Cyberverse: A Game-Based Learning Application for Cyber Security

Abstract: Games are becoming more frequent in educational settings, and various technologies have been established to meet the needs of designing an education as a game.  Aside from education, game-based learning is rising in popularity in various areas, including professional development and networking sites. By incorporating gaming components into the training process, educational platforms that use games will increase student engagement, motivation, and productivity. One of the most defining characteristics of game-based learning environments is their ability to produce innovative and engaging learning experiences (Gee, J. P. 2020; Hamari, J., et al 2021). Games-based learning integrates instruction with authentic gaming experiences. Scientific and popular interest in severe goal games has increased tremendously (Huang, W. H.-Y. et al. 2021; Kapp, K. M. 2020; Zhang, Y. et al. 2023). Cybersecurity refers to the practice of protecting systems, networks, and programs from digital attacks, damage, or unauthorized access. With the increasing reliance on technology and the internet, the significance of cybersecurity has grown tremendously. It encompasses various measures, including: Threat Prevention, Incident Response, Data Protection, Awareness and Training and Compliance (Kshetri, N. 2021; Stallings, W., et al 2022; Kaspersky, E. 2020). Cyber security occupies a major part of society today. Cyber security educational games are a popular form of hands-on exercises that use gamification to train information security skills and enhance cyber security awareness. The objectives of the game application are to (1) create awareness of the necessity of the importance and function of cyber security such as password security, phishing awareness, identity theft, encryption, and network security among others. (2) to distinguish between the various topics of cyber security while playing the game application (3) to determine the evaluation tool to use in the assessment of the cognitive abilities of gamers. A quantitative research design was used to determine the process of the application while the Agile model is commonly used in game development due to its iterative and flexible nature. Technical Aspect which is the ISO 25010 and Game Aspect Method was used for the Evaluation with 60 respondents. The study can identify the genders of the respondents as male and female. The mechanics of the game can make the gamers use and test their knowledge about cyber security. Evaluation results of gamer respondents show the average mean of both males and females are interpreted as "Strongly Agree". This means that they strongly agree that cognitive abilities are used when playing the application. Meanwhile, evaluation results of technical respondents' average mean for both males and females are interpreted as also "Strongly Agree". This means that they strongly agree on all the technical aspects of the application. Overall, evaluation results of all respondents whether gamer or technical are interpreted as "Strongly Agree".