Learning Object-Oriented Programming With Computer Games: A Game-Based Learning Approach

Using traditional ways to learn object-oriented programming in tertiary education is insufficient due to the new teaching and learning pedagogy. The major purpose of this study is to propose a game-based learning conceptual framework which is suitable for creating games for learning object-oriented programming in the tertiary level. This study presents the outcome from an extensive field study at university level, where computer science degree students learn object-oriented programming with computer games that emphasize game level design, gameplay, and player experience. The proposed game in this study only focuses on the player experience where the player is able to learn object-oriented programming while playing the game without using any coding exercises. Games made for coding practice can be very tedious, making it difficult to motivate students and providing a negative perception for learning programming. In this paper, it describes a game-based learning approach framework which focuses on gameplay and player experience to achieve the learning purpose and retain student motivations.