Instructional gaming is an alternative strategy that can be used for many applications including tutoring, promotion of self-esteem, and practice of existing skills. The article begins with an overview instructional gaming and discusses the impact of Thomas Malone's theory of intrinsically motivating instruction. Next, we look for common threads in the instructional gaming literature during the last dozen years. Our approach was to systematically examine five categories of articles in order to offer guidance to designers and educators. The article ends with implications of the gaming literature for the future study of gaming and instructional design.
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