Speaking to very current concerns about the employability of higher education graduates and the skills that university is intended to develop, this book also explores the attitudes to game-based learning as expressed by instructors, students and game developers.

Chapter 1. Video games and learning.- Chapter 2. Graduate attributes and games.- Chapter 3. Playing games at university.- Chapter 4. The student perspective.- Chapter 5. Reflections on game-based learning.- Chapter 6. The Educator perspective.- Chapter 7. The games industry perspective.- Chapter 8. Gaming for graduates.

This book explores the efficacy of game-based learning to develop university students’ skills and competencies. While writing on game-based learning has previously emphasised the use of games developed specifically for educational purposes, this book fills an important gap in the literature by focusing on commercial games such as World of Warcraft and Minecraft. Underpinned by robust empirical evidence, the author demonstrates that the current negative perception of video games is ill-informed, and in fact these games can be important tools to develop graduate skills related to employability. Speaking to very current concerns about the employability of higher education graduates and the skills that university is intended to develop, this book also explores the attitudes to game-based learning as expressed by instructors, students and game developers. 
Matthew Barr is Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, UK, where he convened the university’s first game studies course and founded the peer reviewed student game studies journal Press Start. He is currently Programme Director for the Graduate Apprenticeship in Software Engineering. He serves as Vice Chair of British DiGRA, sits on the Board of the Scottish Game Developers Association and is the current Chair of the BAFTA Scotland Games Jury.

“Graduate Skills and Game-Based Learning offers us a new tool for the heart and soul of graduate education, a tool for experimentation, risk-taking, creativity, and using failure as a form of learning. These are just the bits where we need the most help.” (James Paul Gee, Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy Studies and Regents’ Professor, Arizona State University, USA)

“A compelling read for any faculty member who is considering whether and how to use games in their teaching. This book provides practical recommendations and robust research evidence about how students can learn important transferrable skills through gaming.” (Judy Robertson, Professor and Chair in Digital Learning, University of Edinburgh, UK)

“This book provides a much needed foundation for games in learning, linking them explicitly to graduate attributes and pedagogic theory. Moving beyond potential and advocacy, Barr grounds the application in empirical research, while also clearly setting out the perspectives of educators and students. It provides a very insightful account of how games can be used effectively in higher education, and also the issues involved.” (Martin Weller, Professor of Educational Technology at the Open University, UK and President of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT))

“This work provides key insights to using games as pedagogical tools in graduate education, positioning games in the classroom, and understanding the views and opinions of graduate students in engaging with such efforts. It explores the themes of games as tools for inquiry and experiential learning in ways that are both grounded in relevant theory and wonderfully concrete for practicing educators. I have no doubt that this will prove to be an important work for those in the field.” (Andrew Phelps, Professor Human Interface Technologies Laboratory, University of Canterbury, New Zealand and Professor and Director, American University Game Lab)

Examines the effectiveness of game-based learning to develop skills and capabilities in university students Focuses on commercial games rather than games specifically developed for education Argues that video games can be crucial in developing graduate skills

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