Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2010

Online Water Conservation Serious Game

Via: ABC Catchment Detox Game Catchment Detox is an easy-to-play but tough-to-master online Serious Game from Australia. Catchment Detox is an online game challenging the player to successfully managing a river catchment while creating a sustainable, healthy economy. According to the experts that perform a similar juggling act in real life, “the challenge of planning and implementing activities on a catchment scale is a very complex issue, and the game to a large degree picks that up. The wonderful thing about the game is that there's instant feedback about the impact of industries and the cost of removing or changing land uses. In reality it's not so simple.” Experts’ suggestions for doing well in the game, and in real-life catchment management as well are to keep that need to balance industry and ecology in mind, and to move industries away from the edges of watercourses.   In 100 turns, you decide how and where to plant crops, when and where to log forests, w

Serious Games Embedded In Our Everyday Lives

Joanne Jacobs at Like Minds 2010 At the Like Minds conference in Exeter this week, Joanne Jacobs looked at the opportunities for companies developing location-based services, augmented reality and gaming Via: guardian.co.uk  - Like Minds: Augmented Reality, Location Based Services and "Serious Games" Full Article Posted by Kevin Anderson Friday 26 February 2010 15.42 GMT - guardian.co.uk At the Like Minds conference in Exeter, social media consultant Joanne Jacobs looked at three technologies - location-based services, augmented reality and "Serious Games" - and explained how and why companies needed to take these emerging technologies seriously.  However, she was quick to say that while there were many opportunities to use these technologies effectively that a lot of them currently were "rubbish". Augmented Reality (AR) seemed all the rage in 2009, but she said that its entering the "trough of disillusionment" crashing after the

Lure of the Labyrinth: Serious Games For Middle School Pre-Algebra

Via: FableVision and Interactive Media Technology PRESS RELEASE FableVision Teams to Debut "Lure of the Labyrinth" Online Math & Literacy Game A Collaboration with MPT & MIT Education Arcade Designed to Test the Efficacy of Gaming & Learning (Boston, MA) February 18, 2009 – At last, the “pencil and paper” driven math class gets a brand new boost with the highly anticipated launch of Lure of the Labyrinth, an online pre-algebra middle-school math game developed to reach today's tech-savvy students in a contemporary way. FableVision, the award-winning educational media developer, in collaboration with Maryland Public Television (MPT) and the MIT Education Arcade , has applied the latest research in game theory, cutting-edge design, and a story-driven approach to produce a powerful learning tool to help all students learn regardless of their math ability.  In the world of Lure of the Labyrinth, students progress through three sections, or &qu

Renault Academy: Serious Games For Conducting A Sales Interview

Via: Daesign - Renault Wins The Best Serious Game Of The Year at the International IntraVerse Awards 2010, In Monaco The fourth edition of the International IntraVerse Awards (IIVA) has announced the results of this year’s competition. The awards ceremony was held in Monaco in the context of IMAGINA 2010 (find also my previous post IMAGINA 2010: Serious Games Impact On Management , with members of the prestigious jury that included scientists and international experts in virtual worlds, Social Networks and Serious Games. For 4 years now, members of Brent's Blog 2.0 managers, have worked to identify the best achievements, awarding the trophy LOOVE (L'Once d'Or Virtuel) in 7 categories, including Serious Games. Daesign and Renault have won the Serious Games and All Categories Awards, with an impressive number of votes "according to Gilbert Reveillon President of the Jury. The game was developed to train and increase the efficiency of Renault’s sales force wo

Serious Games Help New Recruits On The Ship

Via: Thinking Worlds - Maritime Warfare School (MWS) - Weapons Engineering Round - Immersive Learning Simulation The Maritime Warfare School asked Caspian Learning to develop a serious game that reduces the “shock” new recruits experience during their first days on the ship and improves speed-to-performance in conducting a Weapons Engineering round. Game Development Background The Maritime Warfare School (MWS) at HMS Collingwood is part of the Royal Navy’s Flag Officer Sea Training organization, and its mission is not to be taken lightly: “To train Officers and Ratings for the Fleet who are ready to fight and win.” To achieve this mission, MWS uses a potent strategy: combining theoretical classroom studies with practical work. To remain true to its purpose, MWS is in a constant state of performance improvement, searching out gaps between training and real life at sea. One of the gaps MWS recognized was new and recent recruits had little or no opportunity to experi

Globe 4D: Serious Games As Interactive Interfaces

Via: Interactive Multimedia Technology - Globe4D: See How The Earth Changed Over Time Globe4D is an interactive, four-dimensional globe that started as research project at Leiden University, The Netherlands. It's a projection of the Earth's surface on a physical sphere. It shows the historical movement of the continents as its main feature, but it is also capable of displaying all kinds of other geographical data such as climate changes, plant growth, radiation, rainfall, forest fires, seasons, airplane routes, and more. Globe4D Vision Flat screens in classrooms and museums are outdated when it comes to learning about the earth. Globe4D extends the functionality of traditional globes found in many households and schools by allowing people of all ages and backgrounds to learn in an entertaining way about how a planet changes over time.

