Learner-oriented game design: the evolution of cipher

This paper explores the integration of a digital game, Cipher, into language learning. It emphasises the balance between maintaining a playful game approach and ensuring robust pedagogical foundations. Motivating learners, especially for endangered languages (in this case Irish), can be challenging, but digital game-based learning offers an effective solution. The game has evolved via a pragmatic, pedagogically informed, learner-oriented game design approach. The game includes key elements such as levels, power-ups, scoring system and life mechanism all of which are important in maintaining the game ethos, in challenging the player and maintaining interest and to avoid the chocolate-covered broccoli scenario. The game framework, derived from an existing model, is modular and designed to be language independent. This enables the game to be adapted to the local culture, language and context. Crucially, the co-creation process, involving feedback and insights from teachers and learners, has driven the game's refinement through multiple iterations, resulting in enhanced content and features. This semi-agile approach enabled the evolution of the game through various stages to the current iteration, featuring more appropriate texts, improved game components and planned enhancements including AI-generated audio, images, and other innovative features. Cipher serves as a valuable asset for low-resourced languages, fostering inclusivity by catering to individual learning speeds and diverse learner needs. This paper outlines an approach centred on reuse/repurpose, pragmatism, and co-creation, which holds promise for application across various other contexts.