The Design and Evaluation of a Multiplayer Serious Game for Pharmacy Students

Educational computer games are increasingly being used in higher education and offer the potential of greater engagement, improved results and simpler, centralised updating of teaching material. However the evidence for the usefulness of such technologies is not yet conclusive. Consequently there is a need for improved design and evaluation of educational games. The aim of this study is to identify a successful game design for a multiplayer serious game to be used in learning. The design is being developed and evaluated through the creation of a game called 'Pharmacy Challenge' to allow small groups of pharmacy students at Kingston University (KU) to simultaneously revise certain aspects of the pharmacy curriculum in timed quiz-based challenges. The game is a web application with both single and multiplayer modes that can be run from a web browser on phones, tablet devices and PCs. All activities performed by players including time of access, time to answer and questions answered can be stored in data logs for future analysis. A pre-intervention survey conducted on students' perceptions on educational gaming informed the design of the game, which indicated that most students tend to play games on mobile devices. The game was then trialled on a group of around 60 mostly female students on a module running on years 3 and 4 of the pharmacy course over a week long period which could be played at any time of the day. Following the trial a post-intervention survey was used to assess the students' perception of the game. Students found the game interesting, stimulating and helpful and they identified its potential to motivate them and to facilitate their learning Positive responses indicate that games can be a valuable addition to pharmacy curriculum. The successful introduction of the game into the pharmacy curriculum demonstrates the value of education games in learning and student engagement.