Analyzing the Design and Impact of Digital Serious Games in Digital Security: Challenges and Emerging Trends
Resumo
Introduction: Over the years, cybercrimes have increasingly affected society. The development of digital serious games (SGs) has been explored as assistant tools to raise awareness about digital security. However, there is a lack of studies that analyze the scientific rigor of such games in a comprehensive manner. Objective: Analyze the design and impact of digital SGs in the context of digital security through a systematic literature review (SLR). Methodology: We developed and applied an SLR protocol to summarize and analyze recent developments of SGs in this context, focusing on the challenges and emerging trends. Results: Our main results are twofold: from the SLR, we raise five fundamental challenges and three main trends in this research area; and we propose a set of guidelines for the development of digital SGs in digital security.
Palavras-chave:
Digital Security, Serious Games, Systematic Literature Review, Digital Crimes
Referências
Abu-Amara, F. e Tamimi, H. (2021). Cyber shield security awareness program. In 2021 8th International Conference on Computing for Sustainable Global Development (INDIACom), pages 422–425. IEEE.
Ahmed, A., Watterson, C., Alhashmi, S., e Gaber, T. (2024). How universities teach cybersecurity courses online: a systematic literature review. Frontiers in Computer Science, 6:1499490.
Alma’ariz, S., Hadiprakoso, R. B., Qomariasih, N., et al. (2022). Soceng warriors: Game-based learning to increase security awareness against social engineering attacks. In 2022 IEEE 8th Information Technology International Seminar (ITIS), pages 124–129. IEEE.
Asif, S. A., Cao, Y., Veng, S., Chisholm, K., Posthumous, R. P., Rutherford, T., Shen, C.-C., e Mouza, C. (2025). Augmentwall: An ar firewall game for concretizing cybersecurity concepts and examining student engagement, learning, and motivation. In 2025 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), pages 1–8. IEEE.
Berisford, C. J., Blackburn, L., Ollett, J. M., Tonner, T. B., Yuen, C. S. H., Walton, R., e Olayinka, O. (2022). Can gamification help to teach cybersecurity? In 2022 20th International conference on information technology based higher education and training (ITHET), pages 1–9. IEEE.
Chattopadhyay, A., Sharma, S., Mbaya, E., e Rice, J. (2024). Vpet: A novel visual privacy themed cybersecurity educational game. In 2024 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pages 1–9. IEEE.
Coenraad, M., Pellicone, A., Ketelhut, D. J., Cukier, M., Plane, J., e Weintrop, D. (2020). Experiencing cybersecurity one game at a time: A systematic review of cybersecurity digital games. Simulation & Gaming, 51(5):586–611.
Costa, G., Lualdi, M., Ribaudo, M., e Valenza, A. (2020). A nerd dogma: introducing ctf to non-expert audience. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference on Information Technology Education, pages 413–418.
DataSenado (2024). Panorama político 2024: Apostas esportivas, golpes digitais e endividamento. Technical report, Instituto de Pesquisa DataSenado.
de Abreu, J. M., Miani, R. S., e Nomura, S. (2024). " encrypta: A missão da liga dos robôs"-um jogo educacional para aprendizagem em cibersegurança. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1327–1338. SBC.
DeCusatis, C. a., Gormanly, B., Alvarico, E., Dirahoui, O., McDonough, J., Sprague, B., Maloney, M., Avitable, D., e Mah, B. (2022). A cybersecurity awareness escape room using gamification design principles. In 2022 IEEE 12th Annual Computing and Communication Workshop and Conference (CCWC), pages 0765–0770. IEEE.
dos Santos, E. E., Junior, M. M. C., da Silva, F. F., e Aylon, L. B. R. (2025). Cyber defender: desenvolvimento e avaliação de um jogo educativo para ensino de segurança cibernética. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Segurança da Informação e de Sistemas Computacionais (SBSeg), pages 289–304. SBC.
Fu, J., Lu, Y., Yang, Z., Nah, F., e LC, R. (2025). Cracking aegis: An adversarial llm-based game for raising awareness of vulnerabilities in privacy protection. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, pages 639–662.
Hasan, K. F., Hughes, W., Rahman Tory, A., Campbell, C., e Turkay, S. (2026). Game on: A developmental approach to unsw cyber escape room for cybersecurity governance and policy education. Education Sciences, 16(1):133.
