Designing Effective Educational Escape Games: Results from the Design-Based Research Project chemical [esc]ape

Little is known about how to design an educational escape game that simultaneously exploits motivational advantages and generates a learning outcome. The research project chemical [esc]ape fills this research gap by designing and investigating an entirely digital educational escape game (EEG) to introduce the galvanic metal series to students. Throughout an iterative design process─including repeated testing with more than 130 students─specific design elements were incorporated to create an enjoyable escape room experience while facilitating a learning goal. The effectiveness of the final design was evaluated using pre-tests/post-tests and a post-game survey of 23 students aged 15 and 16. The results revealed both a significant increase in content knowledge with a high effect (p < 0.001, r = 0.792) and a high level of reported enjoyment. The results of the evaluation indicated that several characteristic design elements, e.g., the overarching goal or solving various puzzles, are crucial to the gaming experience. However, not all the design elements, such as the narrative, played an essential role in chemical [esc]ape. These findings offer insights into the design of EEGs that effectively balance motivation and learning in chemical education. (Link to the game: https://nawikonzepte.uni-muenster.de/chemicalescape).