Our main goal was to help students take their learning into their own hands and become independent learners who dare to explore, test, fail, and learn from their own mistakes. We wanted first-year students to feel integrated into the learning community early on, get to know their fellow students and the staff, and be aware of where they could seek help should they need it. Additionally, we wanted to encourage academic and support staff at higher education institutions to explore the potential of learning games and gamification elements in the onboarding activities offered at universities. The tools and examples developed in this project should empower staff with minimal programming experience to create and tailor games to their own programs, addressing specific issues they may have. Ultimately, we wanted to see learning games become an integral part of education at all levels.
Student success in higher education is crucial both for individuals and society. However, students enter university with different backgrounds and varying degrees of preparedness for academic life. Many first-year students struggle with the transition from being pupils with schedules made for them and all tasks clearly defined to being independent co-creators of knowledge responsible for their own progress. While support systems exist, they may fail to reach struggling students early enough. Traditional buddy programs and study technique courses address only part of the problem and are often only offered at the start of the semester. Many students do not know what information they need or where to find appropriate help when the need arises. Our project aimed at developing tools which would help academic and support staff at universities develop game-based learning tools targeting needs unaddressed by conventional support programs. Our example learning games help students with practical concerns ("Where do I find the service desk?"), academic skills ("How do I find reliable sources?"), and develop broader competencies related to problem-solving, cooperation, and critical thinking—all essential for university success.