Design is not only about aesthetics. It’s about intersections, and especially those intersections that connect to human emotions. Mobile learning-game designers must consider both the learning and gaming contexts as they develop solutions. Striking the right balance is a blend of art and science. So how do successful learning games get this right? Understanding the fundamentals of game design and learning design can help you lay the foundation, but it doesn’t get you to mastery. You have to look at the patterns.

In this session, you’ll learn about the patterns underlying successful learning design. Patterns that can make designing a successful learning game easier. You’ll see the process used, as well as examples of how to apply the patterns to simple designs. You’ll learn how top game designers baked success into their offerings, and see how we evaluated dozens of top Android and iOS games and categorized them based on dimensions of game and learning design to reveal patterns that you can apply in other contexts. This session will give you the tools to make sure you get game design right.

In this session, you will learn:

• How to identify contexts in which mobile learning games are likely to be the right solution
• The importance of key game elements in evoking emotions and enhancing engagement
• How nuances in applying game elements tip the scales between motivating or distracting players from learning
• The aspects of game design that are most important for mobile-learning designers to master
• Resources that can help you level-up your mobile-learning game-design skills
• How to leverage patterns to assure greater success in designing mobile learning games

Audience:
Novice and intermediate designers, developers, and managers.

Technology discussed in this session:
iOS and Android.