Diverse Perspectives: An Inclusive Serious Game for International and Dutch Students at Utrecht University

Abstract

Nowadays, higher education has a diverse student population. Increased globalisation and more educational and financial opportunities are among the reasons why. Although there is a greater variety of students’ background, skills and abilities, this does not necessarily mean they have more inclusive interactions. In other words, while the diversity in the student population increased, people do not seem to use it to their benefit. Therefore, how could a serious game be used to promote diversity at Utrecht University (UU)?

Attempting to answer the research question, this thesis created an inclusive serious game, called Diverse Perspectives. The game is a visual novel with multiple endings where the player’s choices affect the outcome. The narrative of Diverse Perspectives follows a student on their very first day at UU. It contains several dilemmas in the context of diversity and (international) student inclusion. Diverse Perspectives aims to raise awareness about the many aspects of diversity. Additionally, it allows the player to think and reflect on them, as the intended message of the game is to promote diversity.

Designing Diverse Perspectives followed an iterative and user-centred approach. A low-fidelity prototype was made and evaluated. The target users (UU students) were involved early in the design process. During the experiment, the high-fidelity prototype of Diverse Perspectives was used. This prototype consists of two versions: with the perspective switch (version A) and without the switch (version B). Furthermore, a mixed-methods approach with a between-subjects design was chosen to collect data from 32 participants. The qualitative data consists of semi-structured interviews, while the quantitative data contains the results of the Shortened Version of the Miville-Guzman Universality-Diversity Scale (M-GUDS-S) and Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). These measure the player’s attitude towards diversity, and gaming experience, respectively. The experiment had two parts, where part one was in-person. Part two followed a week later and was completed online.

Moreover, we hypothesised a positive change in the M-GUDS-S after playing the game and that this difference would be bigger in version A. Likewise, we hypothesised that version A would score higher on the GEQ than version B. Lastly, we hypothesised that players who identify with a marginalised group would score higher on the GEQ as well, compared to players who do not.

Although we obtained three significant results, our quantitative data could not confirm our hypotheses. Nevertheless, the qualitative data revealed insightful information on the participants’ experience of the game. The perspective switch was perceived as helpful, since it created understanding for the point of view of others. Likewise, eight preliminary theories have been formed that seem promising to study in the future, as well as the results from the exploratory research. Moreover, a lot of suggestions have been offered to improve Diverse Perspectives. While participants enjoyed the game and perceived it as educational, it has many opportunities for improvement.