Play and Viz: Using Entertainment Games for Exploring Data Visualizations

Effective communication through data visualizations faces challenges due to low visualization literacy among the general audience. Data visualizations are increasingly used to communicate various information, which creates a need to support people in learning how to interpret them. One way to address this issue is game-based learning. However, the design and development of an educational game can be an expensive and time-consuming process. To explore solutions to this issue, this paper investigates the potential of existing entertainment games as platforms for interactive data visualizations in a serious gaming scenario. As use case, the games Townscaper and Stardew Valley were selected. A user study was conducted to assess the usability of these visualizations, and the impact of playfulness and interactivity in enhancing the understanding and possible uses in education. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of using existing entertainment games as platforms for interactive data visualizations in a serious gaming context. The study outcomes revealed that participants perceived an improvement in their understanding, and expressed a belief in their potential for educational purposes.