Researchers at the Indiana University School of Education are studying how to apply modes of learning that video game players use to master entertainment games. In December, they brought in middle school students to observe how and why they make decisions in game play. The researchers hope to design "serious games," which have education as an outcome goal.

Developers and researchers are working in every area of game-based learning, including games that are goal-oriented; social game environments; non-digital games that are easy to construct and play; games developed expressly for education; and commercial games that lend themselves to refining team and group skills.

Gaming is an expansive category, ranging from simple paper-and-pencil games such as word searches all the way up to complex, massively multiplayer online (MMO) and role-playing games. Educational games can be broadly grouped into three categories: games that are not digital; games that are digital, but that are not collaborative; and collaborative digital games.