Serious game

A serious game is a term used to refer to a software or hardware application developed with game technology and game design principles for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. Serious games include games used for educational, persuasive, political, or health purposes.

Overview

Long before the term "serious game" came into wide use with the Serious Games Initiative in 2002, games were being developed for non-entertainment purposes. The continued failure of the edutainment space to prove profitable, plus the growing technical abilities of games to provide realistic settings, led to a re-examination of the concept of serious games in the late 1990s. During this time, a number of scholars began to examine the utility of games for other purposes, contributed to the growing interest in applying games to new purposes. Additionally, the ability of games to contribute to training expanded at the same time with the development of multi-player gaming. In 2002, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C. launched a "Serious Games Initiative" to encourage the development of games that address policy and management issues. More focused sub-groups began to appear in 2004, including Games for Change which focuses on social issues and social change, and Games for Health which addresses health care applications.

There is no single definition of serious games, though they are generally held to be games used for training, advertising, simulation, or education. Alternate definitions include the application of games concepts, technologies and ideas to non-entertainment applications. This can also include specific hardware for video games, such as exergaming.

Serious games include and are more than those intended for an audience outside of primary or secondary education. Serious games can be of any genre, use any game technology, and be developed for any platform. Some may consider them a kind of edutainment; however, the mainstay of the community are resistant to this term.

A serious game may be a simulation which has the look and feel of a game, but corresponds to non-game events or processes, including business operations and military operations (even though many popular entertainment games depicted business and military operations). The games are intended to provide an engaging, self-reinforcing context in which to motivate and educate the players. Other purposes for such games include marketing and advertisement. The largest users (unsubstantiated by business intelligence) of SGs appear to be the US government and medical professionals.Fact|date=February 2007 Other commercial sectors are actively pursuing development of these types of tools as well.

Development

The concept of using games for education dates back before the days of computers, but the first serious game is often considered to be "Army Battlezone", an abortive project headed by Atari in 1980, designed to use the "Battlezone" tank game for military training. In recent years, the US government and military have periodically looked towards game developers to create low-cost simulations that are both accurate and engaging. Game developer's experience with gameplay and game design made them prime candidates for developing these types of simulations which cost millions of dollars less than traditional simulations, which often require special hardware or complete facilities to use.

Outside of the government, there is substantial interest in games for education, professional training, healthcare, advertising and public policy. For example, games from websites such as Newsgaming.com are "very political games groups made outside the corporate game system" that are "raising issues through media but using the distinct properties of games to engage people from a fresh perspective," says Henry Jenkins, the director of MIT's comparative media studies program. Such games, he said, constitute a "radical fictional work."¹ Michigan State University offers a Serious Games MA, a Master of Arts graduate program and graduate certificate in serious game design. [http://seriousgames.msu.edu/]

Advantages

Video and computer game developers are accustomed to developing games quickly and are adept at creating games that simulate—to varying degrees—functional entities such as radar and combat vehicles. Using existing infrastructure, game developers can develop games that simulate battles, processes and events at a fraction of the cost of traditional government contractors.

Traditional simulators usually cost millions of dollars not only to develop, but also to deploy, and generally require the procurement of specialized hardware. The costs of media for serious games is very low. Instead of volumes of media or computers for high-end simulators, SGs require nothing more than a DVD or even a single CD-ROM, exactly like traditional computer and video games require. Deploying these to the field requires nothing more than dropping them in the mail or accessing a dedicated web site.

Finally, while SGs are meant to train or otherwise educate users, they often hope to be engaging. Game developers are experienced at making games fun and engaging as their livelihood depends on it. In the course of simulating events and processes, developers automatically inject entertainment and playability in their applications.

Classifications and Subsets of Serious Games

The classification of Serious Games is something that is yet to solidify, there are however a number of terms in reasonably common use for inclusion here.

