Design Decision-Making and Challenges in Serious Game Development

This thematic literature review investigates major design decisions and challenges encountered in the development of serious games (SGs). Our review included 27 articles that present a high level of detail about the design and development of a SG. Patterns identified included collaborative development processes, iterative testing, and strategies for balancing conflicting goals. Core decisions reported pertained to game mechanics, player roles, narrative, and user support. Common challenges included conflicting learning and entertainment objectives, contextual constraints, engagement, and technical issues. Our review emphasizes the importance of stakeholder collaboration, iterative processes, and context-aware design, offering a practice-based lens to guide designers in anticipating common pitfalls and leveraging successful strategies in future SG development.