What is Serious Gaming

Serious Games are generally held to be applications developed with game technology and design principles having training, situation simulation or education while entertaining the user as a prime purpose. Serious Gaming is, thus, games that engage users in their pursuit and contribute to the achievement of a defined purpose other than pure entertainment.

Serious Games are very effective and pervasive because they:

1. Allow situated learning while offering entertainment of value
2. Merge high engagement and powerful content
3. Trigger profound reflections and permit a rapid understanding of complex environments
4. Show how actions affect context
5. Allow the users have an active role, thus making them take credit for success, avoiding at the same time a sense of “failure” as they turn mistakes into precious learning elements
6. Help the users accomplish certain goals avoiding the repetitiveness and boredom of a dry, uninspired execution pattern or exercise.

 

As a matter of fact, people tend to absorb more easily information they acquire through interactive channels and while they respond to a challenge in a competitive and entertaining environment. From that viewpoint, Serious Gaming can give enhance existing learning approaches and training methodologies.