Understanding Engagement within the Context of a Safety Critical Game

One of the most frequent arguments for deploying serious games is that they provide an engaging format for student learning. However, engagement is often equated with enjoyment, which may not be the most relevant conceptualization in safety-critical settings, such as law enforcement and healthcare. In these contexts, the term ‘serious’ does not only relate to the non-entertainment purpose of the game but also the environment simulated by the game. In addition, a lack of engagement in a safety critical training setting can have serious ethical implications, leading to significant real-world impacts. However, evaluations of safety-critical games (SCGs) rarely provide an in-depth consideration of player experience. Thus, in relation to simulation game-based training, we are left without a clear understanding of what sort of experience players are having, what factors influence their engagement and how their engagement relates to learning. In order to address these issues, this paper reports on the mixed-method evaluation of a SCG that was developed to support police training. The findings indicate that engagement is supported by the experience situational relevance, due to the player’s experience of real-world authenticity, targeted feedback mechanisms and learning challenges

Co-created Evaluation: identifying how games support police learning

HCI often produces improved systems through co-creation with practitioners. However, evaluation methods are primarily researcher-led (i.e. not co-created with practitioners). As part of a games-based learning evaluation, we detail a novel co-creation method that produces evaluations on how technology influences learning. Based upon educational threshold concept theories, the Tricky Topic method supported the co-creation of knowledge-based evaluation questionnaires with trainers. The evaluation involved 116 new recruit police officers from three UK police forces who participated in a randomized-control trial. The Tricky Topic method provided insights of how the game significantly increased understanding p<.001 (moderate effect size) in comparison with face-to-face training. Tricky topic breakdowns identify increased tacit understanding (e.g. empathy, attention) after games training, and decreased tacit understanding (e.g. respect) after face-to face training. Finally, further research opportunities are discussed concerning co-created evaluation for valid and relevant deconstruction of participants’ understanding that allow designers to pinpoint systems-specific learning benefits