Games are often considered to be a distraction and a waste of time for children. But such views are slowly changing due to extensive research in the field of game-based learning applications that provide an interactive learning platform.

Basic education in India faces challenges in enrolment, dropouts, learning outcomes, and teacher shortages. Reforms are necessary to improve the quality of and access to education. They must focus on teacher training, technology integration, early childhood education, relevant curriculum, infrastructure improvement and so on.

The easy availability of affordable mobile data allowed digital learning platforms to boom. A report by Pratham revealed that 89% of the youth have smartphones at home and 92% know how to use them. The pandemic years also taught us that online education is not to be ignored.

Unfortunately, while online lectures and video lessons have become commonplace, their effectiveness is suspect. The lack of teacher-student interaction, which is the norm in physical classrooms, severely impacted the education system and its devastating effects can still be observed in academia. It is now evident that face-to-face discussions and classroom interaction have no substitute.

One possibility that could be explored is to use interactive, game-based learning to supplement traditional learning methods, particularly in the case of digital education.

The use of games in education has gained increasing recognition over the past decade. Educational games offer a dynamic and engaging way to immerse learners, make the learning process enjoyable, and enable better retention abilities among students. This approach harnesses the power of playfulness, interactivity, and motivation to create an environment that fosters learning in a natural and impactful manner.

Interactive learning applications that use game-like elements are called ‘Serious Games’. Their primary purpose is not entertainment but to teach certain concepts or to raise awareness.

Experiential learning theory considers learning to be a dynamic cycle driven by action, reflection and experience. Thus, one gains knowledge through the transformation of experience. The individual’s interaction with the environment is an important factor in the learning process. Serious Games and other digital game-based learning platforms utilise this with the help of game-like elements, such as quest structures and rewards. Existing research has proven the positive aspects of such an approach. For example, May’s Journey, one such Serious Game, uses environmental puzzles to teach programming concepts to children in middle school.

Digital game-based language learning is a branch of Serious Games that concentrates on language acquisition skills. It is used for both the native or primary language and the second language. Unfortunately, most of these initiatives have taken place outside India. One hardly finds this kind of gaming tool for Indian languages. Similarly, subject-based gaming tools have been developed in other countries. However, these may not be an exact match for the Indian curriculum. Steps should be undertaken to develop digital game-based learning tools for major Indian languages and other subjects. The gaming industry will not make the first move as it is unsure of the profitability of such a venture. The government needs to support the initiative till market expansion occurs.