Effective design of training-related games (games for training and/or assessment) requires synergy between the mechanisms for delivering instructional content and the mechanisms for learning game play and game functionality (Becker, 2006). The learning domain must be embedded as a core game mechanic: that is, the game cannot be advanced or won without utilization of the domain being taught or assessed (Fisch, 2005). To address these issues, we created two interconnected models central to the design and development of training-related games: 1) a Game Play Model comprising the key components of a game and 2) a Player Interaction Framework defining how players interact with information in a game. The model and framework help to optimize the design and development process by providing a shared set of categories for organizing domain and game instruction. They also provide a lens through which comparisons of instructional methods and strategies can be made across games.

Using the Game Play Model and Player Interaction Framework, we analyzed 34 games (24 popular commercial video games and 10 commercial video games used by the military). Results of the analyses indicate that while the two game types were similar in the amount of instruction devoted to introducing the various components of the Game Play Model, the delivery mechanisms (the Player Interaction Framework) differed in some key areas. In particular, the military games did not provide enough direct instruction and relied too much on the player to actively seek out information. The Game Play Model and the Player Interaction Framework not only represent important components in the design and development process for training games, they provide a useful lens for the examination of the effectiveness of instruction within training games.