Applications of educational narrative games: from health to sciences

Applications of educational narrative games: from health to sciences Kalli Koulloufidou1, Anastasia Eleftheriou1*, Kostas Kouvaris1, Alexandros Petropoulos1 1Affiliation: T.R.I. Technologos Research and Innovation Services ltd *contact: anastasia@technologos.com.cy Abstract. Educational narrative games are an emerging form of learning that incorporates elements of storytelling and simulations focusing on the emotional connection between the student and the subject. They are an effective way to reinforce understanding of important complex concepts, provide context for new information and foster a culture for learning. Educators are enabled to create content that is more engaging and fun than traditional textbooks or lectures, which can be difficult for some students to follow. In addition, narrative games can be used in conjunction with other forms of education such as videos to help students retain information more easily. In Technologos, we have successfully applied narrative games to address numerous societal problems in a variety of settings, ranging from sexual health education and digital literacy for aging populations to internet safety for young students and data science. For example, in one of our projects, Mindland, we use educational narrative games to teach mindfulness skills to youth. Through these games, students can learn how to be more aware of their own feelings and emotions, which can help them manage stress and anxiety, improve their focus and attention span, and improve their memory retention skills. In addition, with these skills they will be able to make better decisions when faced with stressful situations or making important decisions that affect their lives as well as those around them. Educational games have proven to provide better motivation, immersion and learning outcomes through adaptiveness to rich environmental settings, intrinsic imaginations and interaction with empathetic “non-playable” characters. We believe that educational narrative games have a lot of potential for future development; they revolutionise how individuals learn while still being able to interact with others around them through gameplay. Keywords: serious games, narrative games, health, sciences, interactive education, educational technology.