The science behind the platform
The science behind Arludo
is actual science.
Arludo isn't a company that hired researchers. It's a research project that became a platform. Prof. Michael Kasumovic was studying how games alter self-perception before Arludo existed.
The distinction that matters
How we think about research
Most education technology describes itself as “research-backed.” What that usually means is that the company funded a study or cited someone else's work.
Arludo is different. The research came first.
Professor Kasumovic was studying how games alter self-perception and behaviour before Arludo existed. The games he built weren't prototypes for a product — they were instruments for a research programme. Arludo emerged from that research as the applied form of the findings.
That means the platform is not designed to be engaging and then studied to see if it works. It was designed around what the research already showed would work — and we continue to study it to understand what we can improve.
What the research shows
Research-Built
A live cross-national research programme spanning 80 economies and 5 national cohorts. Still running. The platform was built to be studied, not studied to justify the platform.
Designed, not commercial
Commercial gaming marks interest in STEM — it attracts students who were already interested. Designed game-based learning builds understanding. Arludo games require scientific thinking to win, so the learning is the mechanic, not the reward.
From Prof. Kasumovic's published work: type of game, not total screen time, is the meaningful variable.
Learning-Demonstrated
Early cohort data from the Arludo app: 99% of students apply the physics of friction in what they build. Boys and girls learn equally across this and other measured concepts.
App data from early cohorts — not a controlled study. The boundary: these are learning-applied measures, not test-score outcomes.
The gap is situational
Arludo's own national data shows the early gender gap in STEM interest is produced by classroom social context — not carried within children. It is addressable, and the conversation about it is where the work happens.
This finding is specific to Arludo's data. We do not claim games close the gender gap or recruit girls into STEM careers.
The published work
Four papers (treat as published). Each contributes a distinct finding.
Type, not total
The type of game matters; total screen time does not predict STEM outcomes. Designed games — where scientific thinking is the mechanic — produce different effects from commercial gaming.
Marker, not lever
Commercial gaming is a marker of existing STEM interest, not a lever that creates it. This is the evidence against the common claim that "games increase STEM interest."
Claim boundary: We do not claim: playing Arludo causes STEM career ambition.
The situational gap
The early gender gap in measured STEM interest emerges from classroom social context, not from differences inside children. Arludo's own national data across Australian cohorts.
Claim boundary: We do not claim: Arludo closes the gender gap or recruits girls into STEM.
Ethics and designed GBL
Published study on the ethical dimensions of designed game-based learning in formal education — what obligations researchers and designers carry when games are used as scientific instruments in classrooms.
Research papers
Moura-Campos, D., Head, M.L., and Kasumovic, M.M. 2026. Using a mobile game to explore the effects of predator-mediated resource acquisition. Animal Behaviour.
In ReviewGilmour, A., Moustafa, A., Lee, M.F., Pollo, P, and Kasumovic, M.M. 2026. Exploring Australian Students' Engagement with Video Games: A Qualitative Study. Technology, Knowledge and Learning.
In ReviewMantell, R., Hwang, Y.I.J., Dark, M., Radford, K., Kasumovic, M.M., and Monds, L. 2025. Evaluating the User Experience and Usability of Game-Based Cognitive Assessments for Older People: Systematic Review. JMIR Aging 8 (1), e65252.
Kasumovic, M.M., Dean, T., and Pollo, P. 2024. Using a game-based learning approach to help students understand the importance of ethics in science. International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 33 (1).
Denson, T.F., Youssef, H., Blake, K.R., Dixson, B.J.W., and Harmon-Jones, E. 2024. The effect of a physically formidable competitor or cooperator on attraction to violent video games. Motivation and Emotion 48 (5), 729–745.
Mantell, R., Withall, A., Radford, K., Kasumovic, M.M., Monds, L., and Hwang, Y.I.J. 2023. Design Preferences for a Serious Game–Based Cognitive Assessment of Older Adults in Prison: Thematic Analysis. JMIR Serious Games. 11:e45467.
Denson, T.F., Kasumovic, M.M., and Harmon-Jones, E. 2022. Understanding the desire to play violent video games: An integrative motivational theory. Motivation Science 8 (2), 161.
Kasumovic, M.M., Hatcher, E., Blake, K.R., and Denson, T.F. 2021. Performance in video games affects self-perceived mate value and mate preferences. Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences 15 (2), 191.
What we say. What we don't.
The founder authored the research. That means the claim discipline cuts both ways.
Claims we never make
- Games raise test scores
- Games close the STEM gender gap
- Games recruit girls into STEM careers
- Playing Arludo causes STEM career choice
Claims we do make
- Designed game-based learning builds applied scientific thinking
- The discussion that follows play is where understanding forms
- The early gender gap is situational and addressable
- Boys and girls learn equally in Arludo — measured from app data
Interested in researching game-based learning?
Arludo gives researchers something valuable: access to a designed game-based learning environment used in 1,200+ Australian schools, with students across every state and territory.
We're particularly interested in collaborations that study the discovery-discussion loop in different classroom contexts, examine how Arludo affects STEM identity in under-represented groups, or develop new challenge designs grounded in current findings.
Research collaborations are reviewed by Prof. Kasumovic directly. We aim to respond within 3 days.
Enquire about collaborationResearch partners
- UNSW Sydney (primary research home)
- Australian National University
- University of Newcastle
- Macquarie University
- Monash University
- Western Sydney University