Learning by doing:Intrinsic Integration directs attention to increase learning in games

Educational games have long been seen as having great potential, but evidence for their effectiveness is mixed, suggesting deficiencies in our theoretical understanding of learning in games and associated design principles. The principle of “Intrinsic integration” of learning content with game mechanics (Hapgood and Ainsworth, 2011) increases learning in educational games, but the theoretical mechanisms behind the principle are unclear, leading to implementation issues. In response, we performed a pre-registered study (n=210) to test possible motivational, cognitive load or attentional mechanisms for moderating learning at an abstract learning task within an educational game similar to Pacman. Learning was higher in the intrinsically integrated version with no significant effects of motivation or cognitive load leading to the conclusion that intrinsic integration increased learning via an attentional mechanism where players only pay attention to features needed for the game task and ignore task-irrelevant information. We discuss theoretical implications for game learning as well as insights for designers of educational games.