Enhancing Educational Games with Horror Elements: Investigating User Experience and Learning Outcomes

This study examines the influence of horror elements on User Experience (UX) and learning outcomes within educational games. Thirty-four participants played two environmental education games: SeaCleaner (without horror integration) and Mendacius Conspiracy (with horror integration). Data, comprising post-game survey responses, were analyzed Wilconxon Signed Rank tests. The integration of horror elements led to a significant increase in emotional immersion but simultaneously exhibited a negative effect on usability. Crucially, no significant differences were detected across other key metrics, including cognitive engagement, knowledge retention, player satisfaction, challenge levels, or replayability. These findings indicate that although horror elements can significantly heighten emotional engagement, their implementation must be carefully balanced with usability considerations to sustain the overall effectiveness of the educational objectives.