FemQuest -- An Interactive Multiplayer Game to Engage Girls in Programming
Michael Holly, Lisa Habich, Maria Seiser, Florian Glawogger, Kevin Innerebner, Sandra Kupsa, Philipp Einwallner, Johanna Pirker
TL;DR
The paper tackles the ongoing gender gap in computer science by introducing FemQuest, a 3D, story-driven multiplayer game designed to teach programming via a block-based interface within workshop settings. The authors evaluate a large-scale workshop (235 girls, 50 coaches) and conduct a detailed in-game study with 20 participants using standardized engagement and workload instruments (WBLT and NASA-TLX) to measure learning outcomes and cognitive load. Key findings indicate positive reception, meaningful engagement, and evidence of creativity and problem solving, with a moderate workload that can be tuned through task design. The study demonstrates the feasibility and potential impact of game-based, gender-focused CS education, suggesting pathways for broader adoption and integration into school-based programs. Overall, FemQuest offers a scalable approach to motivating girls to explore programming through collaboration, storytelling, and hands-on challenges, with implications for curriculum design and STEM equity initiatives.
Abstract
In recent decades, computer science (CS) has undergone remarkable growth and diversification. Creating attractive, social, or hands-on games has already been identified as a possible approach to get teenagers and young adults interested in CS. However, overcoming the global gap between the interest and participation of men and women in CS is still a worldwide problem. To address this challenge, we present a multiplayer game that is used in a workshop setting to motivate girls to program through a 3D game environment. The paper aims to expand the educational landscape within computer science education by offering a motivating and engaging platform for young women to explore programming quests in a collaborative environment. The study involved 235 girls and 50 coaches for the workshop evaluation and a subset of 20 participants for an in-game analysis. In this paper, we explore the engagement in programming and assess the cognitive workload while playing and solving programming quests within the game, as well as the learning experience and the outcome. The results show that the positive outcomes of the workshop underscore the effectiveness of a game-based collaborative learning approach to get girls interested in computer science activities. The variety of solutions found for the different tasks demonstrates the creativity and problem-solving skills of the participants and underlines the effectiveness of the workshop in promoting critical thinking and computational skills.