective fields of teaching. Due to this feedback, the PhD candidate presented an online

“Introduction to Serious Game Design”⁹ workshop at NWU, South Africa. Supplementary workshops will be presented in 2022, during which the framework will be utilized in depth because additional validation of the framework will only be possible when third-party evaluation can be conducted by lecturers who want to use the framework for their own serious game design in other curricula or modules.

9 This presentation is available at:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12hGnyDBpW-lBLBEBvKDzHEwhmfrkCoBj?usp=sharing

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