Serious game

Serious games (SGs) are computer and video games that are intended to not only entertain users, but have additional purposes such as education and training. They can be similar to educational games, but are primarily focused on an audience outside of primary or secondary education. Serious games can be of any genre and many of them can be considered a kind of edutainment, but the main goal of a serious game is not to entertain, though the potential of games to engage is often an important aspect of the choice to use games as a teaching tool. A serious game is usually a simulation which has the look and feel of a game, but is actually a simulation of real-world events or processes. The main goal of a serious game is usually to train or educate users, though it may have other purposes, such as marketing or advertisement, while giving them an enjoyable experience. The fact that serious games are meant to be entertaining encourages re-use. While the largest users of SGs are the US government and medical professionals, other commercial sectors are beginning to see the benefits of such simulations and are actively seeking development of these types of tools.

Overview

Long before the term "serious game" came into wide use with the Serious Games Initiative in 2000, games were being developed for non-entertainment purposes. The continued failure of the "edu-tainment" 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, including early work by Henry Jenkins at MIT, and books such as Janet Murray's Hamlet on the Holodeck, 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 2000, 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 that are designed to run on personal computers (such as a PC running Microsoft Windows or Linux) or video game consoles (such as the Xbox or PlayStation 2).

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

Advantages

Video and computer game developers are accustomed to developing games quickly and are adept at creating games that simulate—to varying degrees—real-world 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.

List of serious games

Since serious games are developed for private customers such as the US military and not the public at large, information on them is sometimes hard to come by. But some serious games either completed or in development are listed below.
* 3rd World Farmer An online simulation game where the player gets to experience the hardships of 3rd World Farming.[1]
The Adventures of Josie True Online educational game for girls, targeting 5th grade science and math curricular areas.[2]
* America's Army (Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac, Xbox, PS2): leading example of a serious game
* Close Combat: First to Fight (Xbox and Microsoft Windows): Began as a USMC training game, converted into a commercial game
* Crate (Windows): 3D Image Generation library for creating aquatic environments featuring pixel shaders and accurate physics models
* Cyber-Budget [3] puts players in the shoes of the French Budget Minister [4]
* Darfur is Dying (PC) An online game that simulates life in a Darfur refugee camp.[5]
* DARWARS Ambush! Convoy Simulator developed as part of DARPA's DARWARS project, designed to create low-cost experiential training systems
* Eduteams (PC) An immersive team-based software package built to ensure effective development of core and enterprise skills for young people.[6]
* FINN (PC) Based on the idea of a group drawing board with 4 games and a freestlye mode that can be played by up to 64 players across either an internal network or the Internet.
* 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.
* Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox): Began as a military training game, converted into a commercial game
* Incident Commander (Microsoft Windows): Game to teach NIMS-compliant incident management for multiple scenarios, including terrorist attacks, school shootings, and natural disasters
* Infiniteams (PC) Multi player real time strategy game, which focuses on leadership development and team building.[7]
* Interactive Trauma Trainer (Microsoft Windows): Currently under development, a decision based surgical training tool for the UK MOD.
* LegSim: Legislative Simulation (Internet) Web-based virtual legislature used in college and high school government and civics courses.[8]
* Making History (PC) Turn-Based historical strategy game designed specifically as an educational tool to develop critical thinking and negotiation skills for college and high school students.[9]
* (PC): Recruiting game created for US Navy Recruiting Command.
* Pulse