Aligning Achievement, Learning and Motivation

 Reflection on the Practice

This practice helped me understand how games motivate players through achievement and learning. By working through the alignment process, I learned how to connect game mechanics with Bloom’s Taxonomy and how scoring and rewards can support player motivation without distracting from learning.

Before applying alignment to my own game, Light in the Darkness, I played Oregon Trail to see how learning and challenge were balanced in a classic educational game.

Playing Oregon Trail

In Oregon Trail, I chose to play as the Farmer, which gave me the most challenging start. I purchased 400 pounds of food, 400 rounds of ammunition, 10 sets of clothing, 6 oxen, 2 spare wheels, 2 axles, and 2 tongues.

Each purchase required careful reasoning. Food and clothing supported survival while oxen affected travel speed. Spare parts were essential for emergencies and ammunition provided security and food through hunting. Even with limited funds, every decision influenced my chances of success.

This experience showed how Oregon Trail blends decision making with resource management. Learning happens naturally as players evaluate trade offs, face random challenges and reflect on the results. Success depends on both strategy and judgment, not just memorization.

Mechanics from Oregon Trail

1. Select Role (Farmer): Determines difficulty and starting money, teaching economic cause and effect.

2. Purchase Supplies: Teaches planning and resource prioritization for survival.

3. Travel and Encounter Events: Tests understanding of choices under uncertainty.

4. Hunt for Food: Reinforces resource management and timing.

5. Handle Random Challenges: Encourages analysis and adaptation.

Through these mechanics, I saw how every decision connected to both gameplay and learning outcomes. The scoring system rewarded survival and preparation while rewards came through story progression and overcoming obstacles.

Aligning My Own Game

After understanding how alignment worked in Oregon Trail, I applied the same process to my own design, Light in the Darkness. My goal was to see how my mechanics fit across Bloom’s levels and how I could balance challenge, feedback and learning.

Game Mechanic	Remember	Understand	Apply	Analyze	Evaluate	Create	Scoring	Reward	Justification
Moral Choice Dialogues		X	X	X	X		Story outcomes and decision branches	Unlocks new dialogue paths and storylines	Players interpret moral situations, apply reasoning and evaluate ethical outcomes.
Exploration and Clue Gathering	X	X	X				Number of clues found	Unlocks hidden lore and insights	Encourages players to recall and connect story elements.
Confession and Reflection Scenes			X	X	X		Depth of reflection responses	Unlocks alternate dialogue and personal insights	Promotes analysis and evaluation of previous choices.
Consequences and Alternate Endings				X	X	X	Narrative outcomes	Unique endings and character relationships

Balance and Reflection

After creating this table, I noticed my game leaned heavily toward higher order Bloom’s levels such as Analyze, Evaluate and Create. This fits the theme since Light in the Darkness focuses on moral reasoning and personal reflection.

To strengthen lower order learning, I added short recaps between scenes where players recall earlier clues or conversations. This reinforces Remember and Understand levels before moving into deeper reflection. I also reviewed all non learning mechanics to make sure they didn’t interfere with story flow or overwhelm the player.

Final Reflection

Working through the Oregon Trail example first helped me see how alignment works in practice. Every mechanic in that game teaches something about planning, consequence and perseverance. Translating that structure into my own design showed me how to make Light in the Darkness more engaging and educational at the same time.

Achievement in a learning game is not just about points or progress, it is about designing feedback that helps players think, evaluate and grow. This process taught me that when learning and gameplay are aligned, players are not only trying to win but also discovering something meaningful about themselves in the process.