Learning Software Architectural Patterns and Quality Attributes Through a Digital Educational Game

• Enzo Rigazzo USP
• Fernando Yang USP
• Alessandreia de Oliveira UFJF
• Renan Vinicius Aranha USP
• Pedro Henrique Valle USP

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/sbgames_estendido.2026.32761

Resumo

Introduction: Teaching software architectural trade-offs is challenging because students must go beyond memorizing Architectural Patterns and quality attributes to reason about their relationships in concrete scenarios. Objective: This work presents TotalMeltdown, a Digital Educational Game (DEG) designed to support undergraduate computing students in understanding how architectural decisions influence software quality attributes. Methodology: The game was designed based on commonly discussed trade-offs between Architectural Patterns and software quality attributes. Its educational design draws on Problem-Based Learning by presenting players with contextualized software scenarios that require decision-making. Results: The resulting game provides an interactive environment that operationalizes architectural trade-offs as software project decisions. It also integrates an in-game notebook and immediate feedback to support learning. Conclusion: The proposed game transforms abstract software architecture concepts into contextualized decision-making activities. Future work includes heuristic inspection, motivation, and engagement instruments such as IMI and IMMS, and player experience and learning assessment using MEEGA+.

Palavras-chave: DEG, Quality Attributes, Architectural Software Patterns

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