The serious message of Serious Games

  • 10 years ago
Serious Games is a concept that uses gaming technology for education, marketing, communication and problem solving. Developers say these revolutionary methods help people learn difficult and complicated subjects in a simple and sometimes amusing way.

More than 50 state-of-the-art producers and designers came together in the French city of Lyon to promote and inform.

Sophie Romano organised the event: “When you feel an emotion, you learn more easily, it is easier to integrate the knowledge. Play is an important vehicle because when we play, we have fun, its pleasurable, we win, we lose, we feel. So its an effective method.”

Artefacts Studio presented a number of educational innovations that teach children in a interactive and straightforward way. Handwashing may seem mundane but it is a vital way to stay healthy.

Interaction Games have created an interactive game for professional orientation, which analyses how a player reacts to situations in a virtual village.

Emmanuel Guardiola is the creative director of the French company Seaside:

“A lot of possibilities are hidden in the village, for example we can discover fungi. Will the gamer find out? Will they be interested? Will it spread and change the way the village looks ? Will the gamers use this as a tool to change the way they navigate around the village? All the data is compiled and it provides a psychological profile and help career development.”

An engineering school in Paris has developed an affordable vision headset called Oculus, which allows total immersion in the virtual world. Here the user has to manipulate the environment in a series of complex hand movements, which could be used to train pilots, surgeons and engineers.

Jphd360 showcased an immersion project, which situates a player in a situation. Graphics and body movement makes the player feel like they are really there.

Isabelle Fournot is a Serious Games developer: “This game has been designed to allow families to save energy in their homes. They are immersed in a real home. A motion detector is used to interact with the images. The fridge needs to be full, an empty fridge consumes too much energy. A mixer should be used with the taps to save hot water and for cooking the pan must fit the hot plate and have a lid to save on power.”

First aid games are a vital new teaching tool. French company Les Atelier Numeriques have a game that shows what to do if someone nearby suffers a stroke. Panic is the norm, but the games shows people just what to do before the doctor arrives. It could be a life saver.

Vigo Universal have developed a method, which allows blind people to recognise objects and shapes. The technology will assist in the recognition of objects in the home at work or in recreational situations.

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