Prior research has explored potential applications of video games in programming education to elicit computational thinking skills. However, existing approaches are often either too general, not taking into account the diversity of genres and mechanisms between video games, or too narrow, selecting tools that were specifically designed for educational purposes. In this paper we propose a more fundamental approach, defining beneficial connections between individual design patterns present in video games and computational thinking skills. We argue that video games have the capacity to elicit these skills and even to potentially train them. This could be an effective method to solidify a conceptual base which would make programming education more effective.

翻译：先前的研究已探讨了视频游戏在编程教育中培养计算思维技能的潜在应用。然而，现有方法往往要么过于笼统，未能考虑视频游戏之间类型与机制的多样性；要么过于局限，仅选择专门为教育目的设计的工具。本文提出一种更基础的方法，旨在界定视频游戏中特定设计模式与计算思维技能之间的有益关联。我们认为视频游戏具备激发这些技能甚至进行潜在训练的能力。这或可成为巩固概念基础的有效途径，从而使编程教育更具成效。