Serious Games and Factors that Influence Development Cost

A serious game is designed for purposes other than just fun. It is used for training and has been steadily rising in popularity. Why have serious games become so popular? Well, here are the reasons.

Games stimulate the human brain. It provides fun. If you include this fun element in your training, then your employees are bound to take the training more seriously. The more they are hooked to the course, the faster they learn and the better they can recall and apply the learning.
A serious game’s progress is based on user action. It helps the learners hone their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The learners receive instant feedback. If they make a wrong decision, they will need to pay for their action. If they get it right, they will be rewarded. That way they know their strengths and weaknesses and can work towards improvement.
It is a commonly known fact that the best way to learn is through application. You can make your employees go through several lectures of webcasts, but they learn a skill best if they have hands-on experience. Serious games create a simulated environment where the learners can actually practice the skill.
Serious games are usually played in a social environment. It encourages peer collaboration. Your employees will need to work together to achieve goals. This helps in honing their social and team working skills.
In the real world, if you make mistakes at work, then you have to pay the cost. But, how will you learn if you don’t err? Serious games resolve the dichotomy. It provides a safe virtual environment where you are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. Since there are no damages caused in the real world, you will not have to pay for them.

What are some factors that influence the development cost?

Serious games have several benefits. You can reap rich benefits from it. But, what about the cost? Let’s break up various factors that affect the cost of developing serious games.

Graphics: You can either use static 2D graphics with no animation. Or you can use graphics with animation – moderate or full (3D). Obviously, 2D graphics will cost less than 3D games.
Design complexity: These games simulate the real world. You need to decide how close to the real world you want the simulation to resemble, then budget accordingly.
Customization: Then comes customization. You can opt for standard reusable templates with scenarios, or you can build the template and characters from scratch based on your specific needs. The second treatment will cost more.
Levels: If you have multiple levels with the option of multiple players, then the game increases in complexity. Whereas if you decide to keep it simple, the cost and effort will reduce substantially.

It is not easy to estimate the total cost until you start building the first game. There are several adjustments that need to be made during the process. You need to weigh the cost and benefits and decide the way forward.

Serious games are a step beyond gamified eLearning. They are a unique approach to training that equips learners to make choices and solve problems in order to achieve a goal. Rather than simply being taught best practices, learners get to attempt different approaches to solve a problem. At Designing Digitally, Inc. we develop custom serious games based on your organization’s needs. We can output them as SCORM packages or xAPI for your LMS.

Live chat or book a free consultation with our experts today to see how Serious Games could improve your company’s training developments!