Why gamers donʼt learn more: An ecological approach to games as learning environments

Abstract

This paper criticizes the argument that video games by their nature are good learning environments. By applying the ecological approach to perception and learning to examples of game play, the paper shows that games can be designed so that players are able to see and utilize affordances without developing skills. Compared to other practices, gaming demands less learning of the practitioner since progress can be built into the system. Contrary to the arguments put forth by James Paul Gee in his book What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, this paper comes to the conclusion that good games do not necessarily imply good learning.