Game-based learning and implicit knowledge

Considering that RTW, TWR2 and the rest of the Saga have had a predominately historical emphasis until recently, a natural and central starting point is Adam Chapman's Digital Games as History: How Videogames Represent the Past and Offer Access to Historical Practice (2016). Chapman dedicates large sections of his book to establishing digital games as a source of historical learning. The purpose of this is to understand how far history can be replicated outside of traditional modes of learning such as academic historical writing and historiography. Chapman notes that history in popular culture, digital games included, aims to ‘make meaning of the past’ by using ‘historical themes, theories, evidence and/or arguments’ (Chapman, Reference Chapman2016, p.11). Therefore, whilst digital games do not always retain rigorous historicism, they reflect how current society perceives the past and add great value for that reason. By deconstructing the stigma that popular culture does not offer students (or adults) a valuable source of historical information, Chapman (Reference Chapman2016) introduces a new and rich educational avenue in the guise of digital games.

This is vital in understanding how game-based learning, and TW:S in particular, can increase intercultural communication competence. One area of specific importance to this research paper is ‘ludic aesthetics of historical description’ (Chapman, Reference Chapman2016). In essence, this pertains to how the game developers have decided to visually represent history within their games. Ludic aesthetics of historical description, I believe, can offer more to an historically uninformed student than a radical historicist would believe. These visuals can be a blend of realist and conceptual simulations (as is the case with RTW and TWRII), causing the student to question how far the game that they are playing is a true representation of history. Subsequently, students can become motivated to undergo that research on their own and then engage with traditional and non-traditional sources of history. This is precisely the outcome that this action research paper wishes to produce.

Before students (and indeed any player) can reach that stage, we must ask why people play games in the first place. Chapman (Reference Chapman2016) offers a highly descriptive explanation. He argues that ‘agency’, the ability to control and decide outcome within the programming of a game, has a huge influence in engaging an audience (Chapman, Reference Chapman2016, p. 59). Within agency in historical games there are two subsections; ‘reading’ and ‘doing’. Reading requires players to consume (historical) information that pertains to the outcome of the game. The information provided in Figure 1 is a perfect example of this – players must decide on the basis of the information provided whether the military unit they wish to recruit is of value to them.

Figure 1.

TW:S Player's information view.

They are given both rudimentary military information and added specialist historical information. The second subsection, ‘doing’, is the active participation of a player within a game and largely accounts for why digital games are so engaging.

This can certainly come with its pitfalls. Renniger and Hidi (Reference Renniger and Hedi2016) adopted a blend of educational psychology and neuroscience as the basis of their work, The Power of Interest for Motivation and Engagement. They recounted that a particular after-school club designed to use gaming (World of Warcraft) to help adolescent males develop an interest in effective school-related behaviours proved counterproductive. Students exhibited to researchers a ‘let me know when she stops talking problem’ (Renniger & Hidi, Reference Renniger and Hedi2016, p.109), where they paid little attention to the teacher and listened in so far that it would allow them to return to playing the game faster. In this instance vital information that the teacher is trying to distribute is being directly ignored with latent defiance. This is perhaps due to digital games, even in a traditional classroom setting, causing students to transpose themselves outside of a learning environment and into a non-learning environment. Understanding the nodal point between genuine learning achieved and counter-productive procrastination is therefore vital for any action research aimed at understanding the value of digital game-based learning.

Returning to Chapman (Reference Chapman2016), the agency that accompanies the ‘doing’ part of digital games can also be heightened with two components; real-time strategy (RTS) and realist or conceptual simulation. RTS forces students to be reactive, analytical, and most obviously strategical – the latter will be discussed in greater length in the ‘Research Findings’ section of this essay. RTS is consequently a natural element to most digital games that can be used within the classroom to generate engagement and subsequent motivation. Moreover, RTS can be enhanced through adding collaborative elements to the gaming and learning experience. In discussing the pedagogic benefits to games, Whitton surmised that they promoted ‘active, collaborative and experiential learning’ (Whitton, 2013, p. 425). RTS in a collaborative sphere requires students to work together. They must be in the present and aware of changing configurations in the game (active) and the achievement of success as a collective heightens the experience of the learning (experiential). Finding a way to promote a method of collaborative play in what is predominately a single-player game can be either an obstacle or an opportunity within this research, or indeed any educational research.

