Author:	Kilian Feser
Supervisor:	Prof. Gudrun Klinker
Advisor:	David Plecher (@ne23mux)
Submission Date:	15.04.24

Abstract

The goal of this bachelors thesis is to create a maze based Serious Game connected to the Ancient Greek language and culture. The Serious Game "Labyrinthos" centers on high replayability and exploration, utilizing the natural curiosity of humans. This thesis tries to answer the key questions of, what requirements should be met to create an effective maze based Serious Game and to what extend this game can motivate players to learn and experience an ancient language and culture. In order to accomplish this, important fundamentals of Serious Games were determined and implemented into the game. As this project is closely tied to language learning, it is also essential to include key aspects of it. This is achieved by researching related work tied to both cultural and linguistic topics, and merge their findings to gain an overview over the most important features. Consequently the game was evaluated and further improvements were derived from user feedback.

Results/Implementation/Project Description

In the game Labyrinthos, the player navigates the Maze of the Minotaur as the character of the greek hero Theseus. In order to progress through the game, the player has to solve various riddles consisting of Ancient Greek vocabulary. In the current iteration the game features words from the first few chapters of the "Kairos" books, which are used at some schools in Germany. The game content can be easily changed, as both the maze as well as the tasks the user encounters are generated dynamically for each playthrough. High replayability and immersion are central goals of the game. Player motivation is kept high by providing a variety of tasks in the game. The profound mythological base of the game helps to keep the player immersed in the story. Further optional background on the Myth of the Minotaur can be discovered throughout the maze in form of objects, inscriptions or wall paintings.

The game uses historically accurate assets, mainly derived from the palace of Knossos.

"Minoan Dolphin Fresco" "The player investigates a vase and gets further story information"

"Throne Room with griffins" "Segment with Throne Room theme"

The player must navigate the maze mostly by following words with a "positive" meaning, alternatively there are questions written on the floor in some segments. The riddles the player encounters are noted down in the "inventory-scroll", where he is tasked to match the right translation to the words. He gets offered three possible translations of which only one is correct. If the player cannot translate a word properly and walks down the wrong path, it will eventually lead him to a dead end with a hint towards the right solution.