Serious games sparking serious innovation - The Serious Games Institute

Serious games sparking serious innovation

Jacqueline CawstonSenior Business Development Manager

Serious Games Sparking Serious Innovation

• Introduction• What are Serious Games• Background to SGI• Emerging Markets• Emerging Trends• Serious Games Innovation

What are Serious Games?

What is a serious game?

• http://vimeo.com/27523181• A serious game is a game designed for a

primary purpose other than pure entertainment

In the beginning…• Americas Army

• Ist released 2002 as recruitment game

• 8 million registrations by 2007

• 26 more versions

• Now available as xbox and mobile game

• Cost $33 million

• America's Army 3 Trailer - YouTube

Serious Games• Can be cost effective using

Flash

• Global Conflict Palestine

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ANbDOKmJ6s

Triage Trainer

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDwYomkKwos• TrueSim is a division of Blitz Games

Triage Trainer• Triage trainer trial summary: 5 trials: September

2007 – January 2008• Independently conducted by the University of

Birmingham• Trial participants: 91 UK NHS doctors, nurses &

paramedics• trial results game trainees versus non-game

trainees: significantly higher accuracy (28%) than the non-game group

• no significant difference on time taken (p>0.05)

Serious Games Institute

“An international centre of excellence for the application of video game, virtual world, mobile application and

associated technology to serious social and economic issues”

Background SGI

• The world’s biggest-selling franchises were born in Britain including Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Grand Theft Auto

• By 2000 the UK was at the forefront of games development and independent studios were growing rapidly to keep up with a world demand for the content they were creating.

• After USA, Japan and Canada the UK is the fourth largest producer of video games in the world.

• The UKs interactive media industry employs approx 40,000 people, representing 10% of the creative workforce

• 160 Digital media companies in the midlands

Serious Games and Virtual Worlds

SGI Model

SGI

Projects, Prototypes and Development

Labs

Business Incubation and

support

Applied Research Team

Training and Education

Showcasing

Virtual Conferences

Training and PG Courses

Mobile applications

Collaborative technologies

Virtual worlds for business

Masters in Serious games

PhD opportunities

What do we produce?

SGISerious Games

Virtual World scenarios

Game Based Learning Reports

and books

Training courses

Mobile and Pad applications

Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality

Innovative Systems

SGI Success

• Innovation• Global reputation• Academic backing• Networks• Trend spotting• Projects delivered on time on budget

Variety of projects• Herbert Gallery GALA Network• Modes E-Vita• V-trade Demonstrator Meducator• Alice FIRE• Virtual Far Gosford Street Daphne – CAVA• Serious Games Studio I spectrum• Sexual Health for Parents Oman• Maternal Health Irish Tourist Board• Language Game Forest Fire Fighting

• Aims to improve the work based social interaction skills of people on the Autistic spectrum through a virtual work environment

Virtual Far Gosford Street

Drivers Mate

Mobile wellbeing for mobile workers

Cost saving

Increased productivity

Herbert Gallery

Singapore SGI

Singapore SGI

• Supported by MDA• Collaboration with industry• Working with Academic organisations• Community project

Emerging Markets

Market Trends

• Average age of gamer between 35 and 37 in Europe and US

• Gender split 49/51 - In US 70% of online gamers female

• 100% of 6-10 year olds in the UK consider themselves to be gamers (59% of UK population play games regularly

• Currently approx. 180 virtual worlds (100+ aimed at young people)

• Several studies demonstrating the efficacy of serious games for training

• In USA in-game advertising to reach $971 million in 2011

• Games players as developers of content with modifications

Chinese Market• Population huge 1.3 billion• Games subsidised by Government• Already a mature eLearning market• Game for Amway – 8,000 staff 600,000 distributors• Spending 30 million on Army Game• 47% employers seriously consider using them in

the next 12 months• 59% would prefer bespoke game• Justifying ROI is important

Emerging Trends

• Wide uptake of social software, (over 750 million on facebook)

• Lines between virtual worlds, games and social software blurring

• Among 16-24s, over half (52 per cent) of their media activity is simultaneous, compared to just over one fifth (22 per cent) for people aged over 55.

• In June 2010 nearly three quarters of mobile phones sold were Smart Phones

• Highest take up of tablets such as ipad and kindle from 15-24 year olds – used in bed

• Most downloaded apps are games

• Facebook is set to be the next broadcaster

Emerging Trends

• O3B funded by Google provide free sat to other 3 billion in countries not on internet Africa etc will start next year

• Everything will be on the cloud

• Virtual Tribes all about curation – sorting the data you want

• Several studies demonstrating the efficacy of serious games for training

• Get money from saving time

• Collaborative consumption – car sharing biggest motor trend

• “sharing is default mindset of the digital generation “Gerd Leonhard”

Emerging Trends

Serious Games Trends

• Gamification• Social Gaming• Cloud Storage

• Consumer to Prosumer

Gamification

• Use of game play mechanics for non-game applications

• Making technology more engaging• Rewarding others for engaging• Changing behaviour• Prolonging time spent on site

Nike Tag Gamification

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlwNvCEFL8A

Gamification

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlwNvCEFL8A&feature=player_embedded

Gamification

Social Gaming

• 2 million people playing games in social media platforms

• Most downloaded apps are games• What is serious about social games?• Collection of data – if it is free you are

not the customer you are the product!

All on the Cloud

• Whenever, wherever, downloading as needed

Consumers to Prosumers

DIY for Digital Natives

Caspian Learning - Prosumers

ThinkingWorlds – no programming

required

Serious Games Innovation

Augmented Reality• The combination of a real physical environment

augmented with a virtual computer scene• augmented reality, blurs the line between what's

real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell

• http://onproductions.com.au/2011/06/02/lynx-angel-ambush/

Shakespeare Byte Size

Shakespeare Byte Size

Surveillance and intelligence augmentation in real-time (STARE)

• The STARE initiative comprises 3 elements crucial to Counter Terrorism operations that operate covertly via a mobile OS:

• Plan Navigator – On-site location data & building structure intelligence

• Suspect Tracker – First person tracking & logging of target movements

• Threat Detect - Rapid scan & detection of suspect objects

Object Recognition

Brain computer innovation

SGI introduced Neurosky to UK games developers

SGI Global Partners

What we do

• Innovation•Collaboration•Knowledge transfer

We make learning fun

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5IW9wK_HNg

Thank you for listening

Jacqueline Cawston

Senior Business Development Manager

The Serious Games Institute

jcawston@cad.coventry.ac.uk