Double Impact: Children’s Serious RPG Generation/Play with a Large Language Model for Their Deeper Engagement in Social Issues

Abstract

Through simulated experiences, RPGs aid children’s exploration of issues, but their design can be labor-intensive. In our recent Academy Camp, children rapidly created, played, and reflected on their own RPGs using a large language model (GPT-4) for topics in which they were interested. This fast-paced, cyclical process has a double impact on children’s comprehension of social issues: first through game design, then through game play. We anticipate further applications for this method.