E-Learning Takes the Stage: From La Dama Boba to a Serious Game

In Spain, young people are losing their interest in classical drama. We believe that educational games are an excellent medium for addressing this issue. This article describes the design and implementation of a videogame based on La Dama Boba, Lope de Vega´s stage play. The aim of the videogame is to motivate young people to go to classical theater plays and to familiarize students with the plot and the characters before they go to the theater. This goal is achieved by making avatars interesting to players, by incorporating different theater techniques to generate characters´ personalities and by including the elements that can be used as audiovisual content such as music, scenery, and costume design. In this paper, we also present the results of an initial evaluation of the game with master´s students from the E-learning group. In order to improve the game, we have studied its effects in terms of improvement of knowledge, learning outcomes, and student motivation.