Hill Jr, W. A., Fanuel, M., Yuan, X., Zhang, J., e Sajad, S. (2020). A survey of serious games for cybersecurity education and training. KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice.
Huang, S., Herman, G. L., Olano, M., Oliva, L., e Sherman, A. T. (2025a). Meetingmayhem: A web-based educational game focused on adversarial thinking. In Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 2, pages 735–736.
Huang, S., Herman, G. L., e Sherman, A. T. (2025b). Cyberguardian: A role-playing educational game for learning cryptographic primitives in authentic cybersecurity scenarios. In Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 2, pages 745–746.
Jayakrishnan, G. C., Banahatti, V., Lodha, S., Sirigireddy, G., e Nivas, S. (2022). Housie: A multiplayer game for cybersecurity training and evaluation. In Extended abstracts of the 2022 annual symposium on computer-human interaction in play, pages 17–23.
Kido, Y., Tou, N. P., Yanai, N., e Shimojo, S. (2020). sd&d: Design and implementation of cybersecurity educational game with highly extensible functionality. In Future of Information and Communication Conference, pages 857–873. Springer.
Kitchenham, B. et al. (2004). Procedures for performing systematic reviews. Keele, UK, Keele University, 33(2004):1–26.
Luccas, M. d. S., Pereira, L. T., e Branco, K. C. (2025). Um mapeamento sistemático da literatura sobre jogos sérios no ensino superior em ciência da computação. Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1231–1245.
Maqsood, S. e Chiasson, S. (2021). Design, development, and evaluation of a cybersecurity, privacy, and digital literacy game for tweens. ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security (TOPS), 24(4):1–37.
Mohanty, A., Murarisetty, P., Nguyen, N. D., Bahamon, J. C., Ramaprasad, H., e Sridhar, M. (2021). Criminal investigations: an interactiveexperience to improve student engagement and achievement in cybersecurity courses. In Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pages 1276–1276.
Ng, C. Y. e Hasan, M. K. B. (2025). Cybersecurity serious games development: A systematic review. Computers & Security, 150:104307.
Pantaliano, M. E., Rabano, A. N. M., Villaalba, H. B., Blanco, M. C. R., Co, J. D. C., Sison, A. A. R. C., e Centeno, C. J. (2024). Forenseek: Gamifying learning experiences in digital forensics using unity engine and augmented reality technology. In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Computing (ICOCO), pages 196–201. IEEE.
Pérez, J., Torres, R., e Von Brand, S. (2020). Cyberkids: video game for raising cyber security awareness in children. In 2020 39th International Conference of the Chilean Computer Science Society (SCCC), pages 1–8. IEEE.
Polícia Federal (2025). Dados de crimes cibernéticos – janeiro a dezembro de 2025. Relatório Operacional. Disponível nos registros da Polícia Federal do Brasil.
Raturi, Y., Saini, S., Singh, Y., Saini, V., Balyan, Y., e Dhaka, R. (2025). Cyberclash: Cybersecurity awareness game. In 2025 IEEE 6th India Council International Subsections Conference (INDISCON), pages 1–5. IEEE.
Salman, O. H., Alawida, M., Hazeem, R. M. A., Zeyadeh, M. S., e Alameri, M. R. (2023). Cybersafe: A gamified cyber security training method. In 2023 International Conference on Electrical, Communication and Computer Engineering (ICECCE), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Silva, C., Serra, A., Folgado, D., Santos, H., Oliveira, Â., e Lopes, A. (2022). It’s a fraud: learning about cybersecurity. In 2022 17th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Susanto, H. Y. e Arifin, Y. (2024). The learning outcomes achievement and user experience analysis of a cryptography education web game. In 2024 10th International HCI and UX Conference in Indonesia (CHIuXiD), pages 30–35. IEEE.
Toledo, W., Louis, S. J., e Sengupta, S. (2022). Netdefense: A tower defense cybersecurity game for middle and high school students. In 2022 IEEE frontiers in education conference (FIE), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Veneruso, S. V., Ferro, L. S., Marrella, A., Mecella, M., e Catarci, T. (2020). Cybervr: an interactive learning experience in virtual reality for cybersecurity related issues. In Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces, pages 1–8.
