Gamification has been widely applied in the educational field to increase students' participation in learning processes and foster knowledge acquisition. Within the context of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), serious games have been recognized as effective tools to raise awareness of environmental issues and promote sustainability-oriented decision making. The “Global Sustainability CrossRoads” game (https://geeds.es/en/global-sustainability-crossroads/) based on the MEDEAS_W model, provides a role-playing experience aimed not only to enhance understanding of the problems derived from climate change, but also to influence perceptions and behaviors towards climate action.

The objective of this work is to assess the educational impact of the game “CrossRoads” on university education. For this purpose, both cognitive and affective learning of students is evaluated through a statistical analysis of their answers to two surveys: one conducted before playing the game and another afterward. This work adds a quantitative assessment of learning over previous 'Crossroads' studies. It also explores how individual differences, particularly learning predisposition, influence the effectiveness of gamification, addressing a gap found in literature.

This work is carried out by playing the game with 100 students at the University of Valladolid. Before the game, students complete a 50-question survey on climate change knowledge, perceptions and motivation. The game session begins by introducing students to climate change, highlighting its complexity and interconnections. Students first define the goals they aim to achieve in addressing climate change challenges and formulate assumptions and policies. The selected options are simulated using the game interface and the main results are displayed allowing students to evaluate whether their goals have been achieved. After reviewing results, students have a second opportunity to revise their policies. All decisions are made using a consensus-based deliberative approach, highlighting the complexity of reaching agreement on critical issues. After the game, students answer the survey again and a statistical analysis is conducted to assess the effects of the game on students' cognitive and affective learning.

The results of the pre-game survey show a high level of concern regarding climate change before using the game. The Mann-Whitney test reveals that gender influences this concern, with female perceiving greater severity than males. However, although the perception of climate change severity is high, knowledge is low. For instance, many students are unaware of the current global temperature increase compared to the pre-industrial era. Moreover, when students are asked about issues related to their behavior, such as their concern about the impact of diet or the use of electronics or textiles, their concern decreases. In addition, students with a right-wing political ideology tend to perceive climate change with less severity than left-wing students, with Spearman's test confirming this correlation.

Post-game surveys show that the application of the game generates a change in students' perception of climate change caused by an increased acquisition of cognitive knowledge. Furthermore, a correlation is found between students' initial perception of climate change and their subsequent cognitive learning gains, highlighting the role of learning predisposition in the effectiveness of game-based education.

Keywords: Gamification, Education for Sustainable Development, Climate Change, Simulation Model, Energy Transition.