Narrative Educational Games for New-Normal Preschool Education: A Case Study in TK Lintang, Surabaya

Educational games are a state-of-the-art method for education in the 21st century. However, they have not been applied for new-normal education in preschools. To contribute to the matter, we developed an educational game to help TK Lintang, a preschool institution in Surabaya, conduct "Jari Aritmetika" or "Magic Fingers" learning and teaching. We chose the visual novel as the game's genre, and the game presented Jari Aritmetika through storytelling and cartoon visuals. We developed the game in two iterations by considering "ease of use" as its nonfunctional requirement. Our results are two versions of the game (mobile and desktop) and an information system for modifying the game’s arithmetic questions. Our game acquired a 4.79, out of 5, mean value in a testing process involving four students and their parents, proving the game’s effectiveness for entertainment and education. We have also extracted five principles of educational game applications in new-normal preschool education, including facilitating "family time" between students and their parents.