Weeratunge, N. H. e Hjelsvold, R. (2025). Enhancing cybersecurity learning with in-game feedback. In European Conference on Games Based Learning, volume 2, pages 883–891. Academic Conferences International Limited.
Ahmed, A., Watterson, C., Alhashmi, S., e Gaber, T. (2024). How universities teach cybersecurity courses online: a systematic literature review. Frontiers in Computer Science, 6:1499490.
Alma’ariz, S., Hadiprakoso, R. B., Qomariasih, N., et al. (2022). Soceng warriors: Game-based learning to increase security awareness against social engineering attacks. In 2022 IEEE 8th Information Technology International Seminar (ITIS), pages 124–129. IEEE.
Asif, S. A., Cao, Y., Veng, S., Chisholm, K., Posthumous, R. P., Rutherford, T., Shen, C.-C., e Mouza, C. (2025). Augmentwall: An ar firewall game for concretizing cybersecurity concepts and examining student engagement, learning, and motivation. In 2025 IEEE Integrated STEM Education Conference (ISEC), pages 1–8. IEEE.
Berisford, C. J., Blackburn, L., Ollett, J. M., Tonner, T. B., Yuen, C. S. H., Walton, R., e Olayinka, O. (2022). Can gamification help to teach cybersecurity? In 2022 20th International conference on information technology based higher education and training (ITHET), pages 1–9. IEEE.
Chattopadhyay, A., Sharma, S., Mbaya, E., e Rice, J. (2024). Vpet: A novel visual privacy themed cybersecurity educational game. In 2024 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), pages 1–9. IEEE.
Coenraad, M., Pellicone, A., Ketelhut, D. J., Cukier, M., Plane, J., e Weintrop, D. (2020). Experiencing cybersecurity one game at a time: A systematic review of cybersecurity digital games. Simulation & Gaming, 51(5):586–611.
Costa, G., Lualdi, M., Ribaudo, M., e Valenza, A. (2020). A nerd dogma: introducing ctf to non-expert audience. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference on Information Technology Education, pages 413–418.
DataSenado (2024). Panorama político 2024: Apostas esportivas, golpes digitais e endividamento. Technical report, Instituto de Pesquisa DataSenado.
de Abreu, J. M., Miani, R. S., e Nomura, S. (2024). " encrypta: A missão da liga dos robôs"-um jogo educacional para aprendizagem em cibersegurança. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1327–1338. SBC.
DeCusatis, C. a., Gormanly, B., Alvarico, E., Dirahoui, O., McDonough, J., Sprague, B., Maloney, M., Avitable, D., e Mah, B. (2022). A cybersecurity awareness escape room using gamification design principles. In 2022 IEEE 12th Annual Computing and Communication Workshop and Conference (CCWC), pages 0765–0770. IEEE.
dos Santos, E. E., Junior, M. M. C., da Silva, F. F., e Aylon, L. B. R. (2025). Cyber defender: desenvolvimento e avaliação de um jogo educativo para ensino de segurança cibernética. In Simpósio Brasileiro de Segurança da Informação e de Sistemas Computacionais (SBSeg), pages 289–304. SBC.
Fu, J., Lu, Y., Yang, Z., Nah, F., e LC, R. (2025). Cracking aegis: An adversarial llm-based game for raising awareness of vulnerabilities in privacy protection. In Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference, pages 639–662.
Hasan, K. F., Hughes, W., Rahman Tory, A., Campbell, C., e Turkay, S. (2026). Game on: A developmental approach to unsw cyber escape room for cybersecurity governance and policy education. Education Sciences, 16(1):133.
Hill Jr, W. A., Fanuel, M., Yuan, X., Zhang, J., e Sajad, S. (2020). A survey of serious games for cybersecurity education and training. KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice.
Huang, S., Herman, G. L., Olano, M., Oliva, L., e Sherman, A. T. (2025a). Meetingmayhem: A web-based educational game focused on adversarial thinking. In Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 2, pages 735–736.
Huang, S., Herman, G. L., e Sherman, A. T. (2025b). Cyberguardian: A role-playing educational game for learning cryptographic primitives in authentic cybersecurity scenarios. In Proceedings of the 30th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education V. 2, pages 745–746.
