LOOP: A Transversal Framework for Game-Based Learning Analysis and Design

Abstract

Despite the proliferation of models addressing serious game design and learning outcomes, educators and designers struggle to articulate gameplay structures, learner experience, pedagogical intentions, and ethical considerations within a unified framework. Existing approaches focus on specific dimensions—systemic mechanics through the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) framework, learning-mechanics alignment through the Learning Mechanics-Game Mechanics (LM-GM) model, or pedagogical context through CEPAJe—yet rarely enable both analysis and iterative design across heterogeneous ludic situations. This paper introduces LOOP, a transversal framework developed since 2017 at the Gaming Lab, University of Caen Normandy. It structures game-based learning analysis and design through seven dimensions: Ludicity, World, Mechanics, Experience, Values, Accessibility, and Transformation. Transformation examines what a game produces beyond itself, including its intended pedagogical effects. Rather than prescribing success criteria, LOOP functions as a reflective scaffold making explicit the choices and trade-offs inherent in ludopedagogical situations. Three exploratory applications are reported. A qualitative thematic alignment analysis of 372 eligible games from an initial corpus of 458 identified patterns across LOOP dimensions: alignment was more frequent for structural dimensions (84–93%) than for Transformation (51%); these figures are not chance-corrected reliability estimates. A diagnostic study of 24 support-seeking educator-led projects identified recurring weaknesses alongside limited benchmarking and self-reported game exposure. A generative study documented 47 games created through LOOP-structured game jams across board, digital, virtual-reality, and live-action formats and educational domains including engineering, urban planning, law, and healthcare. LOOP provides an operational bridge between theoretical models and game-based learning design practice. The paper discusses contributions, limitations, and future research.