Table 15 Integration of CT and design thinking in Education Game design.

Empathize

The first step in design thinking is to establish empathy. By approaching from the user’s perspective, the true issues that users experience can be identified. Therefore, based on the conclusions in Tables 5 and 7, this study suggests that during teaching and game development, the learners’ educational levels and prior knowledge should be considered. The choice of development tools and game task design should be divided into simple and advanced levels, providing different degrees of difficulty and learning task durations for learners of different grades or varying knowledge levels in teaching tasks and development tools.

Define

The second step in design thinking is defining needs (Define). Through empathy planning from the previous step, an appropriate needs definition is established. Based on the conclusions of Table 6, this study suggests that educators should plan suitable game design goals according to the appropriate need definition and plan suitable tools, hardware, and software choices, as well as select the best teaching strategies, such as adopting interactive or sophisticated game design approaches.

Ideate

The third step in design thinking is creative ideation (Ideate). The results of the needs definition from the previous step are used to generate numerous possible solutions through creative ideation. This study suggests integrating the steps of CT through Decomposition, Pattern recognition, Abstraction, and Algorithm to analyze problems and ultimately propose the best possible solution. At this stage, problems can be decomposed through CT to break down complex needs definition issues into smaller, more understandable, and more manageable subproblems. Then, through Pattern recognition, similarities between problems can be identified, assisting in the contemplation of the best possible solutions.

Prototype

The fourth step in thinking is Prototype. This step involves creating a prototype to establish a tangible outcome. At this stage, Abstraction and Algorithm from CT can be applied to consider which development tools to choose for building the prototype. Based on the conclusions of Tables 3 and 4, learners with different educational levels and prior knowledge could select different development tools. For example, younger learners might opt for GUI-based development tools (such as Kodu) or block-based development tools such as App Inventor and Scratch. More experienced learners in higher grades can choose traditional text-based development tools, such as Python or C#.

Test

The fifth step in design thinking is Test & Implication. Testing involves using the prototype from the previous stage to interact with learners, allowing them to test whether their output is executed correctly and to observe their learning effectiveness and difficulties. At this stage, Abstraction and Algorithm from CT can be applied, enabling learners to review their abstraction and algorithm for feedback and revision, thereby reinforcing their learning. Simultaneously, teachers can use the learners’ game development outcomes and user reactions during this stage to assess whether the specified games can be developed correctly and quickly, to redefine and revise requirements or improve teaching strategies and gain deeper insights into the learning status.After reviewing the literature in this study and based on the analysis of Tables 9 and 10, understanding the learning status should consider not only the cognitive but also the affective domain. In the field of game design, measuring the affective domain is becoming an increasingly important topic. Currently, few studies consider both cognitive and affective domains simultaneously. Future research should evaluate both domains together.

Implication

In the implementation stage of game design, according to the analysis in Tables 12, 13, and 14 regarding CT skills, the level of CT skills is closely correlated with the educational level and the simplicity or difficulty of game design tasks. The higher the age group and the more complex the learning tasks, the greater the number of required CT skills. Conversely, the lower the age group and the simpler the learning tasks, the fewer CT skills are needed.