Super Mario Maker 2 as a Tool for Educational Game Design

This paper describes the setup of a case study to test how to use a platform game for a hands-on learning experience that extends traditional methodologies. More precisely, it concerns the use of the level editor of a popular off-the-shelf commercial game, Super Mario Maker 2, as a co-design tool with chemical engineers and chemical engineering students. Participants use the editor to make platform game levels that represent chemical processes. Data is collected to identify patterns on how to effectively align chemical engineering content with platform game mechanics with a view towards later creating a custom-made game editor. The study is expected to show the efficacy of participatory game design, commercial games and platformers in engineering education.