Serious Games - An Overview
Abstract
Serious Game
(digital) games used for purposes other than
mere entertainment
allow learners to experience situations that are impossible in the real world for reasons of safety,cost, time, etc
market
military games
government games
educational games
corporate games
healthcare games
Developing Industrial Strategies through Innovative Cluster and Technologies
Serious games Cluster and Business Network (SER3VG)
Introduction
Intro
what the concept itself actually means
serious games are (digital) games used for purposes other
than mere entertainment
the claimed positive effects of such games, or of applications from related and sometimes overlapping areas such as elearning, edutainment, game-based learning, and digital game-based learning.
the actors involved
Serious Games and Related Concepts
E-learning
a rather general concept that refers to computer enhanced
learning, computer-based learning, interactive technology, and commonly, distance learning
Edutainment
Game-based learning (GBL)
a branch of serious games that deals with
applications that have defined learning outcomes
Digital game-based learning (DGBL)
based on two key premises
the thinking patterns of learners
this generation has experienced a
radically new form of computer and video game play
The Concept of Serious Games
how educational technologists will respond to the “digital native speakers”
games should be fun first and then should encourage learning.
Michael and Chen (2006, p.21)
games that do not have
entertainment, enjoyment, or fun as their primary purpose
PIXELearning (PIXELearning.com, 2006-11-14)
The use of computer game and simulation approaches and/or technologies for primarily nonentertainment purposes
several elements that contribute to players’ engagement
fun
play which leads to intense and passionate involvement
goals that motivate
rules that provide structure
games should be engaging and motivating
serious games is here defined as games that engage the user, and contribute to the achievement of a defined purpose other than pure entertainment (whether or not the user is consciously aware of it).
Games & Serious Game
the purposes of The Serious Games Showcase and Challenge (sgschallenge.ist.ucf.edu),
the 2006 I/ITSEC Conference (Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference)
Entries will be considered a game if they involve an assigned challenge and employ a compelling form of positive and/or negative reward system.
Entries will be considered a serious game if they use the gaming attributes described above to overcome a designated problem or deficiency, and provide appropriate feedback
to the user about their efforts
the model or simulation can be used to solve a problem, than providing “rich experiences” of the kind sought by hardcore gamers.
Differences between entertainment games and serious games
“Serious Games: A Broader Definition” (lostgarden.com)
serious games be categorised into
Games
applications focused on learning, simulation and fun.
3D applications
applications that use 3D game technology and techniques to solve business problems.
Serious Game Definition
“Serious Games: The application of gaming technology, process, and design to the solution of problems faced by businesses and other organizations. Serious games promote the transfer and cross fertilization of game development knowledge and techniques in traditionally non-game markets such as training, product design, sales, marketing, etc.”
summarise
with the use of games and gaming
technology
for purposes other than mere entertainment or “fun”
include education, training, health, etc
fun and entertainment are key components
Advantages of Games and Serious Games
games can support the development of a number of different skills
analytical and spatial skills
strategic skills
insight, learning and recollection capabilities
psychomotor skills
visual selective attention
Overview of examples on reported effects
why games are effective
learning takes place within a context that is meaningful to the game
learning in a meaningful and relevant context is more effective than outside that context
Application Areas
Intro
currently the US government and medical professionals
the core segments of serious games (www.seriousgamessummit.com).
