Can mobile game development foster student interest in computer science?

Mobile culture refers to an increasingly important role that mobile communication and mobile media play in our everyday lives. Young people are often viewed as the driving force behind the innovation in mobile technology, since they comprise the majority of early adopters and most avid users of mobile gadgets and applications, especially mobile games. Many contemporary college students grew up surrounded by computer games and electronic gadgets and, therefore, may better relate to mobile technology than to the desktops dominating current academic environment. This paper makes the case for using mobile game development as a motivational tool and a learning context in computing curriculum, which is supported by the results of a large student survey. The paper also presents a case study illustrating how mobile game development can be successfully integrated into a breadth-first introductory computer science course.