Serious games for environmental education

Abstract

Abstract Serious games are increasingly popular in multiple fields, including education and environmental engagement. We conducted a systematic review to examine the reasons for this increasing popularity, the features of successful serious games and the current trend of serious games application in environmental education. Our systematic search revealed 56 records of papers (from years 2009 to 2023) on the use of serious games for environmental education. Thirty‐five were published in the recent 5 years reflecting a growing interest in this area. The games were aimed at imparting knowledge ( N = 28), changing attitude ( N = 28) and changing behaviour ( N = 19). Reasons for the increased application of serious games include the raising awareness on serious games and growing investment in serious games development and research, as well as better technological access through mobile devices. Successful serious games exhibit the following features: an immersive experience, meaningful engagement, a learn‐by‐doing involvement, simulation of real‐world environmental problems, autonomy in game decisions and the presence of a guiding host. This review also revealed two categories of digital serious games: computer games ( N = 14) and mobile apps (N = 11), and three categories of physical games: board games ( N = 6), card game ( N = 1) and role‐playing games ( N = 2). The gaps include (1) the lack of in‐game experience data that limits our understanding of the impacts of commercial games, (2) variation in game experience and conservation experience among participants and how this translates to the impacts of serious games, and (3) lack of understanding of how the effects of serious games with high complexities on adults learning. Serious games are increasingly being digitised and moving towards location‐based games, alternate reality, augmented reality and virtual reality. These games can facilitate interaction between learners and the natural environment, and in turn strengthen environmental awareness and appreciation.