Title: Inventive problem-solving puzzle game design and development

Authors: Wee Hoe Tan; Nurul Fazmidar Mohd Noor; Yanzhen Wang

Addresses: Faculty of Art, Computing and Creative Industry, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia ' Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Malaysia ' National Child Development Research Centre, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia

Abstract: This paper depicts the production of a game for learning theory of inventive problem solving or TRIZ. The theory is meant for resolving engineering contradiction and forecasting trends and evolution of technologies. Despite being an effective invention tool, TRIZ has been criticised for its steep learning curve by people who have no engineering background. Beginning learners commonly face difficulties to comprehend TRIZ principles, not to mention using them to solve problems. To resolve this issue, a ten-level puzzle game was designed and developed. A key challenge was confronted by the production team as the game designers were trying to ensure transfer of knowledge, from solving in-game puzzles to understanding of the usage of each principle. This paper illustrates how the challenge was overcome in the gamification process. The insight might benefit content experts in other fields of study who intend to design and develop games for teaching and learning purposes.

Keywords: inventive problem solving; TRIZ; puzzle games; game design; game development; gamification; games for teaching; games for learning; puzzles; knowledge transfer; engineering contradiction; technology forecasting.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCVR.2016.077355

International Journal of Computational Vision and Robotics, 2016 Vol.6 No.3, pp.244 - 252

Received: 26 Jul 2014
Accepted: 03 Feb 2015
Published online: 29 Jun 2016 *

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