Leveraging Metaphors in a VR Serious Game for Computational Thinking

Abstract

This paper presents Cooking Code, a VR-based serious game designed to introduce programming concepts to students (ages 12-16) through an immersive, scenario-driven experience. Set in a futuristic world where humans and machines coexist, players take on the role of a fast-food chef who must assemble food orders based on pseudocode instructions. By interpreting and executing these instructions correctly, players develop problem-solving skills, computational thinking, and a foundational understanding of programming logic. The game leverages the kitchen metaphor to teach computational thinking, using affordances for an immersive VR experience.