eXBCU: A Multiplayer Game for Game Design Education

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been escalated shift for wider online interaction above and beyond gaming - education, working from home, knowledge economy, entertainment brands and artists looking for innovative ways to reach their audiences, using current and future technologies as alternatives to a physical presence. This presents new opportunities for teaching and learning in Higher Education (HE); to bring together people from all walks of life, fostering a new digital society, or Multiplayer Game of University. This extended reality work-in-progress project, currently named eXtended BCU (eXBCU) aims to play a role in this transformational change. The platform works synergistically and cohesively, through online/virtual means, taking into consideration the option for participants, educators and learners, to design and implement key modes of experiential learning pedagogy which work for gamified scenarios for Game Design Education. A network supported cross platform virtual system was built, which can run on PC's, Mobiles, Tablets and Extended Reality devices. This paper discusses the design methodology behind the project. It also showcases how the result impacts the Game Design Education learning process. The result contributes to building digital education readiness, redefining the model of teaching and learning in HE, developing positive impact on education, training and learning, for Generation Z and beyond.