Military Games
Chaturanga from India and the Chinese Wei Hei
“commercial off-the-shelf” components
examples
TacOps
Brigade Combat Team
Decisive Action
Harpoon 3
WarCraft
Doom
Close Combat
Operation flashpoint
Army Battlezone
America’s Army(americasarmy.com)
Government Games
crisis management
Educational Games
edutainment
skilland-drill interactive learning paradigms towards situational and constructionist approaches
Games can support development of a number of various skills: strategic thinking, planning, communication, collaboration, group decision making, and negotiating skills
concerns to consider in order to realise the full potential of games as educational tools
resources
how to identify the relevance of a game to statutory curricula
difficulty in persuading school stakeholders to the potential benefits of computer games
Corporate Games
people skills
job-specific skills
organisation skills
communication skills
strategy skills
assessment methodologies
Healthcare Games
Physical fitness (“exergaming”)
Dance Dance Revolution
Education in health/self-directed care
Hungry Red Planet
(www.hungryredplanet.com),
Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner Space
Escape from Dian
Distraction therapy
FreeDive(www.breakawaygames.com)
Recovery and rehabilitation
Training and simulation
Diagnosis and treatment of mental illness/mental conditions
S.M.A.R.T BrainGames
(www.braingames.com),
Full Spectrum Warrior
(www.fullspectrumwarrior.com)
Cognitive functioning
Control
political, religious and art games
Actors in the Serious Games Market
United States
Serious Games Initiative (SGI)
www.seriousgames.org/about2.html
GVU Center,Georgia Institute of Technology (www.gatech.edu/)
The Virtual Worlds Lab
Fire Department Training
Edu
the Center for Research on Learning and
Technology (CRLT),Indiana University (http://crlt.indiana.edu/)
The Education Arcade(http://educationarcade.org/about)
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
the University of Wisconsin-Madison
proj
Learning Games to Go
The Comparative Media Studies Program at MIT
Civilization III
Biohazard: Hot zone
The Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCiL), at the Stanford University
(http://scil.stanford.edu/news/game4-06.htm),
proj
Gaming to Learn
The Triple A Game Show
modeling and simulation
The Institute for Simulation and Training (IST) at the University of Central Florida (www.ist.ucf.edu/projects.htm)
the Department of Applied Research & Technology (DART)
(www.ist.ucf.edu/dart/dartlab.htm)
evaluation of virtual environment teamwork
training and animation studies
the Media Convergence Lab
explores ways to integrate entertainment, training and simulation
proj
Mr Mout
The Medical Emergencies Simulation Lab
psychology
the Ackoff Center for Advancement of Systems Approaches (ACASA) at the Penn University of Pennsylvania (www.acasa.upenn.edu/),
Heart Sense Game
Virtual Environments and Simulation Institute (MOVES) at the Naval Postgraduate School (www.nps.navy.mil/moves/)
Canada
The Montreal GameCODE Project:
Cultures of Digital Environments
the Concordia University (Montreal;
www.gamecode.ca/)
Edu
the University of Calgary
(http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~parker/DML/welcome.html).
the Simon Fraser University – School of
Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) (www.siat.sfu.ca/).
Simulation and Advanced Gaming Environments for Learning” (SAGE)
HealthSimNet
Advanced Gaming Technology for Training Business Majors
the Digital Media Laboratory and the Red Crow College
I'powahsin Project
The Turtle Island
United Kingdom
the Serious Games Institute (SGI) (managed by Coventry University Enterprises Ltd., in partnership with the Warwick University; www.coventry.ac.uk/newthinking/html/serious.htm)
Angils (www.angils.org/index.html),
Human Interface Technologies (HIT) the University of Birmingham (www.iecs.bham.ac.uk/hit/sg.htm)
medical simulation
serious games.the Birmingham Serious Games Team
health
Interactive Trauma Trainer
Pulse!!
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
training
Part-Task Training for the Royal Navy’s Dillon Minigun
Alchemy 1 & 2 Unmanned Vehicle (Land/Air) Demonstrators
the University of Sheffield, the Computer Graphics Research Group (www.shef.ac.uk/dcs/research/groups/graphics)
Serious Games: Engaging Training Solutions
Teaching with games
Astroversity
in collaboration with the International Centre for Digital Content, ICDC, at the John Moores University (www.ljmu.ac.uk/)
Iya-ola
in collaboration with Attic Media
Norway
The Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research at the Norwegian Institute of
Technology (SINTEF)(www.sintef.no/content/page3____226.aspx)
“Providing Real Integration in Multidisciplinary Environments” (PRIME)
Denmark
The Center for Computer Games Research, at the IT University of Copenhagen (http://game.itu.dk/)
Educational potential of
commercial game technology
Serious Games Interactive
Global conflict; Palestine
Finland
The Agora Center/Agora Game Lab, at the University of Jyväskylä (www.jyu.fi/en/research/units/)
Gameli
Project Finland(www.peda.net/veraja/jyu/ac/agl/tutkimus/projektit/muumi)
Germany
the Otto-von-Guericke University (http://games.cs.uni-magdeburg.de/index.php?id=
forschung&L=2)
the Group for Graphical and Interactive Techniques in Computer Games
Playful Learning – Learning Environments for Children
the Workgroup Computer Games
Squeak(www.squeakland.org)
Sweden
Defence Gaming (www.defencegaming.org/)
the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) and the Swedish National Defence College (FHS)
Foreign Ground - A Digital Game for Decision Making in Foreign Cultures
in collaboration with the Technical
University of Luleå, www.ltu.se/ske/d1139/1.613
Geospecific Terrain for 3D-engines
Computer Games as a Base for Training Simulators
The InGameLab, at the University of Skövde
Spel & Trafiksäkerhet” (Sp&Ts) (“Games & Traffic safety”),
Serious Games Cluster and Business Network
(in collaboration with the University of Coventry
FireFighter