Why and How to Include Performance Challenges in a Quest game

When you create a Quest game, you can choose to have Performance Challenges be part of the play experience. If you include performance challenges in your Quest game type, players will see a center icon in the game world with flags on it. The flag indicates you have challenges included.

What’s the value of a performance challenge?

The questions found within Quest’s Worlds and Levels are where you can pose questions to learners. These help them practice retrieving and recalling knowledge. Performance Challenges extend this knowledge recall by providing relevant on-the-job experience or performance-based training activities.

For example, in the “Game Design Guru” game that Karl Kapp and I use in our learning game design workshops, learners play game levels that reinforce concepts and terms we cover in the course. Then they complete performance challenges that require learners to actually play games and analyze what they are playing.

You don’t have to include performance challenges, but they can be a big enhancement to the learning experience if you do.

Quick Steps

  1. Within the DEVELOP menu item, select Create or Edit Challenges.
  2. Enter the name of your challenge in the Challenge Name field.
  3. Describe your challenge in the Description field provided. Provide clear directions on what learners are supposed to do.
  4. If appropriate, include a Resource Link. A Resource Link can be any URL address. You might provide a link to a video, a blog article, or a checklist. Again – a resource MUST be a URL address; it cannot be a file such as a PDF, PPT, or MP4.
  5. Click SUBMIT NEW CHALLENGE.
  6. To create challenges in other worlds of the game, use the dropdown menu to change between World A, B, & C.

Click through this slide show to view a quick visual tutorial.