{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,24]],"date-time":"2026-01-24T12:48:28Z","timestamp":1769258908533,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Teaching and Learning Innovation Center"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002842","name":"Chiang Mai University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002842","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Informatics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The rapid proliferation of misinformation on social media underscores the urgent need for scalable digital-literacy instruction. This study presents the design and evaluation of a Generative AI-enhanced serious game system that integrates Large Language Models (LLMs) to drive adaptive non-player characters (NPCs). Unlike traditional scripted interactions, the system employs role-based prompt engineering to align real-time AI dialogue with the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose (CRAAP) framework, enabling dynamic scaffolding and authentic misinformation scenarios. A mixed-method experiment with 60 undergraduate students compared this AI-driven approach to traditional instruction using a 40-item digital-literacy pre\/post test, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and open-ended reflections. Results indicated that while both groups improved significantly, the game-based group achieved larger gains in credibility-evaluation performance and reported higher perceived competence, interest, and effort. Qualitative analysis highlighted the HCI trade-off between the high pedagogical value of adaptive AI guidance and technical constraints such as system latency. The findings demonstrate that Generative AI can be effectively operationalized as a dynamic interface layer in serious games to strengthen critical reasoning. This study provides practical guidelines for architecting AI-NPC interactions and advances the theoretical understanding of AI-supported educational informatics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/informatics13010016","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T08:48:08Z","timestamp":1768985288000},"page":"16","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Design and Evaluation of a Generative AI-Enhanced Serious Game for Digital Literacy: An AI-Driven NPC Approach"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Suepphong","family":"Chernbumroong","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}]},{"given":"Kannikar","family":"Intawong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Public Health, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-3146-1949","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Udomchoke","family":"Asawimalkit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0681-3064","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kitti","family":"Puritat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-0357-3947","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Phichete","family":"Julrode","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Library and Information Science, Faculty of Humanities, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7656","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1805868115","article-title":"Scientific communication in a post-truth society","volume":"116","author":"Iyengar","year":"2019","journal-title":"Proc. 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