Educational games

Development of children's and educational games

Children's and educational games are an effective tool for learning and engaging audiences, including within gamified campaigns. This product format helps develop targeted skills, maintain attention, provide value, and turn learning into an exciting process.

The demand for children's game development and educational computer projects is growing due to the digitalization of education and the development of EdTech. Products in these categories are popular in schools, universities, kindergartens, and on various online platforms. They are effective both at home and in the office, opening up new opportunities for a wide range of customers:

• the business receives a sought-after product that attracts parents, educational institutions and a children's/teenagers'/adult audience;
• publishers are expanding their product line and reach through useful, relevant, and engaging content;
• Educational organizations increase the effectiveness of learning through innovative tools and game formats that stimulate student motivation and results in specialized areas.

What are children's and educational games?

In the game development industry, children's and educational games are a large category that combines digital products with elements of entertainment and learning. Such titles have two parallel goals: to capture and develop certain skills/form useful habits, and to simplify the assimilation of knowledge.

At the same time, creating games for children online can include projects aimed solely at entertainment, exclusively at education, or both at the same time. And educational titles are developed not only for children - their audience can also include teenagers and adults, depending on the market segment. For example, there are educational games for students, corporate employees (for onboarding or professional development, etc.).

Features of children's games:

• simple, intuitive mechanics;
• bright graphics, often in a cartoon style;
• safe gameplay without violence and unacceptable content (for example, scenes of aggression);
• These are mostly minigames and titles with short levels – to keep your attention.

Features of educational games:

• interactive, gamified learning (with tasks, points, levels, and rewards);
• balance between educational and entertainment components;
• adaptation to the age and knowledge level of a particular user.

Unlike regular entertainment titles, educational game projects are built on pedagogical methods and always take into account the age and cognitive characteristics of the target audience. They can be aimed at developing logic, memory, attention, speech, creativity, or subject knowledge - games for teaching reading, keyboarding, playing guitar or chess, programming, English, mathematics, natural sciences, etc.

Benefits of developing educational and children's games for business

For commercial and educational organizations, the gamified format has many advantages:

• increases audience engagement in the learning process, helping them acquire the necessary skills in an accessible, engaging way;
• attracts target audiences, forming a loyal community due to the practical value of interacting with the company and its products;
• forms sustainable knowledge and skills through game experience, practice and interactive activities;
• increases the effectiveness of distance and hybrid learning;
• keeps attention, motivating for regular classes and, accordingly, contacts with the brand.

How does the individual development of educational and children's game projects help achieve these goals?

Game mechanics make the process of acquiring knowledge and mastering skills exciting, helping to maintain attention.

Gamification improves the quality of user results, compensating for the often insufficient effectiveness of traditional learning methods.

Moreover, custom creation of educational computer games for children and adults allows you to avoid delays, optimizing resources and development time - the Arionis Games team takes on the full cycle of work, from concept to launch. We will also help you refine the existing product and prepare it for release - we will join you at any stage of the project implementation.

Stages of developing games for learning and children

Creating children's and educational games includes the classic sequence of work on a game product:

1. Analysis of the target audience and educational objectives, market.
2. Concept development and mechanics.
3. Design of 2D / 3D characters and interfaces with adaptation to age, as well as project goals.
4. Programming, implementation of educational content.
5. Testing (in the case of children's games, it is important to test the product with focus groups of users of the appropriate age and level of knowledge).
6. Preparing for launch.

Features of developing children's and educational games

The production of children's and educational games has a number of specific features, even without going into details about the genres, target platforms, and operating systems for which they are created.

Here's what you need to consider when planning to order the development of educational games, especially if your audience is children.

Age adaptation

The level of complexity and mechanics should correspond to the characteristics of the target audience. For preschoolers - simple interactive tasks, bright pictures, limited choice. For schoolchildren and older players - more complex logical tasks, puzzles, careful integration of educational material.

At the same time, it is important to take care of appropriate usability to avoid accidental actions - the interface should be clear, buttons, icons and their purpose - noticeable and intuitive.

Pedagogical value

When developing educational games for children and beyond, it is important to maintain a balance between entertainment and learning – so that skills and knowledge are learned, but at the same time the user finds it interesting. Mechanics often include repetition, reward systems, and progression – to motivate and reinforce the material.

Security

When creating educational and entertaining games for children, it is critical to adhere to age restrictions and take privacy seriously – to avoid inappropriate content, bullying, or any other negative experience. The product must also comply with local regulations and standards (e.g. COPPA, GDPR, etc., depending on the target market).

Gameplay and visuals

When developing children's and educational games, the key task is to maintain a balance between complexity and motivation. Tasks should be challenging, interesting, but doable. Reward and achievement systems, a competitive element help increase replayability and are useful in consolidating skills.

A good result is a product with simple, clear navigation, bright colors and animations, appropriate sound effects, and, of course, a balanced combination of learning/entertainment, complexity, and dynamics.

