Computer game development as a means of teaching programming: Didactic potential and a methodological model

Computer game development is considered in the article as a technology for teaching programming that links learners’ intrinsic motivation with the mastery of algorithmic constructs. The aim of the study presented in the article is to systematize approaches to using game development in programming education and to propose a didactic model that maps the stages of creating a game onto programming constructs and target competencies. The method is an analytical review of Russian- and English-language sources (constructionism, computational thinking, meta-analyses of the effectiveness of educational games) followed by conceptualization. Two roles of games in learning are distinguished — the game as a means of presenting content and the game as an object of development; the latter is found more productive for programming education. Three levels of tools are identified — block-based environments, scripting and professional engines — and matched to educational levels and the complexity of the constructs involved. A five-stage model is proposed (concept — mechanics — implementation — debugging — release), at each stage of which specific constructs (loops, conditionals, events, data structures) and meta-subject practices (decomposition, debugging, iterative design) are activated. Conditions of effectiveness are formulated in line with the meta-analytic estimate of a positive but design-dependent effect of educational games; risks (entertainment displacing learning goals, uneven cognitive load, assessment difficulty) and ways to mitigate them are outlined. The conclusions are applicable to the design of informatics courses and extracurricular activities; the limitation is the predominance of foreign empirical evidence and the need for local verification of the model.

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