At the same time, games create a cycle of expertise [Bereiter and Scardamalia 1989]. At the outset, the game repeatedly confronts players with a similar type of problem, for example, enemies like the head crabs in Half-Life, until players achieve a routinized, taken for granted mastery of certain skills. Then the game confronts players with a new problem, for instance, a new type of enemy or a boss, which forces the players to rethink their now taken-for-granted mastery and to integrate their old skills with new ones. Then these new sorts of problems are practiced until a new higher-order routinized, taken-for-granted mastery occurs. This cycle is repeated throughout the game. In many a game, the last boss requires a last re-opening of one is-taken-for-granted tool kit. This cycle is the basis for producing expertise in any area. Good games are models for the production of expertise.
— ❐ What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy