Jonathan Seyr
Shwizard: An Educational Game for Teaching Shader Concepts - Lowering the Barrier to Computer Graphics Education via Game-Based Learning
[thesis] [webbuild]

Information

Abstract

This thesis investigates whether a serious game can effectively convey foundational knowledge about shader programming and computer graphics to players with no prior experience in the field. The game developed for this study, Shwizard, is a Unity WebGL open-world game in which players learn about shader concepts through an in-game encyclopedia, answer multiple-choice quiz questions to unlock magical spells, and apply those spells to complete quests. The educational content covers ten shader topics ranging from general GPU architecture to specific effects such as water shaders, lighting models, and outline shaders.

A pre- and post-game questionnaire study was conducted to evaluate the game. Knowledge scores on a set of shader concept questions increased significantly after playing, with a medium effect size. Participants rated the game as engaging and the presented information as clear, and a majority judged the game format to be more effective than learning from a textbook. Perceived learning correlated substantially with measured knowledge gain. The findings support the viability of serious games as a medium for introductory computer graphics education, while also highlighting ceiling effects in a technically experienced sample and areas for design improvement.

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BibTeX

@bachelorsthesis{seyr-2025-lbt,
  title =      "Shwizard: An Educational Game for Teaching Shader Concepts -
               Lowering the Barrier to Computer Graphics Education via
               Game-Based Learning",
  author =     "Jonathan Seyr",
  year =       "2026",
  abstract =   "This thesis investigates whether a serious game can
               effectively convey foundational knowledge about shader
               programming and computer graphics to players with no prior
               experience in the field. The game developed for this study,
               Shwizard, is a Unity WebGL open-world game in which players
               learn about shader concepts through an in-game encyclopedia,
               answer multiple-choice quiz questions to unlock magical
               spells, and apply those spells to complete quests. The
               educational content covers ten shader topics ranging from
               general GPU architecture to specific effects such as water
               shaders, lighting models, and outline shaders.  A pre- and
               post-game questionnaire study was conducted to evaluate the
               game. Knowledge scores on a set of shader concept questions
               increased significantly after playing, with a medium effect
               size. Participants rated the game as engaging and the
               presented information as clear, and a majority judged the
               game format to be more effective than learning from a
               textbook. Perceived learning correlated substantially with
               measured knowledge gain. The findings support the viability
               of serious games as a medium for introductory computer
               graphics education, while also highlighting ceiling effects
               in a technically experienced sample and areas for design
               improvement.",
  month =      aug,
  address =    "Favoritenstrasse 9-11/E193-02, A-1040 Vienna, Austria",
  school =     "Research Unit of Computer Graphics, Institute of Visual
               Computing and Human-Centered Technology, Faculty of
               Informatics, TU Wien ",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2026/seyr-2025-lbt/",
}