Einstein’s Delivery: Bridging the Gap in Special Relativistic Education Through Digital Games
Resumo
Introduction: Teaching Special Relativity poses well-known pedagogical challenges due to its counterintuitive nature and high level of abstraction, often limiting students’ conceptual understanding. Objective: This work presents Einstein’s Delivery, a Digital Educational Game (DEG) designed to support the learning of Special Relativity concepts through interactive and contextualized gameplay. Methodology: The game was developed as a 2D platformer that simulates a “ludic world” in which the speed of light (c) is reduced, enabling players to experience phenomena such as time dilation and the Doppler effect as core mechanics. A heuristic evaluation was conducted to analyze usability, pedagogical alignment, and the clarity of feedback provided to learners. Results: The results suggest that the game has the potential to support the understanding of abstract physics concepts by connecting gameplay mechanics to scientific principles. Although findings indicate contributions to engagement and conceptual learning, the current version is a prototype and requires further validation in classroom contexts to assess its educational effectiveness and scalability.
Palavras-chave:
Digital Educational Games, Game-Based Learning, Physics Education, Special Relativity, Scientific Literacy
Referências
Aires, S. F. e Madeira, C. A. G. (2020). Desenvolvimento de jogos educacionais digitais: um relato de experiência com o framework playeduc. Revista Novas Tecnologias na Educação, 18(1).
Alstein, P., Krijtenburg-Lewerissa, K., e Van Joolingen, W. R. (2021). Teaching and learning special relativity theory in secondary and lower undergraduate education: A literature review. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 17(2):023101.
Azevêdo, M., Rousy, D., e Siebra, C. (2018). Ahjed-avaliação heurística para jogos educacionais digitais. Nuevas Ideas en Informática Educativa, 14(0):126–136.
Battipede, E., Giangualano, A., Boffi, P., Clerici, M., Calvi, A., Cassenti, L., Cialini, R., Van Den Weghe, T. L. A., Addimando, L., Lanzi, P. L., et al. (2024). Physics playground: Insights from a qualitative-quantitative study about vr-based learning. In International Conference on Intelligent Human Computer Interaction, pages 97–108. Springer.
Blumetti, M. G., Buonaura, B., Giuliani, G., e Litterio, M. (2025). Teaching special relativity in elementary physics or upper high school courses. arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.07872.
Boffi, A., Puppin, E., e Contran, M. (2024). Virtualrelativity: An interactive simulation of the special theory of relativity in virtual reality. arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.01442.
Chu, G., Humer, I., e Eckhardt, C. (2019). Special relativity in immersive learning. In International Conference on Immersive Learning, pages 16–29. Springer.
De Freitas, S. (2006). Learning in immersive worlds: A review of game-based learning.
Habgood, M. J. e Ainsworth, S. E. (2011). Motivating children to learn effectively: Exploring the value of intrinsic integration in educational games. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 20(2):169–206.
Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press.
Li, Y., Chen, D., e Deng, X. (2024). The impact of digital educational games on student’s motivation for learning: The mediating effect of learning engagement and the moderating effect of the digital environment. PloS one, 19(1):e0294350.
Pacheco, A. V. (2024). Serious game for physics as an active and gamified learning strategy.
Prensky, M. (2003). Digital game-based learning. Computers in entertainment (CIE), 1(1):21–21.
Souza, M. R., de Freitas, L. H., de Souza Silva, G., de Carvalho, F. X., e Souza, L. A. M. (2024). Uma proposta para o uso de rpg no ensino de física: A vingança de newton. arXiv e-prints, pages arXiv–2411.
van der Linden, A., Meulenbroeks, R. F., e van Joolingen, W. R. (2024). Learning newtonian mechanics with an intrinsically integrated educational game. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(4):1500–1510.
Voulgari, I. (2020). Digital games for science learning and scientific literacy. In Non-formal and informal science learning in the ICT Era, pages 35–49. Springer.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods, volume 5. SAGE.
Yu, Z., Gao, M., e Wang, L. (2021). The effect of educational games on learning outcomes, student motivation, engagement and satisfaction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(3):522–546.
Alstein, P., Krijtenburg-Lewerissa, K., e Van Joolingen, W. R. (2021). Teaching and learning special relativity theory in secondary and lower undergraduate education: A literature review. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 17(2):023101.
Azevêdo, M., Rousy, D., e Siebra, C. (2018). Ahjed-avaliação heurística para jogos educacionais digitais. Nuevas Ideas en Informática Educativa, 14(0):126–136.
Battipede, E., Giangualano, A., Boffi, P., Clerici, M., Calvi, A., Cassenti, L., Cialini, R., Van Den Weghe, T. L. A., Addimando, L., Lanzi, P. L., et al. (2024). Physics playground: Insights from a qualitative-quantitative study about vr-based learning. In International Conference on Intelligent Human Computer Interaction, pages 97–108. Springer.
Blumetti, M. G., Buonaura, B., Giuliani, G., e Litterio, M. (2025). Teaching special relativity in elementary physics or upper high school courses. arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.07872.
Boffi, A., Puppin, E., e Contran, M. (2024). Virtualrelativity: An interactive simulation of the special theory of relativity in virtual reality. arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.01442.
Chu, G., Humer, I., e Eckhardt, C. (2019). Special relativity in immersive learning. In International Conference on Immersive Learning, pages 16–29. Springer.
De Freitas, S. (2006). Learning in immersive worlds: A review of game-based learning.
Habgood, M. J. e Ainsworth, S. E. (2011). Motivating children to learn effectively: Exploring the value of intrinsic integration in educational games. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 20(2):169–206.
Kolb, D. A. (2014). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press.
Li, Y., Chen, D., e Deng, X. (2024). The impact of digital educational games on student’s motivation for learning: The mediating effect of learning engagement and the moderating effect of the digital environment. PloS one, 19(1):e0294350.
Pacheco, A. V. (2024). Serious game for physics as an active and gamified learning strategy.
Prensky, M. (2003). Digital game-based learning. Computers in entertainment (CIE), 1(1):21–21.
Souza, M. R., de Freitas, L. H., de Souza Silva, G., de Carvalho, F. X., e Souza, L. A. M. (2024). Uma proposta para o uso de rpg no ensino de física: A vingança de newton. arXiv e-prints, pages arXiv–2411.
van der Linden, A., Meulenbroeks, R. F., e van Joolingen, W. R. (2024). Learning newtonian mechanics with an intrinsically integrated educational game. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 40(4):1500–1510.
Voulgari, I. (2020). Digital games for science learning and scientific literacy. In Non-formal and informal science learning in the ICT Era, pages 35–49. Springer.
Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods, volume 5. SAGE.
Yu, Z., Gao, M., e Wang, L. (2021). The effect of educational games on learning outcomes, student motivation, engagement and satisfaction. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(3):522–546.
Publicado
29/09/2026
Como Citar
RAMOS, Lucas Franco; OLIVEIRA, Alessandreia Marta de; VALLE, Pedro Henrique.
Einstein’s Delivery: Bridging the Gap in Special Relativistic Education Through Digital Games. In: SIMPÓSIO BRASILEIRO DE JOGOS E ENTRETENIMENTO DIGITAL (SBGAMES), 25. , 2026, Goiânia/GO.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2026
.
p. 2202-2213.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbgames.2026.26025.
