Failing Forward: Insights from Difficult Games

Lead Presenter: Bfulche / Ben Fulcher

Venue: Lecture B – The Oasis

What can “punishing” games teach us about learning? Games like Dark Souls, Getting Over It, and Project Zomboid are often dismissed as frustrating, but they offer a powerful insight: failure is the teacher. Every setback prompts reflection. This “failure-forward” design creates spaces where struggle leads to mastery and confidence extending beyond the screen. As a Game Design educator, I’ve built courses around this insight. In Prototype Studio, students create games in one-week cycles, then revise one the final week. In Team Studio, teams prototype in four-week sprints, with the final month for revision. This presentation connects player experience to research on productive failure and growth mindset, offering insights into how these game mechanics translate to teaching practice. Attendees will gain frameworks for fostering persistence, iterative problem-solving, and resilience—skills vital in an era of rapid change.

Objectives:

• Participants will be able to identify how “failure-forward” game design creates effective learning.
• Participants will be able to apply iterative design frameworks to their own teaching practice.

Insights Connection:
This presentation addresses the “Insights” theme by examining what difficult games reveal about how we learn. Rather than focusing on tools or platforms, it uncovers a deeper lesson: struggle, when well-designed, builds mastery and confidence. These insights challenge assumptions about failure in education and offer practical strategies educators can adopt. The session bridges game analysis, learning science, and teaching practice—demonstrating how play offers unexpected insights into pedagogy.

Accessibility: I will use a SpeakEasy HUD Tool.