Question for parents: Would you like to be actively involved in your child’s educational game or do you value independent, meaningful play?

Hello parents!

We’re currently developing a 2D adventure game (for PC or tablet) that introduces children aged 9 to 12 to key concepts in Computational Thinking, Media Literacy, and Computer Science. It is primarily designed as a single-player experience, where a child explores these topics through an immersive world featuring rich storytelling, clever puzzles and vibrant visuals. The core idea is that learning happens incidentally: children engage with informatics-related content as they play, without experiencing it as traditional instruction. Our goal is to foster curiosity, problem-solving skills and critical thinking in a playful and age-appropriate way.

We recently submitted the project to a public funding program and were invited to present it at a jury hearing. One of the questions raised was:

“How can parents be actively involved in the game (as an intergenerational game), and how might this improve the learning effect?”

To address this, we’re exploring different design options, for example:

• A dedicated parent–child mode with more challenging tasks to solve together
• Optional companion materials summarizing in-game learning content and offering follow-up activities for those who wish to go deeper

We would very much appreciate your input:
Would you like to be actively involved in your child’s gameplay or do you prefer when your child is meaningfully engaged on their own?

What forms of parental involvement would you find helpful? What would feel excessive or unnecessary? Would you actually play something like this together with your child?

Thank you in advance, your feedback will help us make more informed, user-centered decisions!

Submitted June 04, 2025 at 03:58AM by Impossible-Phase2969 https://ift.tt/UOcbd8K