Developing Serious Games for Employee Training

Serious games boost productivity

Serious games often use rewards to motivate learners. The higher the motivation the more productive the learners are. Gamified training motivates the learners to think out-of-the-box. The more they apply their brains the better they perform. The boost in productivity is beneficial for both – the organization and the employee.

Serious games keep the learners engaged

Game-based training is designed keeping certain learning outcomes in mind. The fun element and novelty offered by serious games keep the learner engaged and motivates them to achieve the hidden learning goals. The more engaged the learners are the better they learn and recall. As a result, they remember the important things they learned and apply them at their workplace to enhance their performance.

Serious games offer immediate results

Gamified training offers immediate feedback. The players receive an instant update on how they fared through badges, recognition, leaderboards, and so on. This boosts their confidence and they are invested in the training. They look forward to attending the program. If they commit a mistake, they know immediately. This way they avoid repeating the same mistake in future.

Serious games allow the learners to practice

Serious games are, more often than not, simulation-based. This means that the learners can practice their newly acquired skills in a virtual and safe environment. They can make mistakes and learn from them, without causing any real-world damage. The more mistakes they make, the better they learn. At the end of it, they emerge as confident workers who excel at their jobs.

Serious games are cost-effective

The initial investment in serious games can be a little on the higher side. But after that, it is scalable. You can use it a multiple number of times and distribute it throughout your organization. This is a huge advantage if you have operations in multiple locations.

Below are some tips to help you integrate serious games in your corporate training strategy.

• Avoid causing a cognitive overload in your learners. If you wish to keep your employees engaged, then keep it short. Include only key elements so that the learners do not get lost in a maze of information.
• The basic goal of any serious games is to motivate your employees to apply what they have just learned. Make sure you have reinforced all the important concepts in the game.
• Your game should have an exciting plot line for your employees to connect. The characters should be relatable. A good way is to cast your learner as the protagonist. Create obstacles and provide them with options to overcome the obstacle. Give them several choices as well as the repercussions of choosing a particular option.
• The game should be competitive. It should pit peers against each other to keep the excitement going. And, there should be a reward for the winner. The reward need not be material benefits. It can be something as simple as a leaderboard.
• Keep an eye on the metrics and assess how your learners are progressing. The more your learners expand their knowledge, the better their scores will be. But, if certain learners fail to get better then you may need to examine your game strategy. This may be a sign that the content or design is not up to the mark. You need to examine what is going wrong and where.

By using Serious Games developed by Designing Digitally, you will find the learners are able to have fun while they learn the specific subject matter or train along a professional development track. With over a decade of developing award-winning serious games for the largest brands in the world, we have the experience and the aptitude to develop your custom game-based learning experience.

Get in touch with our experts.