Palazzo Falson : the game : combining education with board games to raise awareness and interest towards Palazzo Falson’s rich history

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the fundamental elements of game design and aims to create a board game with an entertaining slant to learning. The subject of the game being developed is Palazzo Falson in Mdina. Several examples of games, both digital as well as traditional were researched and used as references towards creating a good game — one with historical figures, yet which people would want to play. Built on the premise of Palazzo Falson’s history, players will enter the magic circle and immerse themselves in play (Huizinga, 1949). By inserting simple facts and illustrations in the game assets, a player could as a result become interested in this historic house and its artefacts during the game, perhaps even inspire them to seek further interest in the history once the magic circle dissipates. To achieve this result, it was necessary to understand cognition and perception, relating to how humans learn through play, as well as the difference between play and games. Further research on game mechanics and narrative elements in games is used to relate to how games are produced in the context of common teaching techniques in modern day classrooms in view of teaching and learning through games.