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I work at a school and I am producing a simple game for language learners via RPG Maker.

All students have a unique student # that their processor has access to.

At the moment, I am imagining an end-game NPC providing the successful student with a special number that they will then screen capture and submit to their teacher. The number is based on a secret algorithm that uses their student #, so each "end-game number" is unique. The teacher can then verify that each submitted number is the correct end-game number for any given student.

Is there a better way for me to verify whether or not each student has successfully played through the game?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ What is the problem with your current method? What would you like to do better? \$\endgroup\$
    – Seth Battin
    Dec 27, 2015 at 6:39

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Depending on the resources available, you could also set up a server and have the students play online. Even if they don't finish the game, the teacher would be able to see how far the students have gotten. You could even draw a graph of the relation between time passed and game completion percentage. This way, the teacher can see which students started too late on their assignments, and which students are on schedule.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Further, you could also track the progress within the game to see exactly where many students get stuck for a long time or give up. \$\endgroup\$
    – Philipp
    Dec 21, 2015 at 11:05
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While @Peethor's answer is correct from a Game Development point of view, in a school setting you might have data protection issues. I can imagine that students don't like the feeling that their teacher is watching over every step of them in the game. They might enjoy the game more if only the end results (or certain intermediate checkpoints) are verified by the teacher.

With this in mind, I think your solution is good. Instead of making a screenshot, you could display a link (with a code) at the end of the game which the students have to click.

The server solution works also, if all students have internet access, but I would make a clear policy what you monitor and what data is "private".

However, make sure you use a good algorithm for generating the code, because students who want to cheat can invest more effort into reverse engineering your algorithm than it would have taken them to complete the game.

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