History teaching and learning often focuses on historical data and data-driven narratives, while the more abstract, metacognitive sides of history remain challenging to convey through traditional teaching. To address this, we created and pilot-tested a mixed-reality, AI-assisted, narrative-driven game for an undergraduate course on historical consciousness. Students could explore at their own pace as they interacted with an AI agent and a physical notebook containing tasks and a map. A multi-method approach was used to evaluate the prototype. Participants completed voluntary, anonymous pre- and post-questionnaires covering motivation, learning and perceptions including the EGameFlow scale to measure player enjoyment. Gameplay logs captured how long, how often, and when students played, while semi-structured interviews provided qualitative insights for a deeper look at the user experience. While technical issues negatively affected some students’ perceptions, many remained positive towards the potential for game-based learning in their studies. The data also revealed that the participants felt more confident explaining the topic and reported a better grasp of key concepts after playing the game. This study is the first step towards an AI-assisted game-based learning environment for higher education.

Keywords: Game-based learning, artificial intelligence, mixed-reality, game design, historical consciousness.