Nowadays, teachers face greater challenges due to students’ decreased motivation and engagement, which can disrupt learning and even lead to dropouts. Moreover, universities are increasingly moving toward digital model, where ICTs are a natural part of the daily lives of new generations of students. For this reason, teachers need to integrate new technologies to boost engagement and improve the learning process. In the Physiology course, the use of an educational escape room as a tool for addressing clinical cases, thereby digitizing one of the most widely used methodologies in higher education, Problem-based Learning (PbL), has had a positive impact on student attitudes and outcomes. Following this methodological approach, we introduced a video game in Physiology course to foster participation and interest, as well as to enhance the learning process. Educational video games, grounded in Game-based Learning (GbL) and Gamification, employ game mechanics and playful elements with the aim of increasing participation, motivation, and meaningful learning. This approach empowers students to take an active role in their own learning process.

As part of this experience, The Dragon’s Dungeon was created using the Genially platform. In this game, students must collect four symbolic gems to strengthen the immune system and defeat a dragon representing “evil”. Each gem is earned by completing one of the four missions in the video game, which were designed with varying levels of difficulty and different pedagogical approaches. If students answer incorrectly, the game ends. In the first mission, students face a skeleton who presents a multiple-choice quiz consisting of five basic-level questions, each with four possible answers. The second mission involves navigating a maze by stepping only on safe tiles while answering a series of image-based questions at an intermediate level of difficulty. In the third mission, set in a crystal cave, students must solve reasoning-based questions by selecting the most appropriate option from those provided. Finally, in the fourth mission, students enter the dragon’s dungeon, where they analyze a series of clinical cases designed to integrate theoretical concepts. If they manage to collect all four gems, they confront the dragon. After a challenging battle, they succeed in defeating it and completing the video game. Students, working in teams, were graded according to the level they reached in the game. Afterwards, a group discussion was held to review all the questions addressed during the activity. To assess student satisfaction with the experience, a survey was conducted using Google-Forms.

In conclusion, the video game was well received by students, fostering a dynamic classroom environment and encouraging active participation. The progressively developed final test, presented in the form of a video game, increased motivation and enhanced learning. Students reported that prior knowledge of the activity helped them stay up to date and remain more engaged in the Physiology course. They described the evaluation as enjoyable, stimulating, and beneficial for communication with both peers and teachers, while perceiving an overall improvement in their learning. This positive outcome can be largely attributed to the methodological shift in teaching.

Keywords: Video game, Blended Learning, Flipped-Teaching, Game-based Learning, Digital-Game, Gamification, New experiences in education.