GameTULearn
Design Learning Content Playfully in 3D

Discover GameTULearn!

Discover GameTULearn, the authoring tool for playful 3D learning environments. With GameTULearn, educators can create their own learning environments without programming knowledge, allowing students to explore content in an interactive and playful way. 3D objects can be placed via drag & drop, linked with game actions, and entire scenarios can be designed—from classrooms and labs to open forest landscapes. The finished game can then be exported as a standalone EXE file and used directly in lessons.

Our tool has already been successfully used in workshops and events:

  • E-Learning Stammtisch at TU Darmstadt (March 2024)
  • GameDays (June 2024 & 2025) with over 300 participants, including educators, researchers, and families with children
  • Gamescom and Gamescom Congress (August 2025)
  • Workshops and evaluations with students from Goethe University Frankfurt, TU Darmstadt, and teachers from schools and universities

Feedback has been consistently positive—participants particularly praised the intuitive usability, creative possibilities, and playful presentation of learning content.

Who is GameTULearn for?

  • Educators at universities and schools who want to make lessons more varied and interactive—they can create their own learning games and use them directly in class.
  • Schools and universities that want to use the tool as a learning platform – students can develop games themselves to explore and deepen learning content playfully.
  • Event organizers and educational events, where we present GameTULearn live—we offer live demos and workshops where participants can try out the tool and get inspired.

We invite you to try GameTULearn!

Simply fill out our contact form, and you will receive:

  • Access to the authoring tool (EXE format, Windows PC required)
  • Five pre-created use cases included, which can be used as templates
  • Five playable use cases (EXE format, Windows PC required)

Please note: GameTULearn is a prototype that is continuously being developed. We welcome feedback, which will be used to improve the tool.

Try GameTULearn and become part of our community that conveys learning content playfully and creatively!

Project at a Glance

The project “3DVirtualCampus4GamifiedOnlineTeaching” started in early 2023 and was coordinated by the Serious Games working group at TU Darmstadt. Project partners included various departments of TU Darmstadt, such as the Remote Sensing and Image Analysis group (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, FB13), the Animal Evolutionary Ecology group (Department of Biology, FB10), and the Institute for General and Vocational Pedagogy (Department of Human Sciences, FB3). Additionally, the E-Learning Group at HDA was involved as an associated partner.

The path from idea to prototype followed a user-centered approach:

  • Needs analysis and workshops with educators and departments
  • Concept and design phase with wireframes, mockups, and style guide
  • UX test workshops with educators and students
  • Live demos, presentations, and evaluations at GameDays, Gamescom, and in seminars

Players enter a digital laboratory to identify insects based on various characteristics. The task is embedded in a small story: A professor asks players to assemble a package with three specific beetle species. Players search drawers and lab cabinets, select the correct specimens, and examine them using a stereoscope in 360° view. This use case conveys biological knowledge in a playful way, embedded in an engaging puzzle. 3D insect models can be viewed from all angles, making learning particularly vivid and interactive.

This hybrid use case is aimed at school classes approaching career decisions and focuses on reflecting perceptions of occupational stereotypes. In the digital game, players discover the paper dress-up doll game of a little sister and design three pre-defined professionals. They can freely combine head, clothing, accessories, and traits—hair and skin colors, outfits, and genders are highly diverse and can be mixed as desired. Design is done in 2D via point-and-click, while the environment is explored in 3D and first-person view. At the end, players take screenshots of their designed characters, which are then discussed analogously in class. This creates an interactive discussion about stereotypes, diversity, and career opportunities, actively engaging students and encouraging reflection.

In this use case, players take on the role of a young forest ranger. The goal is to monitor the condition of a virtual forest and distinguish between healthy and diseased trees. Using “magic glasses,” players can see the NDVI light spectrum—a method used in real-world environmental monitoring to assess vegetation and forest health. Players explore a lively open-world forest, read information panels, and classify trees based on their NDVI values. In doing so, they experience interactively how remote sensing and environmental research work and understand the significance of this technology for forest protection, agriculture, and climate research.