Secondly, classical/historical digital games can pique interest and engage students through the way in which they show (simulate) content. Realist simulation, as defined by Chapman (Reference Chapman2016), does not necessarily retain a radically historicist representation. It simply needs to have an historically-informed stylistic approach that implies a general view of history. Realist simulation is engaging and can provide a clear path to motivating students through its ‘high degree of visual specificity’ and some ‘degree of fidelity to the physical evidence of the past and the everyday world’ (Chapman, Reference Chapman2016, p. 61). Seeing the ancient world through the lens of a digital game can, in theory, provide a potentially compelling route to achieving intercultural communication competence and this will be discussed in subtopic I of the Research Findings section of this essay.

Conceptual simulation is less concerned with an audio-visual representation but offers an abstract way to introduce historical elements. In doing so, it can replicate intangible concepts that are accessible to players and students as core game mechanics. One such example from the TW:S is a unit of soldiers moving into specialist formations (in this case a hoplite wall) and explaining their benefits through a mathematical combat bonus (Figure 2). Chapman (Reference Chapman2016) categorises the ‘Decisive Battles’ within TW:S as oscillating between both realist and conceptual simulation. The eclectic approach in RTW and TWR2 provides an opportunity to offer a complete game-based learning experience – the past is brought alive through high resolution graphics and made accessible using a conceptual Heads Up Display (HUD) interface.

Figure 2.

TW:S Hoplite battle formation view.

Attempts to bridge the gap between students and the ancient world has resulted in teachers transforming their practice and thinking innovatively. Craft's chapter in Teaching Classics with Technology is highly useful in understanding how to establish a link between game-based learning and increasing implicit knowledge of antiquity (Craft, Reference Craft, Natoli and Hunt2019). Craft (Reference Craft, Natoli and Hunt2019) believes that using a blended approach of students playing Minecraft and pre-recorded videos of him demonstrating the game can contribute highly to comprehensible input. What is vital, like the realist simulation within TW:S, is the audio-visual aspect of gameplay and pre-recorded videos. They ‘infuse lots of comprehensible meaning into a scene or sequence of scenes while staying in the TL (target language)’ (Craft, Reference Craft, Natoli and Hunt2019, p. 193). The need for greater linguistic proficiency to understand more complex or abstract ideas is reduced which is highly useful for secondary school students, particularly in Key Stage 3. Therefore, the strength of digital games as a tool for learning is that, like videos, they establish meaning with images. If the ludic aesthetics in TW:S can achieve similar results, like Craft with Minecraft, then there is the potential for raising the intercultural communication competence of the students involved in this research.

Minecraft is used by Craft so that ‘student buy-in’ is high to ensure student participation and TL (target language) acquisition (Craft, Reference Craft, Natoli and Hunt2019, p. 183). In contrast to the Total War: Saga series, Minecraft is a popular digital game amongst most children and teens. Almost all students in Craft's lessons have either played the game or have reasonable knowledge of its content and its mechanics. This level of pre-existing familiarity with a digital game has huge benefits, as there is no need to explain game controls in detail and students will readily subscribe to the game if they play it independently. Where the aim of Craft's lessons is to create content compelling enough for students to learn their target language, the aim of this research is to provide content compelling enough to generate an interest in the ancient world and motivate students to be autodidacts.

Game-based learning in increasing motivation: productive or counterproductive?

It is erroneous to suggest that using digital game-based learning will instantly fix years of disinterest in school, or even gradually change the way in which students self-regulate their behaviour. The same students may not even be interested in (digital) games at all. These concerns are raised by Wooten (2013) when discussing that pre-existing literature is quick to assume an increase in intrinsic motivation:

Most of the areas of concern above are valid in this action research paper. I myself found RTW and TWR2 motivating as a younger student and I am now attempting to replicate the same experience in boys that a) may not even need extra motivation to study the ancient world b) have little desire to play a history-based game and c) would much prefer to read a book or watch a documentary to increase their intercultural communication competence.

