SEASTARS
Serious Gaming For Girls
Author(s): Jessie Brown , Adrienne Wallace , Tessa Love , Dr. Lakshmi Prayaga
Abstract:
Serious games are a combination of entertainment games and educational content. Serious
games are generally games used for training, advertising, simulation, or education. In
addition to the practical usage of the game, serious games need to adhere to the same
marketability standard as general entertainment games; meaning they must have elements of
entertainment such as competitiveness, visual appeal, and distinct to the target audience.
The foremost goal of the MRO-W research is to encourage females to pursue research
projects, which are interdisciplinary by nature with an applied computer science
component. This project will provide a realistic research experience for the female
undergraduates by active involvement in research, planning, and design of the game for
economic education. Students will be able to refine their programming skills, apply them
to educational research, and work closely with female students, facilitating a
mentor/apprentice relationship. The desired outcome of a relationship such as the
mentor/apprentice (female/female) is to further increase interest levels in future female
university students. Mall Crawl is a simulation game developed for the purpose of
encouraging female high school students participate in educational gaming. While Mall
Crawl is intended for educational purposes, the elements used will be widely similar to
entertainment games.