Digital educational game value hierarchy from a learners’ perspective

• Explores learners value ladder of Attributes–Consequences–Values chain in SimCity.
• Laddering interviews identify 12 attributes, 10 consequences, 9 values of SimCity.
• The structures of values are set up by hierarchical value map.
• Cultivate learners’ imagination and creativity and problem-solving ability.

Although much research in the past has pointed out that SimCity offers many learning opportunities, few have focused on how these were derived from game attributes and the personal value they offered. In this research, the means-end chain theory and ladder interview were chosen as the approach to explore the structure of SimCity’s game attribute - learning effect - terminal value chain from learners’ perspective. Findings from the study indicate that through attributes such as Construction of simulated city, Become the mayor, Offer incidents of simulated disasters and Table of information overview, learners were able to benefit from the learning effects of Cultivate imagination and creativity, Cultivate problem-solving ability, Strengthen sense of responsibility, Increase planning experience, Cultivate organizational thinking, Strengthen leadership decision-making and Improve control ability in their pursuit of values such as Sense of achievement, Fun and enjoyment of life, Self-fulfillment and Self-respect. The research has taken one step further to explore the differences in value hierarchies for respondents of different majors and levels of education for a discussion in management significance. The findings revealed the key points that learners focus on when playing digital educational games and provide useful guidelines for improvements and teaching strategies for digital educational game developers and educators.