1 / 18

Serious Games

Serious Games Carmen Serrano COT 4810 What are “Serious Games”? Games designed for purpose other than just entertainment Must still be “fun”: engaging, interesting Use of Serious Games Military Education Healthcare Corporate training Social/political issues

adamdaniel
Download Presentation

Serious Games

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Serious Games Carmen Serrano COT 4810

  2. What are “Serious Games”? • Games designed for purpose other than just entertainment • Must still be “fun”: engaging, interesting

  3. Use of Serious Games • Military • Education • Healthcare • Corporate training • Social/political issues • Picture: “Food Force”, United Nations World Food Programme. www.food-force.com

  4. Military • Heavy use of training simulations • Significant business in local area • NavAir, Lockheed, etc. • Simulations becoming more immersive and complex • Tactical Iraqi – based on Unreal Tournament game engine; teaches Iraqi Arabic, gestures and etiquette • Other industries adapting games and simulators as new approach to training

  5. Healthcare - Professional • Professional training and skill retention • Enable simulation and practice of various healthcare and emergency scenarios • Allow for assessment of skills • Cardiac Arrest! – act as emergency room technician; administer medicine, procedures • Accredited by American College of Emergency Physicians for CME credit

  6. Health - Consumer • Health education • USDA MyPyramid – nutrition and exercise • Treatment companion • Ben’s Game – for cancer patients; fight cancer cells and “fever monsters” (free; makeawish.org)

  7. Healthcare - Supervised • Therapeutic games • Clinical supervision • Treatment companion • SnowWorld – for burn victims; immersive exploration of snowy landscape • Treatment tool • SpiderWorld – for arachnophobia; mixed reality, virtual kitchen, gradual encounters • Picture: medgadget.com

  8. Education • “Edutainment”? – much hype, mixed reactions • Special considerations – expense, perceptions, available hardware • Lexia Cross-Trainer – for students at various levels; strengthen thinking, memory, problem-solving skills • Increasing consumer interest • Picture: games.net

  9. Corporate Training • Large companies = large budget for training • Traditional tools (seminars, company videos and handbooks) • Already established, lower cost, effectiveness • Serious games • Implementation costs, increased interest and effectiveness, performance measurement • “At least 100 of the global Fortune 500 will use gaming to educate their employees by 2012” (BusinessWeek)

  10. Social/Political Issues • Increase awareness of issues • Historical and current world events • May be objective or show a single perspective • Peacemaker – based on Israeli/Palestinian conflict; player can pick either side • UnderAsh/UnderSiege – uses Palestinian perspective; inspired by Palestinian experience and the number of U.S. games with Arab “bad guys”; Syria • America’s Army – Army recruiting tool; U.S. • Picture: peacemakergame.com

  11. A Force More Powerful • A Force More Powerful • (BreakAway Games) • International Center for Non-Violent Conflict • Strategy game based on nonviolent conflict • Play out historical events (Gandhi & Indian independence, civil rights movement in the U.S., Serbian student resistance to Slobodan Milosevic) • More immersive; gain unique personal perspective on difficulties • Picture: www.afmpgame.com

  12. IBM’s Innov8 • 3D game • Teaches Business Process Management • Develop skills in both business and information technology • Available free Nov. ’07; used by “more than 20 colleges and universities worldwide” (IBM) • IBM’s RoboCode (teaches coding) and CodeRally (teaches Java and Eclipse to Linux developers) (2003) • IBM’s PowerUp – free environmental game & lesson plans (2008) • "According to new IBM research which looked at technology, business and societal trends and issues, online videogames help people become better corporate leaders by fostering skills related to collaboration, self-organisation, risk-taking, openness, influence, and communications." (2007) (guardian.co.uk)

  13. Characteristics of Serious Games • Emphasis on content accuracy • Need for developers with content expertise • Game design and techniques that take into account the serious content • Product mix - specialize or not • Investment required in research and development • (Bergeron, 21)

  14. Controversial Games • Some serious games push boundaries • Game format unpalatable to some • Super Columbine Massacre RPG • Social commentary game and forum • Afghanistan and Iraq wars (ex: Kuma\War) • JFK Reloaded – recreation of JFK shooting; play role of Lee Harvey Oswald

  15. Unique Challenges • Sensitive subjects • Industry interest • Retail interest • Consumer interest • Overcoming negative attitudes toward games and gamers • Skill set of expanded audience

  16. Industry Recognition • The Serious Games Initiative - Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars • E3 Media & Business Summit introduced a Serious Games showcase in 2006 • I/ITSEC started “Serious Games Showcase & Challenge” in 2006; now in its third year, accepting submissions for I/ITSEC 2008 (Orlando) • Fifth annual Serious Games Summit at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) on February 18-19, 2008

  17. Sources • Developing Serious Games – Bryan Bergeron, Charles River Media, Hingham, Massachusetts, 2006. • Video Games Aren’t a Waste of Time - Preeta M. Banerjee, BusinessWeek, Feb. 19, 2008. http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2008/bs20080219_935082.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily • Innov8: IBM Introduces Video Game to Help University Students Develop Business Skills http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/22501.wss • Spot On: Games get political – Tom Leupold, GameSpot, Aug. 12. 2004 http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/08/12/news_6104371.html • Sir, the Gamers Are Revolting! – Chris Kohler, Wired, 10/27/05, http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2005/10/69372 • I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase and Challenge http://www.disti.com/SGSC/ • Syria launches Arab war game – Kim Ghattas, BBC News. May 31, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2019677.stm • Serious Games Initiative - Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. www.seriousgames.org • Water Cooler Games – www.watercoolergames.org • IBM pushes game as learning tool for Linux admins - Jan Stafford. 23 Jun 2003. SearchOpenSource.com. http://searchenterpriselinux.techtarget.com/news/interview/0,289202,sid39_gci911209,00.html • IBM gets game – Keith Stuart. June 18, 2007. Guardian Unlimited. http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2007/06/18/ibm_gets_game.html • Environmental Learning MMO Launched by IBM. Calin Ciabai, Softpedia. February 18, 2008. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Environmental-Learning-MMO-Launched-by-IBM-78909.shtml

  18. Homework Questions • 1. What is one application for serious games? • 2. Name a game/simulation industry conference that has included serious games.

More Related