Jayakrishnan, G. C., Banahatti, V., Lodha, S., Sirigireddy, G., e Nivas, S. (2022). Housie: A multiplayer game for cybersecurity training and evaluation. In Extended abstracts of the 2022 annual symposium on computer-human interaction in play, pages 17–23.
Kido, Y., Tou, N. P., Yanai, N., e Shimojo, S. (2020). sd&d: Design and implementation of cybersecurity educational game with highly extensible functionality. In Future of Information and Communication Conference, pages 857–873. Springer.
Kitchenham, B. et al. (2004). Procedures for performing systematic reviews. Keele, UK, Keele University, 33(2004):1–26.
Luccas, M. d. S., Pereira, L. T., e Branco, K. C. (2025). Um mapeamento sistemático da literatura sobre jogos sérios no ensino superior em ciência da computação. Simpósio Brasileiro de Jogos e Entretenimento Digital (SBGames), pages 1231–1245.
Maqsood, S. e Chiasson, S. (2021). Design, development, and evaluation of a cybersecurity, privacy, and digital literacy game for tweens. ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security (TOPS), 24(4):1–37.
Mohanty, A., Murarisetty, P., Nguyen, N. D., Bahamon, J. C., Ramaprasad, H., e Sridhar, M. (2021). Criminal investigations: an interactiveexperience to improve student engagement and achievement in cybersecurity courses. In Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, pages 1276–1276.
Ng, C. Y. e Hasan, M. K. B. (2025). Cybersecurity serious games development: A systematic review. Computers & Security, 150:104307.
Pantaliano, M. E., Rabano, A. N. M., Villaalba, H. B., Blanco, M. C. R., Co, J. D. C., Sison, A. A. R. C., e Centeno, C. J. (2024). Forenseek: Gamifying learning experiences in digital forensics using unity engine and augmented reality technology. In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Computing (ICOCO), pages 196–201. IEEE.
Pérez, J., Torres, R., e Von Brand, S. (2020). Cyberkids: video game for raising cyber security awareness in children. In 2020 39th International Conference of the Chilean Computer Science Society (SCCC), pages 1–8. IEEE.
Polícia Federal (2025). Dados de crimes cibernéticos – janeiro a dezembro de 2025. Relatório Operacional. Disponível nos registros da Polícia Federal do Brasil.
Raturi, Y., Saini, S., Singh, Y., Saini, V., Balyan, Y., e Dhaka, R. (2025). Cyberclash: Cybersecurity awareness game. In 2025 IEEE 6th India Council International Subsections Conference (INDISCON), pages 1–5. IEEE.
Salman, O. H., Alawida, M., Hazeem, R. M. A., Zeyadeh, M. S., e Alameri, M. R. (2023). Cybersafe: A gamified cyber security training method. In 2023 International Conference on Electrical, Communication and Computer Engineering (ICECCE), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Silva, C., Serra, A., Folgado, D., Santos, H., Oliveira, Â., e Lopes, A. (2022). It’s a fraud: learning about cybersecurity. In 2022 17th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Susanto, H. Y. e Arifin, Y. (2024). The learning outcomes achievement and user experience analysis of a cryptography education web game. In 2024 10th International HCI and UX Conference in Indonesia (CHIuXiD), pages 30–35. IEEE.
Toledo, W., Louis, S. J., e Sengupta, S. (2022). Netdefense: A tower defense cybersecurity game for middle and high school students. In 2022 IEEE frontiers in education conference (FIE), pages 1–6. IEEE.
Veneruso, S. V., Ferro, L. S., Marrella, A., Mecella, M., e Catarci, T. (2020). Cybervr: an interactive learning experience in virtual reality for cybersecurity related issues. In Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Advanced Visual Interfaces, pages 1–8.
Weeratunge, N. H. e Hjelsvold, R. (2025). Enhancing cybersecurity learning with in-game feedback. In European Conference on Games Based Learning, volume 2, pages 883–891. Academic Conferences International Limited.
Publicado
29/09/2026
Como Citar
FRATUS, Lucas de O.; SILVA, Felippe F. da; SVAIGEN, Alisson R..
Analyzing the Design and Impact of Digital Serious Games in Digital Security: Challenges and Emerging Trends. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE JOGOS E ENTRETENIMENTO DIGITAL (SBGAMES), 25. , 2026, Goiânia/GO.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 2164-2176.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbgames.2026.25959.
