Exploration of use of videogames and eSports in University Student Services activities of four Colombian universities.

Abstract

The video game business, and its competitive Branch, known as eSports, e-Sports or electronic sports, has prospered consistently since the beginning of the 21st century, with the rise and expansion of the Internet. So, videogames played an important part in the growth and relationship with the world of today's university students in Colombia.

Gamification theories stablish the basic elements of video games can be used for teaching, due to the number of skills developed in the players in a hidden way. These skills were of interest to academics and students from some Colombian universities. For this reason, they prepared projects, defended them against videogame´s preconceptions run them out to demonstrate interesting results.

This article presents the results of interviews with four representatives of Student Services departments of Colombian universities, who decided to use videogames and eSports as part of their activities for teachers, students, and administrative staff; the motivations, problems, results, and perspectives of each project were investigated, to get the value of using videogames for more institutions in Colombia.