*Advergaming - See advergaming
*Edutainment - See edutainment
*Games-Based Learning - These games have defined learning outcomes. Generally they are designed in order to balance the subject matter with the gameplay and the ability of the player to retain and apply said subject matter to the real world.The book 'Digital Game-Based Learning' by Marc Prensky was the first major publication to define the term, [http://www.twitchspeed.com/ The Official Site of the book 'Digital Game-Based Learning' by Marc Prensky] ]
*Edumarket Games - When a serious game combines several aspects (such as advergaming and edutainment aspects or persuasive and news aspects), the application is an Edumarket game. For example, "Food-Force" combines news, persuasive and edutainment goals.
*News Games - Journalistic games that report on recent events or deliver an editorial comment. Examples include "September 12th" Gonzalo Frasca of [http://www.newsgaming.com newsgaming.com] which denounces the use of violence to resolve the problem of terrorism.]
*Simulations or Simulation Games
*Persuasive Games - these games are used as persuasion technology
*Organizational-dynamic games
*Games for Health, such as games for medical training, games for health education, games for psychological therapy, or games for cognitive or psysical rehabilitation uses.

Additionally Julian Alvarez and Olivier Rampnoux (from the European Center for Children’s Products, University of Poitiers) have attempted to classify Serious Games in 5 main categories: Advergaming, Edutainment, Edumarket game, Diverted game and Simulation game. (Alvarez J., Rampnoux O., Serious Game: Just a question of posture?, in Artificial & Ambient Intelligence, AISB'07, Newcastle, UK, April 2007, p.420 to 423)

Examples

* "CyberCIEGE" (Microsoft Windows): Computer network security sim game developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. Players protect assets while enabling "users" to achieve their goals.
* "Darfur is Dying" (Internet) An online game by mtvU that simulates life in a Darfur refugee camp.
* "DARWARS Ambush! Convoy Simulator" developed as part of DARPA's DARWARS project, designed to create low-cost experiential training systems
* "Microsoft Flight Simulator" developed as a comprehensive simulation of civil aviation. Notably one of the few flight simulation games that does not concentrate on simulation of air combat.
* "Food Force" (PC) Humanitarian video game. The UN's World Food Programme designed this virtual world of food airdrops over crisis zones and trucks struggling up difficult roads under rebel threat with emergency food supplies.
* "" (Mac/Windows): A 3D-adventure/rpg-game. You are given the role of a reporter in Jerusalem, and have to write articles for your paper.
* "Harpoon" (Mac/Windows): Entertainment version was "dual use" from 1989 forward. Professional version "Harpoon 3 Professional" created in 2002 with help from Australian Defense Department, updated in 2006.
* "Peacemaker" (Mac/PC, $20) A commercial game simulation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict designed to promote "dialog and understanding among Israelis, Palestinians and interested people around the world".
* "Re-Mission" (Microsoft Windows): 3-D Shooter to help improve the lives of young persons living with cancer.
* "Ship Simulator" (Microsoft Windows): a simulator which simulates maneuvering various ships in different environments, although without the effects of wind and current.
* "Simport" (Mac/Windows): A simulation game in which players learn about the intricacies involved in construction large infrastructural projects, like a major sea port.
* "Steel Beasts Professional": Tank simulator, developed by eSim Games, and used by several armies around the world.
* "Tactical Language & Culture Training System" (Microsoft Windows): Computer-based learning system that lets people quickly acquire functional knowledge of foreign languages and cultures. Current titles include Iraqi Arabic, Pashto and French.
* "VBS1" & "VBS2" Training tool for the USMC and other military forces around the world. Developed by BIA, and based on the game engine used in "" and "Armed Assault".
* "X-Plane" (Linux/Mac/Windows): a comprehensive civil aviation simulator. An FAA approved version exists which enables low cost flight training.

