Designing Digitally
08/17/2015
With hundreds of serious game developers out there and thousands of design options, it may seem like quite a challenge to pick the best solution for your business. Fortunately, the staff at Designing Digitally, Inc. has come up with a blueprint for our clients to receive the best possible educational experiences every time by using cutting-edge technology and good old fashioned customer service to learn your exact needs. This overview will teach you a little more about serious games, the development process, and what it takes to make your new educational software a huge success.
A serious game is exactly as the phrase implies- a gaming title that’s created with a serious reason for playing. It is designed with the intention of entertaining the user while providing an educational experience, and this concept works extremely well because the student is having fun while developing critical skills that will be used in the workforce. Generally, companies will have serious games developed to solve a specific problem; which can vary from training new staff members to educating their consumers on a new product or service. Additionally, serious games do not fall into a distinct gaming category because they can be implemented in dozens of styles and play styles.
What makes game-based training different from other types of learning experiences? By immersing the user into a learning environment that is both educational and enjoyable, students are able to absorb large amounts of information within a very short time span when compared to traditional teaching methods. The “fun factor” also makes this form of learning much more likely to capture the user’s complete attention.
Unfortunately, there is not a ‘one size fits all” type of solution for businesses looking to have a serious game developed. Reason being, each and every company will have unique challenges and requirements. That’s why serious game development always starts with a thorough analysis of:
In other words, each serious game needs to be custom-tailored to fit all of a business’s potential needs, both immediately and long term. That can only happen by analyzing each and every requirement before the design phases, since that will ultimately influence how objectives can be developed and implemented.
It may seem a bit strange to hear a serious game developed for your company has to be properly marketed, but that’s exactly the case in many work environments. While some employees will be naturally curious or simply eager to learn, the vast majority will require some minor incentives to initially participate with your new software. As long as you’re promoting it as a challenging new way to have fun and become more proficient on the job, it will eventually take on its own momentum from the various gamification elements involved. You cannot have the Field of Dreams mentality, if you build it, they will come. Employees need incentive to participate. Marketing your serious game internally is a huge step in project success.
At Designing Digitally, Inc., we take a whole lot of pride in developing high-quality serious games. It is certainly a two-way street, however, because it is the insights from our clients and our research team that makes each endeavor so successful. To find out more about serious gaming or to receive a custom quote of what our design team can do for you, please call us at 866-316-9126 or email us at your earliest convenience.
We bring a personal and effective approach to every project we work on.
