Do Commercial Video Games have Educational Value?

The gaming industry is a lucrative big business. According to a recent review by NewZoo, there are more than 2.7 billion video gamers all over the world (NewZoo, 2019) that produced a market worth of $159.3 billion in 2020 alone (NewZoo, 2020). Of that $159.3 billion worth, more than 85% of the total game industry comes from free-to-play games (Fortunaly, 2020). This accounts for approximately $135.4 billion of the market share. While these statistics are not surprising or alarming considering the history of video games, the numbers raise eyebrows many households ask: do free-for-play commercial video games have educational value?

Video Game Review

To determine whether free-for-play commercial video games have educational value, I will play the video game, Homescapes, for seven weeks. Homescapes, a free-for-play game developed by Playrix, is a “fun match-3 puzzler” with an interior design twist (Semel, n.d.) that uses a protagonist character, Austin, and a storyline to renovate the family’s mansion (Playrix, n.d.). It is a spin-off version of the popular game, Gardenscapes (Cohen, 2020). This game is intended to be a single player game for mobile IOS and Android devices. It has gained popularity as being one of the “most addictive mobile games” (Cohen, 2020) and one of the top fifteen games in Apple games, ranking number 2 in puzzle games. Despite its popularity to entertain for hours, the game has received a lot of media attention and criticism in their use of advertising. However, the claims have not swayed Homescapes enthusiasts.

What’s all the Hype?

Common Sense Media reviewed the game appropriate for ages seven and older with an educational value rating of four out of five stars (Semel, n.d.). Apple features the game as a heartwarming, adventure that allows users to play mini-games, design, renovate, match, follow a story, unlock hidden rooms, and earn rewards while meeting new characters and a naughty cat along the way. The game released an update that expands the homescape to a lake house, workout sessions, and knowledge challenges.

Common Sense Media and PCMag.com are not the only outlets raving about this game, over one million Apple users rate the game as four point five out of five stars. Apple gamers, reviewed the game as a “traditional match-3 mechanics game that goes beyond by intertwining a well-developed storyline with constant twists and turns” while one-star reviewers commonly reference false advertising and “mini-casinos” as the downfall of the game. Homescapes Facebook game reviewers rate the game as four point five out of five amongst half a million people. One reviewer coined it as a “great way to challenge your mind and pass the time if you’re in quarantine. But I will have to say this game should come with a warning that it is very addictive.”

A recent Google Play data report outlines how game developers utilize the principle of affinity to keep audiences engaged. The goal of the research is to analyze game player behaviors. The findings reported Playrix Homescapes had high engagement retention rates (Crovetto, 2020). Based on the volume of reviews and various review platforms, the value of the reviews are reliable. There seems to be a consensus among game reviewers that align with the professional reviewers. Common Sense Media uses a rating system “based on child development best practices that display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality and learning potential”. This would indicate the reviewers did a thorough analysis of Homescapes while Google Play took it a step further to analyze why people play the game.

This game was chosen to gain insight into the popularity of the game, uncover the design mechanics that make it so appealing, and explore the dichotomous nature the game invokes among users of all ages. Aside from the hype and varying viewpoints, this game was selected based on interest in home renovation, design, puzzles, and a narrative storyline. Does this game in fact deliver a “twist to interior design” or is it an advertising fraud as some claim? Thus, the only way to find out is to immerse oneself in the culture.

What can we learn from video games?

The main goal is to learn how the developers designed the game. What is it about this game that has reviewers at separate ends of the spectrum? What is it about the game that has made it so enticing and addicting that it is coined as being one of the highest engagement gaming models? Considering the hype, how do the developers tap into the human behavior aspect to engage and retain gamers? How does this particular game utilize the various lenses of game design? Most importantly, what is the educational value of the game?

What do I hope to accomplish by playing the game?

By playing the game, I hope to accomplish the mechanics of game design and how this particular game aligns to the various lenses Jesse Schell outlines in his text, “The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses”. I also hope to gain greater insight into how developers tap into human behavior and how the game applies to various learning principles. In other words, can an entertainment game also solicit valuable learning experiences.

What is the potential learning or educational value of the game?

Based on the review and research conducted, Homescapes does appear to have educational value. It appears to align with behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, and connectivism learning theories. Through the use of rewards and incentives (negative and positive), the developers use a form of operant conditioning. Gamers are motivated by the use of the rewards and their ability to progress to the next level. From a cognitive theoretical lens, the game appears to promote schema theory in how the brain responds to stimuli to improve memory and retention. The simple act of “doing” and playing the game demonstrates a form of constructivism coupled with the act of constructing and designing renovations. Additionally, the added features to join teams promotes a connectivism aspect whereby gamers can learn and collaborate with other gamers. While these are all potential learning opportunities, the game does have great potential to promote literacy, numeracy, critical thinking, problem solving, and social-emotional skills. The narrative storyline can promote valuable literacy skills such as reading fluency and reading comprehension. The match-3 puzzler can promote numeracy skills (pattern recognition, spatial awareness/perception, cardinal/ordinal number properties, and geometric shapes) as well as critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The storyline of the game can also teach valuable social-emotional skills such as responsibility and perseverance. The only way to truly know is to step into the doorway and begin the Homescapes adventure. References Apple. (n.d.). Homescapes. App Store Preview. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/homescapes/id1195621598 Cohen, J. (2020, March 1). 23 Addictive games you should download now. PCMag.com. https://www.pcmag.com/news/21-addictive-phone-games Crovetto, F. (2020, January 16). Understand your players better with affinity learnings. Medium. https://medium.com/googleplaydev/understand-your-players-better-with-affinity-learnings-55a49532d163 Homescapes. (n.d.). Reviews [Facebook page]. Facebook. Retrieved January 14, 2021 from https://www.facebook.com/pg/homescapes/reviews/?ref=page_internal Playrix. (n.d.). Homescapes. https://www.playrix.com/homescapes/ Semel, P. (n.d.). Homescapes app review. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/homescapes#csm-tooltip-about-our-ratings Video game industry statistics in 2020. (n.d.) WePC. Retrieved January 14, 2020, from https://www.wepc.com/news/video-game-statistics/