PBL in Serious Games course, IPP

Course overview

This course introduces games and serious games as paradigms of graphics and multimedia applications. This course provides the concepts and practice necessary to understand, analyse, design, develop, test and evaluate games and serious games.

In the end students will be able to understand and implement concepts, methods and processes for game idealization, design and development; Understand, identify and compare concepts, methods and processes for serious game idealization, design and development; Select, use and evaluate specific environments and tools for game and serious game development; Conceive, design, implement, test and evaluate a serious game. Other competences relate to project planning and execution, team forming and leading, decision making and problem solving and final product presentation.

Participants in piloting 

This course is part of the MSC in Computer Engineering of the School of Engineering of the Porto Polytechnic.

2018/2019: 35 students

2019/2020: 24 students

Timeframe

2018/2019

2019/2020

Use of ALIEN services and tools

This course pedagogical methodology is based on Active Learning and Project Based Learning and currently it follows ALIEN’s methodological approach. Students start by evaluating existing serious games, following a predetermined method that has to be adjusted to the game they selected. Then they report their findings. Collectively, the concept of Serious Games is discussed as a result of all the contributions. Then, students are asked to form small teams (2-3 members) to design, develop and evaluate a serious game therefore following the entire cycle from the idea till the tested product. In the end, the groups present and defend their products. Students then complete a group evaluation where every team member’s individual contribution is assessed.