ChemXP AR Edition, A Serious Game

This project presents the design and development of a Serious Game, that utilizes Augmented Reality (AR) technologies, aimed to involve and engage students in Organic Chemistry. The game’s core features encompass several missions, and a tutorial, specifically targeting the challenging concept of determining the R/S Configuration of enantiomers. It also includes a physics-based molecular creation tool, using the attraction and repulsive forces. Two rounds of usability tests were carried out, where most participants were students from Digital Game Development and Multimedia. These tests would help to prepare the game for the end users—students of organic chemistry. So, the first round of usability tests involved eight students, which provided invaluable insights, as they gave suggestions, identified bugs and issues, resulting in a neutral-to-positive user experience (UX). The second round, consisting of fifteen participants, resulted in positive feedback, along with even more suggestions for further improvement. The game mode that was most liked by the participants was the Sandbox due to the freedom of building molecules and visualizing the smooth animations of atoms moving into their places. Also, for future work, tests will be carried out with the end users, the organic chemistry students, and will cover real-world usage scenarios.