Serious Games

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Types of Serious Games

There are many serious games, grouped by purpose, not dynamic, mechanic, perspective, or play pattern.

Training Games

To put a person through a specific scenario to gain comfort and mastery over it before attempting to do the real thing.

  • Military Flight Simulations.

  • Teach Proper (Measurement) Techniques.

  • Practice and Gauge (e.g. Selling) Approaches.

  • Disaster Preparedness.

  • For the most part:

    • Small Budget.
    • Very Specific Purpose.
    • Target Specific Audiences.

Play is a practice run for real-live scenarios. Games had always a serious purpose.

Health Games

Games that train people to perform health-related tasks and Games that make people healthier (exergames).

  • Opportunity to train in a forgiving and instructional environment.
  • Exergames perhaps larger market.
  • E.g. Wii "console" = "exercise machine".
  • DDR and alike not intended as exergames.

Social-Commentary Games

Games are an incredibly powerful means to get a point across and to spread that point via the Internet throughout the world.

  • Political Games: to show a party's policies or show the fallacy of their opponent's.
  • Art Games: when there is an artistic statement.

Advergames And Anti-Advergames

Some games are created for the primary purpose of advertising a brand. Other are created to actively damage a corporation's reputation.

  • Many companies have at least a small game on their site.
  • Trivia game for fans of, say, a television series.
  • Related to "Intelectual Property".

Educational Games

Akin to training games, educational games usually target school-age children.

  • Use the game's natural ability to teach in order to promote active learning.
  • Related to "Games as a Teaching Tool."

Social-Awareness Games

Games created to draw attention to the plight of people.

  • Particularly good at putting players in an incredibly uncomfortable situation.
  • Even if players merely contemplate playing the game.

"This War of Mine" In the 21st century one thing is inevitable. War can break out anytime, anywhere. And if your city gets under siege, be sure you were not prepared for it.

The Purpose Is the Core

  • Every game has a core: blasting enemies, bouncing from platform to platform, etc.
  • For serious games the core is the purpose.
  • Every feature must be measured if actually helps that purpose.
  • Unlike traditional games, the means to that purpose are a bit different than in traditional games.

The Focus Test

Many serious games come with some serious funding, and those that provide the funds may want to see how well the game actually teaches what it was intended to teach.

  • Focus Groups are setup to this goal.
  • Setting up, monitoring the process of play is project specific.

Why Serious Games?

Why would someone want to make serious games?

  • To get a job in a much less competitive field.
  • To educate.
  • To persuade.
  • To present a personal belief in the digital realm.
  • To make a real difference in the world.
  • To avoid consumerism of mainstream game industry.

People come to serious games for many reasons. It can be fulfilling to design a game that persuade people taking vaccines, for example.