Attributes and motivation in game-based learning : a review of the literature

Since the mid-1980s, various educational games have been developed, and their popularity has implications for the use of games in the classroom. Although research over many years has shown games to be effective in enhancing motivation and improving learner performance, studies that connect specific elements of games and learner motivation are lacking. This report is a literature review of relevant articles on motivation and attributes in game-based learning, including empirical studies and theoretical articles from 2009 to present. Based on the attributes presented by Wilson et al. (2009), the game environments in these studies are reviewed, with a focus on recent studies and trends related to game-based learning. This review also presents an examination of how the recent studies conducted their experiments in order to investigate game attributes and motivation. The relationship between the attributes and learner motivation is discussed. Because of the current lack of research on the relationship between attributes and learner motivation in game-based learning, the results of this literature review can provide insight into the potential use of game attributes.