Design for Transfer:figural transfer through metaphorical recontextualization in Games for Health

Why are serious games often less attractive to play? How is it possible that since the 70's it has seldom been possible to design really good and attractive Games for Health (G4H)? And why isn't serious gaming an essential part of our medical curricula, knowing that it is a learning tool with enormous potential? This dissertation shows that G4Hs are almost always simulations of reality, in which an attempt is made to approach a certain degree of similarity with professional practice. Yet games do not always have to be literal representations of reality. By linking an educational theory about figural transfer that has fallen into oblivion to the manifestations of serious games, this research argues for a 'design for transfer-rationale' with which different, and perhaps even better, serious games can be designed. This way of thinking requires a design research approach, necessary to recontextualize existing insights in a research-based manner towards new game contexts. This dissertation also makes concrete recommendations regarding educational innovation, the need for design-oriented research, and the importance of good design in Health

Designing Serious Games for getting transferable skills in training settings

[EN] Nowadays, serious games are present in almost every educational context. The current work deals with the design of serious games oriented towards getting transferable skills in different kinds of training settings. These games can be a valuable way of engaging citizens and workers in the learning process by means of metaphors or similar mechanisms close to their user experience. They also contain an encouragement factor to uptake generic job competencies. An approach is proposed to develop this type of game by mixing traditional design steps with an instructional strategy to provide structured learning bites in training settings. Several game prototypes have been developed to test this approach in the context of courses for public employees. The obtained outcomes reveal the wider possibilities of serious games as educational resources, as well as the use of game achievements to evaluate the acquisition of transferable skillsThis work is supported by the TEA project (PAIDUPV/2791)Buendía García, F.; García-Martínez, S.; Navarrete-Ibáñez, EM.; Cervelló-Donderis, MJ. (2013). Designing Serious Games for getting transferable skills in training settings. Interaction Design and Architecture(s). (19):47-62. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/47743S47621

Game engines selection framework for high-fidelity serious applications

Serious games represent the state-of-the-art in the convergence of electronic gaming technologies with instructional design principles and pedagogies. Despite the value of high-fidelity content in engaging learners and providing realistic training environments, building games which deliver high levels of visual and functional realism is a complex, time consuming and expensive process. Therefore, commercial game engines, which provide a development environment and resources to more rapidly create high-fidelity virtual worlds, are increasingly used for serious as well as for entertainment applications. Towards this intention, the authors propose a new framework for the selection of game engines for serious applications and sets out five elements for analysis of engines in order to create a benchmarking approach to the validation of game engine selection. Selection criteria for game engines and the choice of platform for Serious Games are substantially different from entertainment games, as Serious Games have very different objectives, emphases and technical requirements. In particular, the convergence of training simulators with serious games, made possible by increasing hardware rendering capacity is enabling the creation of high-fidelity serious games, which challenge existing instructional approaches. This paper overviews several game engines that are suitable for high-fidelity serious games, using the proposed framework

Towards Design Patterns for Augmented Reality Serious Games

For professional workers today, keeping up with knowledge and the continuous technology progress is challenging. Increased innovation speed and dynamic work situations shorten preparation times for new tasks significantly. Traditional professional training approaches preparing employees for new tasks are becoming inappropriate. Thus new educational means are needed. These would help employees get acquainted with new situations faster and more efficiently. According to learning theories such as action learning and situated learning, which embed the learning process in the application context and challenge the learner to be actively involved help to improve the learning process. These theories are the basis for mobile learning and serious games. From research in Serious Games we know that games have the potential to actively involve learners and to immerse them in a learning situation and increase their engagement. With Augmented Reality (AR) and wearable devices a new generation of tools and applications becomes available, which inherently are mobile, contextualized and personalized. First successful application scenarios show the potential of these new technologies for education and training. While the application of game-design patterns to learning processes help to systematically design learning games supporting specific learning outcomes, an empirically tested, systematic approach towards the design of AR-based learning solutions is still missing. Based on the state of the art in AR research and in applying design patterns for serious games, we consequently propose a research methodology to apply game design patterns to augmented reality-based learning games for the training of professionals in dynamic situations

Engaging pictograms! A methodology for graphic design in enhancing player engagement as applied to the design of a serious game for nepalese women with low literacy

In the graphic design of serious games, player engagement is an important consideration. We propose a new approach towards aiding the graphic designer to consider the major factors relevant to player engagement. This article describes a method for creating effective graphical content for serious games that takes into account the impact of complex pictograms on player engagement and on the learning process. We show how we applied our method to the design of a serious game for mobile phones aimed at Nepalese women in rural areas with low literacy skills. Initial results from case study suggest that our method helps designers to improve the design and the logic behind their use of imagery to the extent where the need to use text in the game’s user interface was removed

A Serious Game Approach in Anti-Doping Education: the Game Project

Anti-doping education has largely relied on traditional educational approaches such as face-to-face interaction and e-learning material. Current challenges in anti-doping education involve a) the development of modern educational tools suitable for the new generation of athletes, b) the use of state-of- art learning pedagogies that will enable effective engagement, learning and retention of the learned material, c) a systematic evaluation of the outcomes of anti-doping educational interventions on behavior and related cognition, and d) a positive approach to doping prevention. Project GAME aims to address these needs through the development of a serious game that will incorporate current empirical evidence on the psychological mechanisms underpinning the decision making process towards doping use in competitive and recreational sports. The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of anti-doping education, conduct a state of the art literature review on serious games' design, present the prototype of a scenario that will be included in a serious game for anti-doping education, and discuss the project's activities related to the use of technologies in anti-doping education. +++++++++++++ Anti-doping education has largely relied on traditional educational aproaches such as face-to-face interaction and e-learning material. Current chalenges in anti-doping education involve a) the development of modern educational tools suitable for the new generation of athletes, b) the use of state-of- art learning pedagogies that will enable effective engagement, learning and retention of the learned material, c) a systematic evaluation of the outcomes of anti-doping educational interventions on behavior and related cognition, and d) a positive approach to doping prevention. Project GAME aims to address these needs through the development of a serious game that will incorporate current empirical evidence on the psychological mechanisms underpinning the decision making process towards doping use in competitive and recreational sports. The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of anti-doping education, conduct a state of the art literature review on serious games' design, present the prototype of a scenario that will be included in a serious game for anti-doping education, and discuss the project's activities related to the use of technologies in anti-doping educatio

Cultural influences moderating learners’ adoption of serious 3D games for managerial learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether learners from different cultures adopt a serious 3D game to facilitate the learning of transferable managerial skills (ethics) and knowledge. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, cross-country survey study (n=319) was conducted recruiting participants from one North American and two British universities. The survey data and the conceptual model have been analysed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings Participants displayed positive attitudes towards the 3D game and responded positively to theory presented as “real-life” scenarios; gamification techniques such as interactions and dialogue, and rewards and progression levels, which are part of the game, albeit the participants’ adoption was driven more by extrinsic motivations (rewards) than intrinsic ones (ease of use and entertainment). In addition, the empirical results suggest that when gender is taken into account, the perceptions and needs of cross-cultural learners in serious gaming environments vary and display characteristics that are similar to Rogers’ five adopter categories; thus, culture could significantly shape learners’ decisions to adopt a serious game as a managerial learning tool. Research limitations/implications For future researchers, this paper highlights various levels of training, support and promotional awareness that need to be considered to facilitate the adoption of serious games for managerial learning. Practical implications For academics and practitioners in work-based learning and managerial training environments, this paper highlights the salient factors that need to be inherent in a serious 3D game, and best practices for scaffolding existing instructional approaches or training interventions. Originality/value In light of Rogers’ five adopter categories, this cross-country study involving culturally diverse learners provides key insight into the potential application of serious games as a practice-based learning instrument in academia and industry

A Model-Driven Framework to Support Games Development: An Application to Serious Games

Model Driven Engineering (MDE) is a software development approach which focuses on the creation of models to represent a domain with the aim of automatically generating software artefact using a set of software tools. This approach enables practitioners to produce a variation of software in by reusing the concepts in the domain model without worrying about the technical intricacies of software development. Therefore, this approach can help to increases productivity and it makes software design easier for the practitioners. The application of this approach into games development domain presents an interesting proposition and could help to simplify production of computer games.Computer games are interactive entertainment software designed and developed to engage users to participate in goal-directed play. Many find computer gaming to be persuasive and engaging, and they believe that through the application of game design and game technology in non-entertainment domains can create a positive impact. Computer games designed primarily for non-entertainment purpose are generally known as serious games. The development of games software, in no relation to the intended purpose of it, is technically complex and it requires specialist skills and knowledge. This is the major barrier that hinders domain experts who intend to apply computer gaming into their respective domains. Much research is already underway to address this challenge, whereby many of which have chosen to use readily available commercial-off-the-shelf games while others have attempted to develop serious games in-house or collaboratively with industry expertise. However, these approaches present issues including appropriateness of the serious game content and its activities, reliability of serious games developed and the financial cost involved. The MDE approach promises new hopes to the domain experts, especially to those with little or no technical knowledge who intend produce their own computer games. Using this approach, the technical aspects of games development can be hidden from the domain experts through the automated generation of software artefact. This simplifies the production of computer games and could provide the necessary support to help non-technical domain experts to realise their vision on serious gaming.This thesis investigates the development of a model-driven approach and technologies to aid non-technical domain experts in computer games production. It presents a novel model-driven games development framework designed to aid non-technical domain experts in producing computer games. A prototype based on the model-driven games development framework has been implemented to demonstrate the applicability of this solution. The framework has been validated through the prototypical implementations and these have been evaluated. A case study has been conducted to present a use-case scenario and to examine if this approach can help non-technical domain experts in producing computer games and also to find out if it would lower the barrier towards adoption of game-based learning as an alternative teaching and learning approach.The work in this thesis contributes to the area of software engineering in games. The contributions made in this research includes (1) a blueprint for model-driven engineering for games development, (2) a reusable formalised approach to document computer game design and (3) a model of game software that is independent of implementation platform

Towards a Lightweight Approach for Modding Serious Educational Games: Assisting Novice Designers

Serious educational games (SEGs) are a growing segment of the education community’s pedagogical toolbox. Effectively creating such games remains challenging, as teachers and industry trainers are content experts; typically they are not game designers with the theoretical knowledge and practical experience needed to create a quality SEG. Here, a lightweight approach to interactively explore and modify existing SEGs is introduced, a toll that can be broadly adopted by educators for pedagogically sound SEGs. Novice game designers can rapidly explore the educational and traditional elements of a game, with a stress on tracking the SEG learning objectives, as well as allowing for reviewing and altering a variety of graphic and audio game elements