Visualizing B Cell Development: Creating an Immunology Video Game
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Date
2016-03-22
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Johns Hopkins University
Abstract
The foundational immunology concepts of lymphocyte development are important for beginning science students to comprehend. Video games offer the potential for a novel approach to teaching this complex subject matter by more effectively engaging students in this material. However, currently available educational video games intended to teach immunology have distinct limitations such as a lack of explicit demonstrations of the stages of lymphocyte development and clonal selection.
This project identifies the content focus and gameplay mechanics of currently available immunology video games. Using this as a basis, a novel approach for developing an immunology video game was outlined with the primary goal of improving integration of educational content. A proof of concept was developed for the B lymphocyte development portion of the game content and a partial prototype was developed in
Unity 5 3D.
The important contribution of this thesis was the development of a new approach to designing a more effective educational video game specifically for immunology. Outcomes of this research will serve to inform future biomedical communicators on how to develop content for active learning games in immunology and provide a guide for designing full length educational video games featuring novel gameplay mechanics such as those identified through this project.
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Keywords
immunology, lymphocyte development, video game, educational video game