How Can We Transform Content Into Game Mechanics?: Designing and Developing Financial Literacy Games

Introduction

Financial institutions have developed products and services to make life easier, such as various savings accounts, online billing from accounts and credit cards, funds loaned for a specific purpose, opening a portfolio for investing in financial assets, and risk transference via insurance. Each service will have different fees and costs. Users should have the financial knowledge to decide and consider the pros and cons. Effectively utilizing the service will benefit users and meet their needs. Currently, adolescents have easier access to financial services. Consequently, adolescents are more likely to face financial difficulties and responsibilities than in the past (OECD, 2012). In Thailand, there is a concept of integrating financial content into the curriculum by integrating financial content into mathematics and economics courses as the financial environment changes. According to a survey conducted by the Bank of Thailand in 2020, Thai youths continue to require assistance with managing their finances and allocating money wisely for short-term, long-term, and investment purposes. (Bank of Thailand, 2020) Although the Bank of Thailand noted that students could develop financial literacy through non-formal education, such as studying online or with people with financial experience, formal teaching is still recommended. However, Fürstenau and Hommel (2019) found that non-formal education did not affect financial literacy if they lacked foundation knowledge. Because the information is limited, their financial decisions are made based on experience by comparing with basic information. It is not in-depth processed and integrates new data and existing information. Consequently, school education that aims to provide students with the necessary financial knowledge and skills and the ability to apply this knowledge in real-world situations is crucial for fostering students' financial literacy. Schools must provide high-quality tools and resources, including books, brochures, lesson plans, learning activities, games, case studies, websites, and online communities. These tools and resources must be consistent with the curriculum and flexible enough to adapt to students' abilities and backgrounds. It will help teachers implement them in the classroom and help students develop their financial literacy through real-world or virtual scenarios (OECD, 2012). Simulation games are practical tools for enhancing financial literacy and competence (Pfandler, 2021; Brennan & Vos, 2013; Cheng, Yeh, Chao, Lin, & Chang, 2020) because they allow players to practice making decisions based on their financial knowledge in real-world scenarios. The experience of playing games helps students acquire necessary life skills and cultivate a positive attitude, including a broad and in-depth understanding of social processes and the relationships between the elements that rationally and systematically represent real-world scenarios (Stadsklev, 1974). Gaming can also evoke emotions such as curiosity, frustration, fun, trial and error, failure, and success (Kim, 2012; Buckley et al., 2016) and thinking each time you play. Serious games that are entertaining and interesting can be played repeatedly, resulting in the development of playstyles and a greater comprehension of the phenomena within the game to achieve the game’s goals (Gee, 2008). The simulations used in games should be accessible to students (Kiili, 2007) so that they can learn directly from their practice or formal learning or experience indirectly from others. As a result, the authors developed a board games serious game based on the following assumptions.