Game on! Student-designed anatomy games using design-based research

This article documents the process in which undergraduate students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University applied Design-Based Research (DBR) to develop Game-Based Learning (GBL) tools for anatomy education. It describes the student developers' approaches in applying DBR to design game-based learning tools for complex anatomy content, with the goal of addressing medical students' needs for visual, engaging, and interactive learning tools. The DBR framework, characterized by five stages (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test), was found to be instrumental for student developers to use in creating learner-centered tools, with each stage contributing uniquely to the design process. In addition, DBR encouraged experimentation, creative thinking, and problem-based learning, aligning with the dynamic and exploratory nature of innovation in anatomical education. This project led to the development of four anatomy games situated in the context of renal and gastrointestinal vascular anatomy: ORGAN-IZE, Renal Race, Pathology at Play, and Body Building. The documentation of each stage of the development process of these games, as presented in this article, offers a practical resource for educators interested in adopting DBR as a framework for student-led educational game design.