Exploring the impact of digital gameplay on behavioral intentions in learning graphics programming courses

The importance of gameplay extends beyond mere entertainment, playing a crucial role in shaping behavioral intentions (BIs) in various contexts. This research aims to discover how digital gameplay influences students’ BIs, mainly in the context of technology adoption in education. The main objective is to investigate the impact of digital gameplay on students. This study is based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), which serves as the theoretical framework consisting of six hypotheses for research. This study aimed to assess the frequency and nature of engagement in digital gameplay while measuring students’ acceptance of technology adoption. This study was conducted during the first academic semester, from October 1, 2023, until January 18, 2024. The survey was distributed among 125 participants from two departments English and information technology students. Unlike previous studies that mostly focused on the entertainment value or reasoning benefits of gameplay, this research uniquely integrates digital gameplay within the framework of technology acceptance in an educational setting. By applying TAM, this study provides empirical evidence on how gameplay engagement can influence students’ readiness to adopt technology, offering new insights into the intersection of gaming, education, and technology adoption. The results highlight the potential of digital games as a leisure activity and a useful tool to promote technology acceptance were perceived usefulness (PU) R-squared (0.532) and the factors connected to PU also supported (technology integration PC = 0.402 and perceived ease of use PC = 0.446) effective integration in educational settings. This result suggests that incorporating digital gameplay into educational strategies may effectively promote more receptive attitudes toward technology among students.