What Is at Play? Meta-techniques in Serious Games and Their Effects on Social Believability and Learning

Abstract

We discuss several examples of meta-techniques, used in Live Action Role Play to communicate information outside the story world, and suggest that they may be used to make non-player characters more socially believable by providing players with insight into what is at play in characters’ minds. We discuss how the use of these techniques could influence player immersion and how this may impact the learning effects of serious games