Cultural Emotion Games as Trajectory Learning in Southeast Asia

Mobile and online games have become a popular delivery method of education. Creating fun, exciting, engaging, and motivating education games have been the main challenges for the online content providers, especially for education industry. Southeast Asia market has grown steadily over the years for online content providers, becoming one of the strategic areas of investment. In this paper, we identify that cultural barrier is the key obstacle to successfully enter this market. This study surveyed 342 teachers from four Southeast Asian countries to identify the problem of slow adoption of ICT, especially in teaching and learning: the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. We identified independent and dependent variables related to the causal effects on learning experience and outcomes of interactive online learning contents. Using only the significant paths, we then constructed a new cultural online game and e-learning model for creating more exciting, engaging, fun, and motivating online learning contents. Partial least square structural equation modelling techniques were used to examine the path associated with dependent and independent constructs. The result show (a) significant presence of cultural emotion states to help speed up digitalization and e-learning adoption to achieve digital transformation; (b) there are significant factors that can achieve path association from being contented (classroom-based learning) to being Technoid (skilled in technology use); (c) overall, the models achieved an acceptable fit for a new online game and e-learning platform for teachers’ and students in Southeast Asia. Based on the new cultural e-learning model, we created a science education game using festive themes for invoking pleasant emotions that are compatible for specific target groups. The cultural emotion game provided better learning experience and outcomes demonstrating how the new cultural e-learning model was able to make games more exciting, engaging and fun.