Game Making for Learning: a Systematic Review of the Research Literature

Game making as a strategy for supporting learning processes is a research topic that has roots stretching back to the constructionist movement of the 1980s and 1990s. However, the current popularity of digital gaming, Game Based Learning (GBL), 21st century skills development and learner-centred strategies is sharping interest in the affordances that digital game making offers and how these can be harnessed in education to enhance learning. This contribution charts the emergence and establishment of learner-driven digital game making through a systematic review of the global literature on the topic published since the early 1980s. It maps out the research concerns under investigation in the field, as gleaned from a dataset of almost 500 publications of different types specifically dedicated to the topic. The review forms part of the author's research activities in game making for learning carried out with an EC co-funded project called MAGICAL (Making Games in Collaboration for Learning). The review begins with a description of the method and procedure adopted for carrying out the literature search and producing a comprehensive dataset of records. This is followed by reporting and analysis of the generated data. The review concludes with a brief discussion and reflection on the results.