A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games Thomas M. Connolly a, * , Elizabeth A. Boyle a , Ewan MacArthur a , Thomas Hainey a , James M. Boyle b a University of the West of Scotland, High St., Paisley PA1 2BE, Scotland, United Kingdom b University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom article info Article history: Received 24 October 2011 Received in revised form 14 February 2012 Accepted 6 March 2012 Keywords: Computer games Serious games Learning Skill enhancement Engagement abstract This paper examines the literature on computer games and serious games in regard to the potential positive impacts of gaming on users aged 14 years or above, especially with respect to learning, skill enhancement and engagement. Search terms identified 129 papers reporting empirical evidence about the impacts and outcomes of computer games and serious games with respect to learning and engagement and a multidimensional approach to categorizing games was developed. The findings revealed that playing computer games is linked to a range of perceptual, cognitive, behavioural, affective and motivational impacts and outcomes. The most frequently occurring outcomes and impacts were knowledge acquisition/content understanding and affective and motivational outcomes. The range of indicators and measures used in the included papers are discussed, together with methodological limitations and recommendations for further work in this area. Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. 1. Introduction Over the last 40 years computer games have increasingly replaced more traditional games as leisure activities and have had a trans- formational impact on how we spend our leisure time. Entertainment games provide engaging activities and it would appear that far from waning, interest in games for leisure is still growing. The availability of new consoles, platforms and technologies for the delivery of games is an important factor in this continued growth. Much of the early research on computer games focused on the negative impacts of playing digital games, particularly on the impact of playing violent entertainment games on aggression. Anderson and Bushman’s influential meta-analyses suggested that playing violent video games leads to increases in aggressive thoughts, aggressive affect and physiological arousal, reduced arousal to subsequent depictions of violence and decreases in pro-social behaviour (Anderson, 2004; Anderson & Bushman, 2001). Other negative effects of playing digital entertainment games have also been reported, such as difficulties in regulating the amount of time spent playing games (Ogletree & Drake, 2007), addiction (Griffiths & Davies, 2002), social isolation and nauseogenic properties of games with head mounted displays (Merhi, Faugloire, Flanagan & Stoffregen, 2007). Despite this early focus on the negative impacts of computer games, there has also been interest in positive effects of playing games. In his meta-analysis of both positive and negative effects of playing violent games, Ferguson (2007) found that playing violent games was associated with better visual spatial abilities, but found no effect of playing violent games on aggressive behaviour. The motivating features of digital games and the suggestions that game players might actually be developing useful skills (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 1994) led to optimism that games might provide a useful and attractive new method of learning (de Freitas, 2006). Initially interest focused on how COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) games, which are primarily designed for entertainment, might be used in learning, but interest also grew in games-based learning (GBL), designing games for educational purposes. Modern theories of effective learning suggest that learning is most effective when it is active, experiential, situated, problem-based and provides immediate feedback (Boyle, Connolly & Hainey, 2011). Games appeared to offer activities which have these features. There has also been interest * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ44 0 141 848 3541; fax: þ44 (0) 141 848 3542. E-mail address: thomas.connolly@uws.ac.uk (T.M. Connolly). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Computers & Education journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compedu 0360-1315/$ – see front matter Ó 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.004 Computers & Education 59 (2012) 661–686