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This paper presents an in-depth study of learners’ learning and playing styles and their implications for educational video games. This study aims to scrutinize the manifestation of learning and playing styles among learners, to identify the style predispositions and dominance and to assess the implication of these results for educational video games.

This paper proposes a structured model with a detailed methodology for evaluating and categorizing style predisposition and the learner’s dominant learning and playing style. The multimodal style predisposition aggregates several manifested styles at three distinguished levels to achieve more precise differentiation. The authors analyze the outcomes of an empirical field study of 676 K12 and university students, making an in-depth evaluation of their learning and playing styles.

Based on the presented model to determine the level of preferences and dominance of styles, the study reveals that multimodal style predisposition prevails for both learning and playing styles. Most learners manifest several dominant styles. While the Kinesthetic Visual, Auditory, Read/Write and Kinesthetic (VARK) learning style and Logician and Strategist playing styles prevail, the Read/Write and Competitor styles are the least preferred.

The survey explores particular learning and playing styles – VARK and adaptive technology-enhanced platform for edutainment (ADOPTA). It covers only Bulgarian students, who share common national cultural predispositions. The different sizes of the samples (234 K12 and 432 university students) are also a limitation. Further studies should involve international and equal samples of participants.

Educational video games should reflect the findings about learners’ preferences and predispositions at the planning, design and practical application level.

Game-based learning and gamification approaches in education should focus on aspects other than competition.

This paper presents an original methodology for modeling, evaluating and categorizing style predisposition and students’ dominant learning and playing styles and results about these styles of K12 and university students in the context of educational video games.

Designing digital artifacts is not a linear, straightforward process. This is particularly true when applying a user-centered design approach, or co-design, with users who are unable to participate in the design process. Although the reduced participation of a particular user group may harm the end result, the literature on solving this issue is sparse. In this article, proxy design is outlined as a method for involving a user group as proxy users to speak on behalf of a group that is difficult to reach. The article investigates the following research question: How can roleplaying be embedded in co-design to engage users as proxies on behalf of those who are unable to represent themselves?

The article presents a design ethnography spanning three years at a cancer rehabilitation clinic, where digital artifacts were designed to be used collaboratively by nurses and patients. The empirical data were analyzed using content analysis and consisted of 20 observation days at the clinic, six proxy design workshops, 21 telephone consultations between patients and nurses, and log data from the digital artifact.

The article shows that simulated consultations, with nurses roleplaying as proxies for patients ignited and initiated the design process and enabled an efficient in-depth understanding of patients. Moreover, the article reveals how proxy design as a method further expanded the design. The study findings illustrate: (1) proxy design as a method for initiating design, (2) proxy design as an embedded element in co-design and (3) six design guidelines that should be considered when engaging in proxy design.

The main contribution is the conceptualization of proxy design as a method that can ignite and initiate the co-design process when important users are unreachable, vulnerable or unable to represent themselves in the co-design process. More specifically, based on the empirical findings from a design ethnography that involved nurses as proxy users speaking on behalf of patients, the article shows that roleplaying in proxy design is a fitting way of initiating the design process, outlining proxy design as an embedded element of co-design.