In addition, digital games can have counterintuitive effects. Some of the more problematic ones are described by Mitchell and Savill-Smith (Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004) who note that as well as the psycho-social issues such as replacing meaningful relationships with a dependency on games, attitudes to school can be significantly altered (Mitchell and Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004). Students are less positive towards school and tend to be those considered to be falling below their academic targets who prefer non-directed time-consuming activities like playing digital games (Mitchell and Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004). This fits in with the case study that Renniger and Hidi discussed concerning the ‘let me know when she stops talking problem’ (Renniger & Hidi, Reference Renniger and Hedi2016, p. 109), where any genuine attempt to transpose digital games into an educational tool can backfire and serve to perpetuate these issues. For the same reason, attempting to generate motivation via digital game-based learning can be counterproductive.

Secondly, digital games can have a desensitising effect on young children that can lead to a predisposition to violence. Mitchell and Savill-Smith (Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004) incorporate a substantial variety of literature, which struggles either way to argue with certainty if playing violent games directly leads to violent behaviour. Yet there is an influence of violent games on cognition. Bensley and Van Eenwyk argue that students can imitate aggressive or immoral behaviour and ‘evoke thoughts of aggression in players, who may be more likely to interpret ambiguous behaviour as aggressive’ (Benslet & Van Eenwyk, cited in Mitchell & Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004, p. 11). This is certainly a concern with TW:S, a game very much built on normalising violence to achieve the end goal. Out of the various genres of digital games, there are supposedly only two that should be used within an educational setting: puzzles and weird games (Mitchell & Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004). It is therefore reasonable to argue that violent digital games do not have a place in the classroom and TW:S, as one such game, should be excluded altogether.

However, whilst there may be violence and underlying competitiveness in certain digital games, they appeal to males for that reason. Males, according to Mitchell and Savill-Smith, ‘play to win and are significantly more likely to play sports simulations and violent games and adventure games’ (Mitchell & Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004, p. 43). The same games elicit visual and spatial skills such as depth perception and image solving. The ability to also expend pent up aggression within the supposedly harmless means of a digital game can be very beneficial. As Bensley and Van Eenwyk argue, digital games can be a safe outlet that ‘has a relaxing effect by channelling latent aggression and therefore has a positive effect on behaviour’ (Bensley & Van Eenwyk, cited in Mitchell & Savill-Smith, Reference Mitchell and Savill-Smith.2004, p. 11). In this way, TW:S may not necessarily help generate motivation in a specific subject, but may help students to self-regulate their behaviour in school and motivate them in general.

If there is also any way in which games can have a direct link to greater intrinsic motivation and appreciation of deep strategy, it may not be in the active participation of the game. Contrary to some of the motivating benefits of agency discussed earlier, Vos et al. argue that there is evidence that ‘game building’ is a more effective means to generate intrinsic motivation (Vos et al., cited in Whitton, 2013, p. 14). The concept of the player as the creator is interesting, as they change from the active role or player to the active role of game-designer. As game-designers, students become the ‘holders of knowledge’ and the teacher in consequence becomes a ‘facilitator of learning’ (Whitton, 2013, p. 13).

This has been experimented with in particular research in STEM subjects. Evans et al. (Reference Evans, Jones and Akalin2017) focused their action research on game-building in the sciences in an attempt to stop the attrition of students in higher academic levels. The emphasis was to motivate students using the MUSIC mode (eMpowerment, Understanding, belief in Succeeding, Interest and pastoral Care) from the teachers. The students played a particular game extensively under supervision to gain familiarity with it and understand its mechanics before designing aspects of the game themselves. Evans et al. (2017) recounted the following:

One of the limitations of combining game-based learning and game- building, however, is the short timeframes that restrict a seamless incorporation into Classics and History curricula. Where game-building may be natural in computer science lessons, other obligations for teachers of Classics and Humanities make this hard to achieve. It is already difficult enough to foresee TW:S in the immediate future becoming a consistent educational tool without a specific blended approach. However, if game-building gains greater traction in motivational studies, then there is a workable means of combining game-building with TW:S. ‘Mods’ (modifications) of games allow greater agency in the design of games and TW:S has a dedicated section for it (Steam Workshop and How to Make Mods, 2020). When students reach a point of familiarity with the content, they can begin to make wholesale changes to the game to offer more historical representation which offers a separate, more holistic means of generating motivation.

