Educational Game Design: Creating Learning Games and Simulations

Games have a unique power to captivate minds, but designing them to actually teach requires a deep understanding of both play and pedagogy. This text-based course guides you through the foundational principles of educational game design, helping you turn learning objectives into interactive experiences. By reading through our structured lessons, you will learn how to conceptualize, prototype, and evaluate both digital and analog learning games. You will gain the skills needed to align game mechanics with educational goals and measure student engagement effectively. What you will learn: Understand the core theories of play-based learning and cognitive development; Design balanced game mechanics that reinforce specific learning objectives; Create paper prototypes and low-fidelity digital drafts for educational testing; Apply modern accessibility standards to ensure inclusive game experiences; Conduct structured playtesting sessions to gather actionable learner feedback; Implement games and simulations successfully in diverse educational environments. The course begins with essential terminology and the psychology of learning through play, before moving into practical prototyping techniques and evaluation frameworks. You will analyze written case studies and complete design exercises to build your first educational game concept from scratch. This course is designed for aspiring educational game designers, teachers, instructional designers, and hobbyists, with no prior programming or game design experience required. Start reading today to discover how to transform learning into an engaging interactive adventure.