Notable developers

* BBN, defense contractor working on the DARWARS project.
* Bohemia Interactive Australia, Australian developer of the VBS-Series military simulations.
* BreakAway Games, developers of "24 Blue", "Incident Commander" [http://www.incidentcommander.net] , "A Force More Powerful", "mosbe" [http://www.mosbe.com] , "Pulse!!" and other serious games
* Cyberlore Studios
* Destineer
* DESQ, a UK based serious games developer, specializing in learning games for CD ROM and online platforms, in particular role-playing learning games.
* Red Redemption, the UK-based developer of Climate Challenge.
* Sumo Digital, One of Europe's leading console game developers, with an internal Serious Games division.
* TPLD, developers of SG applications and platforms, predominantly for educational and business use.
* TruSim, one of the UK's leading serious games developers. A division of Blitz Games Studios.
* Tygron, Dutch developer of "Simport" and other serious games.
* Virtual Heroes, Inc., developers of Serious Games training applications "Adaptive Thinking and Leadership" (ATL) and "Future Soldier Training System" (FSTS)
* Virtway, developers of Fire Fighters Coordination Training Tool, and other tools to assist learning through gaming.
* VSTEP, one of the Europe's leading serious games developers. Dutch developer of "Ship Simulator"-series and other serious games.
* Will Interactive, Serious Game developers based out of the United States. They feature live action games in a variety of fields, including military, health care, and youth education. (FSTS)

ee also

* Brain fitness
* Global warming game
* Innovation game
* Interactive Digital Technology

References

External links

* [http://www.vbs2.com/ Virtual Battlespace 2 Website] , "Developed by Bohemia Interactive Australia"
* [http://www.military-training-technology.com/archives.cfm?CoverID=223 Overview of military simulations] , "Military Training Technology" magazine, Dec 2007
* [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070502.wgtgames0502/BNStory/GlobeTQ/home "Games get down to business"] by Graham F. Scott - Special to The Globe and Mail Update (May 2007)
* [http://www.modelbenders.com/papers/Smith_Game_Impact_Theory.pdf "Game Impact Theory: The Five Forces That are Driving the Adoption of Game Technologies within Multiple Established Industries"] by Roger Smith (US) in Games and Society (February 2007)
* [http://www.corpu.com/newsletter%5Fwi07/sect2.asp "Serious Games: Getting Serious About Digital Games in Learning"] article focused on serious games in corporations, by John A. Purdy in Corporate University XChange Journal (2007 Issue 1)
* [http://www.modelbenders.com/papers/TechDisrupt_JDMS06.pdf "Technology Disruption in the Simulation Industry"] by Roger Smith (US) in Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation (January 2006)
* [http://www.publicservice.co.uk/pdf/dmj/issue31/DMJ31%202241%20Bob%20Stone%20ATL.pdf "Serious Gaming"] by Bob Stone (UK) in Defence Management Journal (Issue 31; December 2005)
* [http://www.publicservice.co.uk/pdf/dmj/issue32/DMJ32%20Prof%20Robert%20Stone%20ATL.pdf "Applications in Defence"] by Bob Stone (UK) in Defence Management Journal (Issue 32; March 2006)
* [http://www.ets-news.com/third.php?id=29 "The Future of Defence Simulation"] by Bob Stone (UK) in ETS News
* [http://www.ets-news.com/third.php?id=16 "The Twitchspeed Generation"] by Bob Stone (UK) in ETS News
* [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051019/chen_01.shtml "Proof of Learning: Assessment in Serious Games"] from Gamasutra.com
* [http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,69372,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3 "Video Games are Serious Business"] Wired.com talks with Serb student-resistance leader and developer BreakAway Games about the upcoming game A Force More Powerful.
* [http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/19_11/emerging-tech/24361-1.html "Let the games begin"] , serious games article on WashingtonTechnology.com
* [http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0606/p11s01-legn.html "In case of emergency, play video game"]
* [http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/issues/2005/dec1/Navy_Video.htm "Navy Video Game Targets Future Sailors"]
* [http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/08/12/news_6104371.html "Spot On: Games get political"] by Tom Leupold.
* [http://learnit.unc.edu/games4learning "Games4Learning"] The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Games4Learning - a university-wide initiative to include games in the University's curriculum.
* [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/business/story.html?id=39fdd6f2-c300-45a7-8e59-ea8b6ebe105d "Gamers Spark Military Revolution"] , Ottawa Citizen interviews John Nicol, CEO of Acron Capability Engineering, about Serious Games.