Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge

An activity theory-based model for serious games analysis and-conceptual design

There are currently a number of models, frameworks and methodologies for serious games analysis and design that provide useful interpretations of the possibilities and limitations offered by serious games. However, these tools focus mostly on high-level aspects and requirements and do not help understand how such high-level requirements can be concretely satisfied. In this paper, we present a conceptual model, called Activity Theory-based Model of Serious Games (ATMSG), that aims to fill this gap. ATMSG supports a systematic and detailed representation of educational serious games, depicting the ways that game elements are connected to each other throughout the game, and how these elements contribute to the achievement of the desired pedagogical goals. Three evaluation studies indicate that ATMSG helped participants, particularly those with gaming experience, identify and understand the roles of each component in the game and recognize the games educational objectives. We present a model for serious games analysis and conceptual design, called ATMSG.Activity theory is used as the underlying theoretical framework.ATMSG supports a systematic and detailed representation of educational serious games.ATMSG depicts how the combination of serious games elements supports pedagogical goals.A taxonomy of serious games elements is presented to assist the analysis of SGs.

Serious Games Development and Applications

Several studies have shown very positive results regarding the use of serious games as rehabilitation tools for individuals with physical disabilities, mainly because the game environment gives them the necessary motivation to continue their treatment with enthusiasm. Thus, the objective of this paper is to describe the first steps on the development of a 3D game for physical therapy of patients with motor disabilities as a result of neurological disorders.

Evaluation of Simulation Games for Teaching Engineering and Manufacturing

Abstract This paper reports on the evaluation methods and findings from serious games for teaching engineering and manufacturing. Two serious games are considered: Cosiga, a new product development simulation game and Beware, a risk management simulation game. These two games cover the front and middle parts of the engineering process – from design to manufacture to sale. For the Cosiga simulation evaluations of the communication and cognitive change were performed. For the Beware game evaluation of communication, risk awareness and improvement of risk management skills were performed The findings from the evaluations showed that serious games deliver learning outcomes. However, there are drawbacks to their use that need to be taken into account. Principally the high cost of development and the need for expert facilitators for running game sessions.

Implications of Learning Analytics for Serious Game Design

This paper addresses the implications of combining learning analytics and serious games for improving game quality, monitoring and assessment of player behavior, gaming performance, game progression, learning goals achievement, and users appreciation. We introduce two modes of serious games analytics: in-game (real time) analytics, and post-game (off-line) analytics. We also explain the GLEANER framework for in-game analytics and describe a practical example for off-line analytics. We conclude with a brief outlook on future work, highlighting opportunities and challenges towards a solid uptake of SGs in authentic educational and training settings.

Deploying Serious Games for Management in Higher Education: lessons learned and good practices

Baalsrud Hauge, J., Bellotti, F., Nadolski, R. J., Kickmeier-Rust, M., Berta, R., & Carvalho, M. B. (2013). Deploying Serious Games for Management in Higher Education: lessons learned and good practices. In C. Vaz de Carvalho, & P. Escudeiro (Eds.), Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on Games-Based Learning (pp. 225-234). Porto, Portugal: Academic Conferences and Publishing International Limited.

Serious games adoption in corporate training

Corporate managers are constantly looking for more effective and efficient ways to deliver training to their employees. Traditional classroom methods have been used for a long time. However, in the last decade electronic learning technology has gained in significance. Serious Games are games that educate, train and inform using entertainment principles, creativity, and technology. Serious Games are proven as a learning method for conveying skills on complex tasks by incorporating sound learning and pedagogical principles into their design and structure. Therefore, it is believed that Serious Games have got the potential to be used to meet government or corporate training objectives. However, the awareness and adoption level of serious games by industry is not known. In this research we designed and conducted a pilot survey among UK-based companies. We used the survey in order to assess the level of awareness and adoption of Serious Games in companies for corporate training. We aim to understand what kinds of skills development Serious Games-based trainings are desired by companies and to know what they perceive the benefits and barriers of using Serious Games are in companies. This paper describes the stages of the design of the survey questionnaire, presents and analyses the results and ends with conclusions and a discussion about the future research work.

Narrative Serious Game Mechanics (NSGM) - Insights into the Narrative-Pedagogical Mechanism

Narratives are used to construct and deconstruct the time and space of events. In games, as in real life, narratives add layers of meaning and engage players by enhancing or clarifying content. From an educational perspective, narratives are a semiotic conduit for evoking critical thinking skills and promoting knowledge discovery/acquisition. While narrative is central to Serious Games (SG), the relationships between gameplay, narrative and pedagogy in SG design remain unclear, and narrative’s elemental influence on learning outcomes is not fully understood yet. This paper presents a purpose-processing methodology that aims to support the mapping of SG design patterns and pedagogical practices, allowing designers to create more meaningful SGs. In the case of narrative, the intention is to establish whether Narrative Serious Game Mechanics (NSGM) can provide players with opportunities for reasoning and reflective analysis that may even transcend the game-based learning environment.

Towards a Service-Oriented Architecture Framework for Educational Serious Games

Producing educational serious games can be costly and time-consuming. The Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach of software development can offer a solution to reduce costs and foment serious games development. In this work, we apply a model called Activity Theory-based Model of Serious Games (ATMSG) for identifying existing relevant components that can be reused for different educational serious games. We apply the derived structure to classify the elements of an existing game and to identify how it can be refactored and expanded following the SOA paradigm.

The Use of Serious Games in the Education of Engineers

Serious games have been used in the education of engineering students and professionals for decades, but still they have not reached their maximum diffusion. Learning by gaming is often seen as not serious enough within higher education and vocational training. Consequently, gaming as a teaching method is still often excluded from many curricula. Hence, students lack the experience of active knowledge acquisition during lessons and encounter a barrier for successful participation in serious games later. Although a variety of games have been developed and proved successful for the mediation of skills in complex systems (Windhoff, 2001), this paper discusses why we think that serious games should be considered as a suitable learning method for the mediation of skills needed in the education of engineers and secondly to give some examples of current games and experience of their use.

An ideation game conception based on the Synectics method

Purpose – Ideation, which is the generation of ideas, is the most crucial step in the early stage of innovation projects. Creativity methods can be applied for ideation purposes. Here, the paper aims to present a concept for combining a multi‐player online game called refQuest with concepts from the Synectics method.Design/methodology/approach – After presenting the two concepts of the refQuest gaming engine and the Synectics method, an approach of how the elements of the gaming engine can be used to implement the Synectics method is shown. Beside this, an initial evaluation of the usefulness of using serious gaming for ideation purposes is given.Findings – It is found that the elements of the Synectics method fit very well with the concepts of the gaming engine of refQuest. A concept for integration could be derived.Originality/value – The online game refQuest is suitable to support the ideation process. Including concepts from Synectics is possible and would enhance the gaming concept.