Designed Controversies

In this “working example” paper, we argue that designers and researchers need to reflect more on the way controversy and transgression can create teachable moments and memorable experiences in learning games. In doing so, we present a “worked example” (Gee, 2009) of our design choices related to controversial and transgressive play in a game series about research ethics, called Gaming Against Plagiarism (GAP). Employing data from usability trials, we argue that building controversy into learning games can force students to think critically and deeply about ethical issues.