Today@Sam Article

Bearkat Develops Educational Game, Pursues Lifelong Learning

Jan. 29, 2025
SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins

A critical aspect of Sam Houston State University’s unique approach to higher education is a relentless commitment to building lifelong learners. With a legacy rooted in educational innovation and excellence, its students develop and strengthen a constant curiosity that propels them to new heights across several diverse fields.

“I have always been fascinated by the intersection of developmental technologies in an educational setting,” said Ossiel Olivares, who earned his master’s degree in emerging and social media in December. “Sam’s longstanding history of fostering educators informed my thesis project, for which I built a music-themed video game that evaluates the efficiency of game-based learning.”

Before Olivares pursued his master’s and merged his personal and academic interests into one, he attended SHSU as an undergraduate student in mass communications with a focus on advertising and public relations. The Richmond, Texas native was immediately drawn to the university after touring campus as a high school senior.

“Being from the Houston area, I was far enough to be independent, but not so far that I couldn’t go back home to see my family and friends,” he said. “I received a high-quality education at an affordable price compared to other universities in the area.”

Olivares took advantage of every opportunity that came his way, including student worker positions across various departments. He quickly found encouragement and support from a community of fellow students and faculty while gathering knowledge essential to mapping out his professional trajectory.

“That’s what made me stay here. I started building genuine relationships with my professors and other staff members who cared about me as a person, not just a student,” Olivares said. “I ultimately decided to continue my education and go for my graduate degree when the opportunity presented itself.”

SHSU’s cutting-edge Master of Arts in Emerging and Social Media program appealed to Olivares’ communications background as well as his desire to immerse himself in the ever-changing industry’s most relevant practices.

“The coursework was very hands-on and encourages a lot of your own exploration,” he said. “What attracted me most was the structure of it and how many different electives you could take.”

Olivares’ curriculum touched on everything from the basics of podcasting and documentary filmmaking to developing marketing strategies for imaginary companies. Specifically, his emerging media course introduced him to state-of-the-art technologies that would influence his final project as well as his aspirations for years to come.

“They focused on new forms of media that are currently being developed, or will be in the near future,” he said. “You get to learn how to effectively use all of these new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality and mixed virtual reality.”

Armed with a plethora of resources and experience, Olivares began developing an immersive video game for students primarily aged 18-24 to assess their knowledge retention after navigating the informational portion of the game, which was educational as well as entertaining and featured music as its subject matter.

“Historically, video games are seen more as entertainment than as an educational tool. I wanted to shed another light on that,” he said. “Everybody enjoys music, generally speaking, so I thought that was a good topic to use.”

The virtual process allowed subjects to explore a music-themed island developed by Olivares that featured numerous interactive experiences to engage with as well as information points, which enlightened players on specific instruments or composition styles. Users had to complete both a classical and modern music section before interacting with other characters in the game, who presented them with questions to test their memory. The test consisted of 16 total questions, eight from each section.

“The average user’s result was 14 correct answers, which tells me they found the game useful and informative, and were able to retain the information presented to them,” Olivares said.

Furthermore, he received overwhelmingly positive feedback from his many test subjects, solidifying his belief in the movement’s potential across other areas of interest.

“It was the format they enjoyed. The way the information was presented to them was easier to digest because it encouraged fun and emerging experiences while also prioritizing learning,” he said. “They felt it was a useful tool and something that can be applied to different subjects, such as mathematics, science or language studies.”

While his thesis project has concluded, Olivares expressed a desire to continue exploring game-based learning and how those other subjects fit into his findings further down the line, potentially in a doctoral capacity. Similarly, his graduate program at Sam Houston has concluded, but he remains with the university as coordinator for proposal development and communications with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP).

“This is a role that I genuinely enjoy,” he said. “Looking ahead, I am interested in continuing to pursue that intersection of education and media. I don’t think they need to be separate; they can work synergistically.”

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