Players Making Decisions, 2nd Edition

24. Learning and Constructivism

Teaching is an act of persuasion.

—DANIEL T. WILLINGHAM

Games are largely about learning. That is not to say that games are essentially edutainment, but that most games involve learning new concepts, mechanics, tactics, or strategies. A designer’s job is to make new games or update existing games with new parts. To understand how players will play a new game or new parts of a game, you need to understand how players will interact with that new information. Thus, a designer needs to know how people learn.

Edutainment is a marketing portmanteau for “educational entertainment.” Although games involve learning in general, edutainment games aim to teach the player something that is applicable outside the space of the ...