Engagement and Motivation in KS3 students.

To become autodidacts, students must transition away from the rewards that inspire extrinsic motivation (like top grades or even parental approval). They should see the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge as a reward in itself. Renniger and Hidi recount that greater research is being conducted to understand the intrinsic rewards of ‘curiosity and interest’ (Renniger & Hidi, Reference Renniger and Hedi2016, p. 38) which inevitably lead to intrinsic motivation. This is an important link to establish, as raising engagement in class does not always lead to a strong intrinsic motivation to study a subject – interest and/or curiosity are vital ingredients in the process. Moreover, Gottlieb et al. (2016) argue that ‘intrinsic rewards may be based on uncertainty, surprise, and learning progress and that such rewards may be learned or innate’ (Gottlieb et al., as cited in Renniger & Hidi, Reference Renniger and Hedi2016, p. 39). Therefore, whilst some students will have a greater capacity to become autodidacts, it is promising to note that there is a capacity to develop intrinsic motivation over time. For the latter, this is where digital games such as TW:S may prove to be the catalyst.

Whilst Mccrea's condensed Motivated Teaching (2020) may not be considered as academic as other literature, it has been incorporated in this study for a particular reason. Namely, Motivated Teaching is included in the school's continuous professional development sessions for Newly Qualified Teachers. In consequence I developed ideas from the book that would allow me to remain consistent with motivational values and methods in the classroom whilst also informing my own practice. Mccrea argues for five ways in which teachers can motivate students; secure success, run routines, nudge norms, build belonging and boost buy-in (Mccrea, Reference Mccrea2020). As the last method, ‘boost buy-in’, has been referred to implicitly and explicitly in the literature review, I will focus on the fourth method - building belonging.

A pertinent subtopic of Mccrea's ‘building belonging’ is cultivating affinity (2020). Cultivating affinity is itself broken up into three more subsections: a) Unifying Purpose b) Shared Identity and c) Common Ground. The first two are highly relevant within this research. With the right approach students will first gain a shared identity, creating togetherness as a collective that will drive them to achieving the unifying purpose. Identity is similarly described by Renniger and Hidi (Reference Renniger and Hedi2016) as a means of understanding why certain individuals hold particular interests. They will consequently absorb information differently to others. For example, a classicist may digest a piece of information about Pythagoras’ Theorem differently to a mathematician. Both Mccrea (Reference Mccrea2020) and Renniger and Hidi (Reference Renniger and Hedi2016) contribute to a greater understanding of motivation through their ideas on identity and have influenced the creation of two research questions below.

Source of Historical Knowledge and Increasing Intercultural Communication Competence

The interview with ‘Homer’, the acting Head of History at the school, generated a similar response. An-early player of the game, ‘Homer’ believed that TW:S was a starting point into various ‘niche’ historical periods such as antiquity and medieval Europe and acted as a ‘spark’ to learning more about it:

These encyclopaedic entries in TW:S, covering all buildings, factions and military units in the main campaign screen, contain enough information to supplement a student's curiosity, but not completely satiate it (Figure 1). In RTW, these pages are even designed to simulate the unfurling of ancient papyri, adding to a sense of historical discovery.

However, Homer's entry into higher education came with an increased critical understanding of the past, and how the game ‘exploits tropes of historiography that are not necessarily true’ (Homer, Supplementary Appendix 1, para 22). The Romano-centricity of the game is also questioned, alongside the inaccuracies of the ludic aesthetics surrounding urbanism and cities:

Contrary to the radical historicists who stigmatise non-traditional forms of history, this does not have to be an issue. Homer surmised that we neglect as teachers how little cultural capital KS3 students have:

In fact, S1 Caesar, S2 Xenophon, S3 Pericles and S4 Aristotle all gave 8 or 9/10 for historical representation. Generally, the students responded that it still had its errors and, knowing that, they responded positively to the question of whether they would go and research the period independently. For example, in interview, S4 Aristotle said:

1. PC Do you feel like this represents history very well?

2. S4 I think it's accurate like as to when it comes to history of different wars.

3. PC On a scale of 1 to 10 how effective does the game represent history?

4. S4 I would give it a nine out of ten because it might not be accurate in some senses.

5. PC So does it sort of motivate you to want to go off on your own and find out if it could be may be a 10 or could even be less than 10?

