Alison L. Moore
17 March 2011
EME 6415
PowerPoint Game Design Paper
The purpose of this paper is to reflect and evaluate the process and results of the Captivate tutorial
assignment. The four sections of this paper address the rationale, target audience, learning
objectives, and overall design of the tutorial.
1. Rationale for PowerPoint Game design
The PowerPoint game titled Perplexing Principles places game players in a scenario to learn
about three eLearning Principles. By reading and viewing examples of the principles, game
players are then equipped to help a fellow instructor revise her online course materials. When
the game player successfully makes improvements to the instructor character’s poor work,
points are earned—for a total of 120 points through 3 levels (the three selected principles).
2. The target learner audience
The intended audience for this PowerPoint game includes instructional designers creating
materials for online implementation—specifically instructors of distance learning courses. The
character Professor Linn was developed to engage this learner group directly. She represents the
game players since she presents them with issues they may also be facing (e.g., creating welldesigned course materials, editing existing materials to adhere to eLearning Principles, etc.).
3. The learning objectives
The game Perplexing Principles has three objectives: (a) define three principles of eLearning,
(b) critique poor examples of the principles, and (c) identify successful examples of the
principles. Slide 8 of the game presents the objectives to game players in the introductory
section, and the objectives are revisited once the game has been mastered. Slide 57 restates the
three objectives, but contextualizes them with the statement, “Now that you’ve beat the game
Perplexing Principles, you’re able to . . . .”
4. The overall design and justifications for the design
Perplexing Principles will be an effective instructional tool due to three factors: (a) directed to
target audience, (b) engaging to learners, and (c) instructionally sound.
Directed to target audience: The game was designed with a specific learner group in mind from
the start. Specific components of the game were aligned to the needs of online instructors, such
as content (applicable to instructors) and motivation/incentives (content is relevant).
Engaging to learners: First, the character of Professor Linn serves as a liaison between the
game player and the game/content/assessment. Her purpose is to connect the learners with the
objectives of the instruction. Also, the applicability of the eLearning Principles was made
explicit to convince and motivate game players to devote effort in the activities.
Instructionally sound: The game features an appropriate ratio between motivation, content,
assessment, and feedback. The objectives outline the game subject matter, and both instructional
content and assessment align with each other and the objectives.