Research: Adaptive Serious Games For Learning

Via: Gaming Lab Gaming Lab Blog has recently posted Scenario Adaptivity in Serious Games that provides some food for thought when building "Serious Games" context for learning. The author is a PhD student in Game Technology at TU Delft University, in the Netherlands. He is working on semantic modelling and adaptive gameplay in the Computer Graphics and CAD group. According to the author, “Serious Games are becoming increasingly established, but they are still coming of age in terms of player experience. Most Serious Games are developed ad-hoc and lack sound theoretical foundations, which leads to a number of drawbacks: they are predictable, impersonal and limited by stereotyped training scenarios. In particular, Serious Games should be designed to prevent (i) training modules from following rigid patterns, (ii) unattractive and predictable game-play, (iii) little advantage being taken of user data collected throughout the game and, worst of all, (iv) little knowledg

International Leadership For Serious Games Gathering

Discussing ways Serious Games can advance on a global basis Via: G ames Beyond Entertainment Week Ben Sawyer has just announced that he is beginning to roll out the great new event called Games Beyond Entertainment Week . This is a week worth of conferences to be held in Boston, Massachusetts, starting on May 24, 2010. Games Beyond Entertainment Week is a series of one and two-day conferences designed to explore Serious Games and emerging market opportunities for videogames and videogame technologies. Featuring over 10 unique events including the 6th Annual Games for Health Conference , Games Beyond Entertainment Week is focused on networking, promotion, business development, and knowledge sharing of interest to both the videogame industry and the multitude of sectors using or investing in videogames to further their specific organizational missions. Games Beyond Entertainment Week anchored by the 6th Annual Games for Health Event Last year Games for Health fea

GDC 10 – Blossom: Immersive Entrepreneurship Serious Game

Via: Game Developers Conference 2010 - Serious Games Summit SGS Session: Blossom - Immersive Entrepreneurship Training Speakers: Jelena Godjevac (CEO, MEA-I / Hewlett Packard) Session Description This session is a case study of an entrepreneurship training game. Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I), a not for profit organization, sponsored mainly by Hewlett-Packard, develops and implements worldwide innovative immersive training programs to improve IT and business skills to create job opportunities. Their online strategy is to create an engaging immersive learning program to foster entrepreneurship. The focus is to use IT technology in a business context, which combines rich and interactive media content (videos, simulations, serious games, exercises, assessments) with a face-to-face approach in order to engage young audiences around the world. Blossom is a management and role playing game, where the player manages and develops a business

Serious Games Blended Easily Into Entertainment Games

Via: Educational Games Research - Exploring the Renaissance Through Videogames John Rice , in his superb Blog Educational Games Research - Research And Discussion Concerning Instructional Video Games, provides us with some great insights on how “shortly after Assassin’s Creed 2 came out, gamers noticed the rich historical detail included in the game’s setting.” “The protagonist”, he says, “who players guide through the game, is sent back in time to Italy, AD 1499, there to prowl around buildings and streets and attack villains. The developers, self-avowed history nerds, hired consultants to ensure the buildings were rich in period detail.” Here are the extracts of The Wall Street Journal article Time Travel Gets Closer To Reality (opinion - January 12, 2010), reporting on their efforts: “They hired Renaissance scholars to advise on period garb, architecture, urban planning, weaponry and the like. They took tens of thousands of photographs of interiors and str

Are Wii Games Getting Serious?

Upcoming medical action puzzle game where you can explore six different disciplines: Trauma Team lets players take on the role of a general surgeon, diagnostician, emergency medical technician, orthopedic surgeon, endoscope technician, and medical examiner Via: Wii at Nintendo Here are two great examples of "Serious Games" blended easily into upcoming Wii entertainment games: Trauma Team for Wii - Six Ways To Play Doctor Publisher: Atlus Co. Developer: Atlus Co. Genre: Simulation Release Date: Apr 20, 2010 The makers of the medical action series Trauma Center blow the genre wide open with Trauma Team for Wii , bringing six exciting and creative gameplay modes. PLAY AS A GENERAL SURGEON, DIAGNOSTICIAN, EMT, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, ENDOSCOPE TECHNICIAN, OR MEDICAL EXAMINER The Trauma Center series has become quite a cult hit since its beginnings in 2004, but the actual game is extremely faithful to the operating room experience: some players d

Serious Games To Discuss Violent Extremism

Via: PlayGen - Choices and Voices A simulation that encourages young people to explore and discuss issues underlying violent extremism According to PlayGen's Choices and Voices site, evidence shows that the long-term solution to tackling violent extremism lies in prevention. The most effective way to prevent young people from turning to violence is to encourage open and honest conversations on attitudes, ideas and choices in a safe and positive environment.   PlayGen developed an interactive simulation that encourages young people to explore and discuss the underlying issues and adverse influences, which can lead to divisions and tensions in communities. In two separate scenarios, the player faces a number of moral dilemmas in which their decisions will define their own outcomes and those of their friends and family.   Issues explored within the game include:   •Peer pressure and the seductive powers of adventure and secrecy   •Social exclusion, isolation and the

The Power Of Serious Games For Training Critical Skills

Via: US ARMY PEO STRI – Program Executive Office For Simulation, Training & Instrumentation Every Soldier who deploys uses some type of simulation to train critical warfighting skills. Simulations help soldiers hone their skills, rehearse their missions and return to their families safely when their missions are complete. PEO STRI responds quickly to critical, emerging requirements with innovative acquisition and technology solutions and puts the power of simulation into the hands of America's warfighters. Headquartered in Orlando, Fla., the U.S. Army PEO STRI executes an annual budget of more than $3 billion. In addition to providing interoperable training and testing solutions and program management, PEO STRI provides life cycle support for the Army's most advanced training systems around the world. PEO STRI Major Drivers: Fidelity, Realism and Cost-Savings PEO STRI plays a fundamental role in sustaining the quality and viability of U.S. Soldiers by providing