2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This work explores the integration of inclusive digital elements in the design phase of educational games, specifically within a manufacturing simulation developed to teach operations management concepts. While educational games have become a valuable tool in engineering education, there is limited research on how inclusive design considerations can impact game design, user engagement, and learning potential. This research focuses on understanding how inclusive design elements (i.e., accessible design elements and inclousive character representations, including multilingual signages, diverse workers, diverse flags for different countries, disability-accessible paths, and inclusive restrooms) influence the player’s perceived value of the game, even before educational content is introduced. The experiment includes walking through two game environments: one that incorporates inclusive design elements (intervention) and another that does not (control). User feedback is collected through a survey to assess the impact of these elements, including user-perceived learning from these environments, and the game’s authenticity in simulating real-world workplace environments.
The work in this paper addresses how inclusive design elements affect user perceptions of the game’s inclusivity, the importance of such elements for enhancing engagement and learning outcomes, and potential barriers to implementing inclousive design in educational games. By analyzing user responses, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how inclousive design considerations should be embedded into the design of educational tools for industrial engineering. The results provide insights for educators and game developers on how to incorporate these elements into 3D simulation-based learning environments to promote inclusivity and foster more equitable learning experiences. The findings also offer broader implications for integrating inclusive digital elements into engineering education, specifically in the design and development of educational games.