Abstract

This paper examines the perception of practitioners in the game industry in Malaysia towards the use of games in education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight commercial game experts. Findings show that the perceived educational potential of games between practitioners and teachers is different. Practitioners see addiction and engagement as the same thing, therefore, they regard engagement as a threat when using games in education rather than a potential. The practitioners assert that game-based learning (GBL) should be fun, interesting and relaxing, instead of serious, regardless of the type of education context. This view is similar to views expressed in literature written by game practitioners’. According to the practitioners, teachers’ involvement in GBL collaboration should focus on pre-production and post-production of games, rather than on the production stage which includes the process of design and development. However, the practitioners’ knowledge of how GBL should be designed, developed and used was limited to commonsensical views, due to the lack of appreciation of the educational potential of games. Therefore, it is crucial that the practitioners appreciate the importance of the educational potential of games in order to make GBL successful.