6. S4 Yeah

7. PC Have you managed to do that?

8. S4 No, not yet.

[..]

1. PC Do you think that playing with different factions, not just playing with Rome all the time, would increase your knowledge of history?

2. S4 Yes

3. PC That's good. Do you feel motivated to learn about the ancient world?

4. S4 I like how basically you can see how different wars were done and how the generals run their military.

5. PC Does this game motivate you to want to study other stuff?

6. S4 It makes me like more of history side and ancient civilisations. And it's easier for me to understand that.

And, in interview, S1 Caesar said:

1. PC Do you feel that the curriculum at the school covers this sort of history?

2. S1 Not very much because it deals with all other stuff, not like the battles.

3. PC So do you feel that this is a good middle ground then? Do you feel motivated to learn about the ancient world?

4. S1 Yes, a bit more.

5. PC On a scale of 1 to 10, how much more?

6. S1 Nine.

Motivation in the classes remained high, according to observations by Lisa. Moreover, in knowing that inaccuracies existed, students became keen and professional ancient historians. This was exemplified through their desire to learn and retain specialist vocabulary, ranging from military specific units such as ‘incendiary pigs’ to more complex and abstract concepts such as a ‘thalassocracy’. The ‘spark’ that a (potentially ahistorical) video game such as TW:S could ignite can therefore be highly undervalued.

Engaging content and Increase in Motivation

I made the conscious choice at the beginning of the sequence of the lessons that I would mainly be operating the controls on the laptop. The complexity of the game controls in areas of ‘Decisive Battles’ are conceptually simulated and I agreed with Chapman (Reference Chapman2016) in that they ‘can easily contain heavy and complex ludic information loads’ (Chapman, Reference Chapman2016, p. 72). Therefore, the data here are not conclusive in ascertaining engagement and motivation, as I was mainly the agent of action and the students my advisors. This method still worked to great effect. My observer Lisa mentioned where she was so engaged herself, she tended to write fewer observation notes which can account for the non-applicable rows in lesson 4 and lesson 10. These were in fact two of the most chaotic lessons in terms of activities. Lesson 4 was the first major ‘Decisive Battle’ that we fought together and lesson 10 was the first collaborative battle fought with a distinguished chain of command. A general pattern that can be surmised though is that once the game was introduced, engagement did become much higher on a consistent level. Extracts from Lisa's classroom observation notes are included in Table 4.

Table 4.

Classroom observation notes (transcribed extracts) from 7 lessons

A breakdown of how student engagement increased over time can be seen in Table 5. TW:S was not introduced until lesson three, given COVID, and lesson 6 was dedicated primarily to a knowledge test.

Table 5.

List of Lessons Observed by Lisa, in Relation to Engagement.

This section relates to the RTS (real time strategy) and realist and conceptual simulations within ‘Decisive Battles’ that have piqued students’ interest in various ways. The audio-visual elements of the game had an engaging effect on the students. S2 Xenophon was quoted in a lesson saying that ‘It is like a movie… a tragedy’ (S2 Xenophon, quoted in observation notes, see Table 4). Not only does this show that the realism of the gameplay caused higher interest in class, but also how students become associated and invested with the protagonist(s). In a way it contributes to building a shared identity, which was similarly achieved through the establishing of the curriculum as a ‘School of the General’. Students were referred to, inside and outside of the enrichment class as imperatores. I asked students to form hoplite walls and testudos, creating a sense of camaraderie that is essential in cultivating affinity. This is vital as S2 Xenophon, when I asked him after a lesson whether he had a favourite subject, replied he had none. Yet S2 Xenophon still finds the game and lessons highly fun and engaging, alongside those who already had a pre-existing interest in (ancient) history:

1. PC Do you think the school could benefit from having a game like this?

2. S4 Yeah.

3. PC Why do you think that?

4. S4 Because it's fun.

5. PC Really nice. Do you think the game should be part of the school curriculum?

6. S4 Yeah.

7. PC Does the game want to make you study more about the ancient world?

8. S4 Yeah.

9. PC Why does it do that?

10. S4 Because it is interesting (S2 Xenophon, Supplementary Appendix 5, paras 20 & 26).

This implies that TW:S could offer something to any student - the mathematician, the musician, or the student that has not quite found their strength yet.

