In case you havent guessed, I'm an avid gamer. I know, please mask your shock. I also work in higher education. So what better way to homogenize my existence than to mash an interest and my professional life together in a Frankenstinian ball of joy. In case you are wondering, yes, that was as fun to write as it looks like it was =)
An enormous part of that marriage between gaming and learning is thinking about ways to make gaming practical (and enjoyable) for people who may not be gamers by natures. After all, much as people have individual learning styles, they also have their own gaming styles. These styles can range from the ultra hardcore to the "get that evil demon machine away from me". That diversity makes it uniquely challenging to conceptualize games that can not only be used to teach something, but are also enjoyable enough that they encourage learning in ways that reading a textbook cant. So where do you start? Figuring out what barriers exist between people and Edugames, and how to combat them.
While not focussed on the educational gaming space, Gamasutra has put together an interesting read on some of the common problems that effect the gaming experience from a design perspective. Their article also talks about accessibility issues (for disabled users) that are an often overlooked area of gaming - one that would be a critical topic when designing gaming experiences in an educational context. They raise some of the common problems in games today that can discourage people from playing them (too unforgiving, not enough help, too fast pace, too many loading screens, etc), and a few options for combating those problems.
I do think the article oversimplifies a few issues (and is missing a few as well) but its a good starting point for thinking about designing a useable, accessible gaming experience.
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