ABSTRACT
There is something about games that excites and enthuses people, that pulls them in and keeps them playing, that motivates them to play again. Of course, I am not referring to all games and all people, but there is something in games that is compelling and fascinating, and in this chapter I am going to look at what this might be and how the engagement inherent in games for many people might be theorised. In the second part of this book, I looked at the ways in which games can facilitate active learning by providing experiential problem-solving environments. In this third part I will move on to consider the theories and research that are related to the use of digital games for motivation and engagement. While computer games are certainly not motivational for all people, particularly adults, they do provide structures that draw players into the game and keep them playing. This provides additional support for the benefits of digital games for learning (beyond the argument that they are effective learning environments in their own right) as there is some evidence of a link between intrinsic motivation in games and learning (Cordova & Lepper, 1996), although there is also a danger that high engagement with a game — particularly emotional engagement — may become a distraction, and that high engagement with a game does not necessarily mean the intended learning is taking place unless the intended learning outcomes are closely aligned with the gaming outcomes. Games are intrinsically motivating for many players; people will take part voluntarily for no other reason than to play the game. Of course, this is problematic in formal educational games where the primary motivation is to learn rather than to be entertained. This highlights a paradox of formal educational gaming: one of the benefits often cited for using games to learn in formal contexts is that they are intrinsically motivating (although this is a gross over-generalisation) and players take part voluntarily in game play. Leaving aside the fact that many people do not find games motivating, and certainly are not motivated by all types of games, there is still the issue of the voluntary nature of gaming in educational settings. By making a game a compulsory part of a formal educational curriculum, extrinsic motivation is automatically imposed and the freedom of choice removed. While for some players this might be a necessary driving force to ensure participation in the game, for others the external motivation may negatively impact upon the genuine intrinsic motivation. Using a game in a compulsory setting is, in effect, undermining the game itself and making it, by definition, cease to be a game.