Careful implementation of educational content

Even if you plan to order the development of an educational game not for children, but for students or a more adult audience, the product should not turn into a lecture. It is important to integrate educational materials in a dosed manner so as not to overload with information, and adapt them to the chosen teaching methods and the characteristics of the target audience.

Another advantage of individually creating game projects is that they can be easily adapted for EdTech platforms, online courses, and school programs.

Testing and attention to feedback

Any game needs testing, and especially if it is intended for children. Before launching the product, it is important to check for clarity, the degree of involvement and motivation - see how the target audience reacts to visual and audio elements, the complexity of the tasks, progress, and adjust the strategy if necessary. Only in this case will the title give the desired result to both users and your company.

Regardless of which children's game creation site you decide to order the implementation of your product on, always keep in mind the recommendations given above. Following these simple rules when forming the terms of reference for the development company will help you avoid annoying misunderstandings and losses after the release.

Technologies and tools

To produce children's and educational games, we use a wide stack of EdTech services, programs, and technologies. The main ones are:

• 🎮 Engines and development environments: Unity , Unreal Engine , Cocos2d-x.
• 📱 Technologies for mobile and web games – Swift / Objective-C ( for iOS ), Java / Kotlin ( for Android ), HTML5, JavaScript, TypeScript, Phaser.js (for browser), React Native, Flutter – for cross-platform development.
• 🧩 Integration of educational materials – SCORM, xAPI (Tin Can API), LTI, H5P, Construct, Adaptive Learning.
• 👶 UX/UI – Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, libraries for color filters, simplified interface, multilingualism.
• 🌐 AR/VR and immersive technologies – ARKit (Apple), ARCore (Google), Oculus SDK, SteamVR, Vuforia.
• 📊 Analytics and engagement – Firebase, GameAnalytics, Unity Analytics, A/B testing, metrics for tracking behavior and learner outcomes.
• 🛠 Testing – Appium, Selenium, TestComplete, Jira, Trello, TestRail, custom tests.

Integration of parental panels and access control is also possible.

Types of children's and educational games that can be ordered from Arionis

The category of children's and educational games encompasses a wide range of genres, mechanics, and themes. The choice depends on the age of the target audience, business objectives, and project goals.

🎮 By genres and game mechanics, these can be:

• puzzles and brain teasers for developing logic;
• quizzes and quizzes to test the learned material;
• simulators with imitation of the activities of workers of various professions (farm, office, laboratory, etc.);
• role-playing games (RPGs) with learning through a story, progression system, and achievements;
• casual arcades with simple mechanics and educational elements;
• AR/VR games for an interactive experience with the effect of presence.

The cost of services for developing children's and educational games largely depends on the chosen genre, as it affects the scale of the project, the complexity of the work, and the stack of necessary technologies.

🧸 Depending on the age of the audience, educational game projects can be for:

• preschoolers (3-6 years old) - to study literacy, numbers, colors and shapes, develop motor skills, memory, and attention;
• schoolchildren (6-12 years old) – with integration of the curriculum into the gameplay (mathematics, reading, foreign languages, logic);
• teenagers (12+) – with in-depth study of sciences from the school curriculum, as well as other disciplines, such as programming, financial literacy, etc., to prepare for exams;
• adult audience – for learning specific skills, mastering corporate programs and software, playing musical instruments, etc.

The gaming industry has virtually no limitations in terms of areas and educational methods - you can create an educational game for children and adults in mathematics, languages, sciences, for the development of creative skills, hard skills, and socialization.

In terms of interaction formats, the product can be single-player (for independent play), multiplayer (to play and learn with others), or cooperative (child/adult + teacher/parent/other adult or colleague).

For which platforms can a children's or educational game be developed?

Before creating an interactive game for children, it is important to decide on the platform and operating system. The choice depends on the goals, audience, and budget of the project. Arionis Games Studio can implement the following products for any platform:

• Mobile (for iOS or Android). The most common format, ensuring maximum accessibility and wide reach.
• Web browsers . Launch without installation, availability on any device with an Internet connection - a convenient option for online learning.
• PC (Windows, macOS, Linux). The platform is suitable for complex game projects with wider functionality, often used for teaching in schools, universities, or for studying at home.
• VR/AR platforms. For creating immersive learning environments, a great choice for learning history and science.

You can also develop educational games for children and adults for interactive whiteboards and consoles (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo).

Why Arionis

Arionis Games web development studio has been creating IT products for over 10 years, and games for 5+ years. The team has deep expertise in IT and gaming industries, including blockchain, AI, and machine learning technologies.

We ensure successful product releases for our customers through iterative collaboration, strict reporting, and flexibility - we offer project collaboration, outsourcing, outstaffing, and you can also order the services of dedicated IT teams from us.

We approach each project individually – from the criteria of the preliminary market analysis to the post-release support package. You can see examples of our work in the Portfolio.

If you want to order the development of a children's or educational game from professionals, contact us. We will discuss your project, think over a strategy, write and launch a product that will bring joy and benefit to your audience, and profit to you.