The aforementioned physical activities helped to cement this ‘togetherness’ whilst mirroring the movements of ancient soldiers, something they enjoyed greatly (Table 4). To affirm that togetherness, I used the ‘School of the General’ as a means of unifying the group with a teleological purpose of graduating the ‘School’. Their end assignment would be a ‘Decisive Battle’ that required the students to work together in real time. Each lesson brought a new discussion of tactics and Lisa's observations suggest that the students both understood and enjoyed military strategy (Table 4).

During ‘Decisive Battles’, I was able to pause and enter the conceptually simulated ‘Tactical Map’ which provided a holistic picture of unit positioning and geographical terrain (Figure 3).

Figure 3.

TW:S Tactical map view.

By connecting my personal laptop into the classroom interactive whiteboard (IWB), the students and I were able to use pen annotation within the game. We drew circles and arrows to strategise advantageous soldier movement and manoeuvres. This became a highly efficient way of running the lessons that caused students to buy into the ‘School’ and learn history along the way. Lisa surmised an ‘intrinsically interesting subject heightened by an interactive way of presenting the activities’ (Table 4). Although the result of the final battle was close and the students lost, they were fantastic in respect of the chain of command by the final lesson (Table 4). The RTS collaboration was the highest point of engagement and interest in the game. For one student in particular, the lessons had a remarkable impact on their attitude to school. Pericles responded to the interview question ‘So does it make you motivated to do well in other classes?’ with ‘Yeah. It makes me like Wednesdays’ (Appendix 6, para 28). Whether it was engaging video game-based lessons, or a sense of classroom camaraderie that resulted from them, Pericles could find a day where he was motivated to come into school.

Regular Timetabled Lessons

After the initial success of TWR2 in the Enrichment Lessons, I was asked by my mentor (Lisa) to conduct a ‘Decisive Battle’ in a Classical Civilisation lesson for her Year 8 group. This indicated that Lisa appreciated the value of the game, specifically the battle simulations, to such an extent that it was worth trialling in a regular timetabled lesson. This cohort of Year 8 students were placed into Classical Civilisation rather than Latin, as is common practice at most schools, due to a belief they would struggle with the linguistic elements of Classics. Poor behaviour is usually a feature of this class with a mix of low-attaining students and students with SEND. Yet my previous observations of this class suggest that high levels of engagement came sporadically but fiercely. Therefore, for the final half of a 50-minute lesson, I would conduct a shorter length ‘Decisive Battle’ – the feature of the game that has consistently elicited the highest amount of engagement.

I intended to use TWT, which would have been the most relevant version of the game given its classical nature. However, where other Digital Rights Management platforms like ‘Steam’ have an ‘offline mode’, the DRM platform ‘Epic Games’ was unable to launch the game due to School A's wi-fi restricted access. I consequently used an extended version of TWR2 called ‘The Wrath of Sparta’, a DLC (downloadable content) which focuses on the events of the Peloponnesian War in 5th century Greece and Asia Minor. Before the battle, I explained the technique of a hoplite wall and provided details on hoplite soldiers. This explanation largely became implicit knowledge – students many weeks afterwards were able to recount how they studied ‘hot-potato’ soldiers. The battle simulation itself proved successful, as students ran to move their chairs closer to the IWB and become immersed in the battle. Whilst most did not offer tactical suggestions as in the Enrichment lessons, a few did attempt logical and useful ideas. The next day, Lisa informed me that the students went into their next period still discussing and debating the battle. Therefore, whilst it did not motivate the students to engage with Maths in quite the same way, it did generate an interest in the classical/ancient world.