Life on the Edge, a single-player educational video game for biology students, was created by a multi-disciplinary team at MacEwan. Though last year’s original release was funded by internal grants, an update released this month was funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) grant and will result in a study about user experience and progression.

Dr. Ross Shaw originally came up with the idea for the game – which teaches players about cellular makeup, needs and defenses – in 2018. He noticed that students were playing video games more frequently and wondered if he could capture that engagement within his class in a serious or educational video game, while also making it fun to play. The assistant professor of biological sciences teamed up with design profs Dr. Isabelle Sperano and Dr. Robert Andruchow, computer science prof Dr. Dana Cobzas to create a full concept of what the game might look like. They brought in music profs Dr. Emilie LeBel and John McMillan to create a prototype that eventually led to a full release consisting of five levels of gameplay. Since then, the group has been working on an update that will allow them to gather and analyze information about how student users play the game – and learn from it.

A pilot study demonstrated significant learning impacts from the game, which ultimately led to external funding. “We received a SSHRC grant to study the learning impacts of the game. It’s two years of funding, mainly to pay students,” says Dr. Shaw.

The team brought on design students Lisa Cox and Vik Chu to update the game’s interface, and computer science students Max Schafer and Sam Whiteley to implement changes and begin collecting data. The update is also a collaboration with Dr. Ji Yae Bong and graduate students Shahrom Ali and Liam Byrne of Concordia University, Montreal.

Working with such a large team was both challenging and rewarding, according to the students involved.

“There were lots of learning opportunities with all of these different perspectives,” says Cox. “The bigger the team is, the more complex it can be. But you can also find really valuable information and yield special outcomes that you wouldn't have gotten if there weren't a bunch of different people.” Chu agrees, noting that working with developers and computer scientists has expanded his knowledge base and understanding beyond what he would otherwise have learned in design courses.

The study will run throughout the 2023/24 academic year, with BIOL 107 – Introduction to Cell Biology and BIOL 101 – Current Issues in Human Biology students as research participants. Dr. Shaw notes that a control group will use an alternate learning resource to accurately test the effectiveness of the Life on the Edge game on learning and information retention.

The modifications for the student version of the game will track players’ habits, including how often they click on instructional material or seek help, how quickly they can complete levels, how long they can maintain homeostasis in their cell and total playing time. Students participating in the study will log in with their student ID numbers so that data can be collected and analyzed regarding how they use the game.

“I eagerly anticipate seeing how the research project evolves and look forward to seeing the player and student feedback,” says Schafer. “It has been an exceptional learning journey and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.”

Due to the nature of student involvement, not all students who worked on the update will be a part of the remainder of the study. Both Cox and Whiteley graduated this spring, rendering them unable to continue in their respective roles.

“We do a rotation of cohorts,” explains Dr. Shaw. Since the initial development of the game, there have been more than 15 students involved in the project at various stages. “There's a couple of students continuing next year. They'll be doing background data management and fixing bugs that might come up in the game that we didn't predict.”

Whiteley notes that even though students don’t always get to see the research through to the very end, the experience is invaluable. “While the technical knowledge is useful, the best part is gaining confidence in building and working on something actually being used.”

Life on the Edge has received positive feedback from the academic community, and is available to download and play for free on Steam.