Perspective: The creation of "Newsgames" as a teaching method-Empirical observations

2026-01-05

AI Summary

This study investigates how the creation of newsgames—serious games grounded in real-world news events—can enhance information literacy, critical thinking, and multi-perspective understanding among students in introductory engineering courses. For the first time, the project systematically integrates newsgame development into engineering pedagogy, guiding students to use accessible game-authoring tools such as RPG Maker and The Games Factory 2 to articulate viewpoints and engage in media-based discourse. Over three years, 80 students produced 17 newsgames, demonstrating marked improvements in evidence-based argumentation, perspective-taking, and cross-media expression. The findings affirm the feasibility of this approach within engineering education and expand the pedagogical role of games as vehicles for engaging with complex social issues.

Technology Category

Humans and AI: Game Design — Procedural Content Generation & StorytellingKnowledge Representation and Reasoning: ArgumentationCognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Computational Creativity

Application Category

Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web learning to rank, online learning, and counterfactual learning for rankingResponsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomyWeb Mining and Content Analysis: Web data provenance, reliability, and authenticity

Abstract

This chapter reports an empirical teaching experience integrating newsgame creation-serious games addressing current events and contributing to public debate-into an introductory game design course for engineering students. From 2010 to 2012, around 80 students produced 17 games on diverse news topics (e.g., H1N1 influenza, Megaupload shutdown, Tunisian Revolution, Haiti earthquake), relying on online journalistic sources and using accessible development tools suited to mixed programming backgrounds (RPG Maker, The Games Factory 2, Flash, Java). The authors argue that designing newsgames fosters learning outcomes beyond technical design skills: (1) thorough information seeking and documentation of real-world issues, (2) exchange and confrontation of viewpoints through contrasting game interpretations of the same event, and (3) classroom debates about the legitimacy and limits of video games as an expressive medium for sensitive topics. The paper concludes that newsgame design can support the development of reasoning skills (evidence-based argumentation and perspective-taking) and suggests extending the approach to other serious game types to further explore its educational potential.

Problem

• Newsgames
• game design education
• serious games
• perspective-taking
• evidence-based argumentation

Innovation

• Newsgames
• Serious games
• Game-based learning
• Perspective-taking
• Evidence-based argumentation