Anti-plagiarism adventure game: Using visual novels for feasible game-based learning

In higher education, digital game-based learning has gained substantial attention as an innovative and engaging approach to enhancing learning experiences. Game-based approaches can be used at all stages of education to provide practical applications and experiential learning instead of focusing solely on theoretical or conceptual learning. This paper explores the effectiveness of using a visual novel as a low-resource tool to promote plagiarism awareness in undergraduates. The voluntary study was broken into two parts: a pre and post-test assessment to measure the game's impact on students' knowledge of plagiarism (n = 66) and a questionnaire with additional qualitative input (n = 104). The results demonstrated a statistically significant increase in test scores, supporting the potential to deliver educational content - in this case, important policies. Furthermore, the qualitative data showed that the participants had a positive experience interacting with the game. Overall, visual novels may be an effective game-based medium for instruction - especially where budgets are limited.