Gamified Learning of Computing Hardware Fundamentals Using FPGA-Based Platform

The growing dependence on electronic systems in consumer and mission critical domains requires engineers who understand the inner workings of digital hardware. Yet many students bypass hardware electives, viewing them as abstract, mathematics heavy, and less attractive than software courses. Escalating workforce shortages in the semiconductor industry and the recent global chip‑supply crisis highlight the urgent need for graduates who can bridge hardware knowledge gaps across engineering sectors. In this thesis, I have developed FPGA‑based games, embedded in inclusive curricular modules, which can make hardware concepts accessible while fostering interest, self‑efficacy, and positive outcome expectations in hardware engineering. A design‑based research methodology guided three implementation cycles: a pilot with seven diverse high‑school learners, a multiweek residential summer camp with high‑school students, and a fifteen‑week multidisciplinary elective enrolling early undergraduate engineering students. The learning experiences targeted binary arithmetic, combinational and sequential logic, state‑machine design, and hardware‑software co‑design. Learners also moved through the full digital‑design flow, HDL coding, functional simulation, synthesis, place‑and‑route, and on‑board verification. In addition, learners explored timing analysis, register‑transfer‑level abstractions, and simple processor datapaths to connect low‑level circuits with system‑level behavior. Mixed‑method evidence was gathered through pre‑ and post‑content quizzes, validated surveys of self‑efficacy and outcome expectations, focus groups, classroom observations, and gameplay analytics. Paired‑sample statistics showed reliable gains in hardware‑concept mastery, self‑efficacy, and outcome expectations. This work contributes a replicable framework for translating foundational hardware topics into modular, game‑based learning activities, empirical evidence of their effectiveness across secondary and early‑college contexts, and design principles for educators who seek to integrate equitable, hands‑on hardware experiences into existing curricula.