Ultra-brief attempt at the structured classification of  training in online games

“Play is the highest form of research.” ~ Albert Einstein
“Play is the beginning of knowledge.” ~ Anonymous

The idea of using games in education and training is not new. Clark Abt¹ touched on the subject as far back as 1970 in his book ‘Serious Games’. Yet when it comes to online delivery, there is still some shying away from this powerful training tool.

The reasons for this are varied. For many, games are simply the equivalent of playtime, and therefore not suitable for training that is often critically important. Modern games are often identified as 3D ‘shooting’ style games, and therefore have a huge development budget and are consequently not available for the average training provider. Gamers are stereotyped as isolated individuals, immersed in a game, cut off from their peers and as a result, not the team players training outcomes so often ask for. There are certain restrictions and downsides that are worth keeping in mind while designing training. Firstly, the majority of Learning Management Systems (LMS) will not be able to cope even with standard tracking of basic player progress and achievements (with the exception of Replication games). Secondly, while definitely catering for the learning needs of Generation Y, Generation Z (also tagged as Generation M), are the digital migrants not being left behind?

Indeed, all of the above can be true. Yet, on close inspection, it is clear how much more gaming has to offer for effective training delivery. Well-designed games are affordable and extremely adaptable training tools increasingly popular among military and medical providers. Educational games might be valuable in providing a safe context for active student learning. Game worlds can be more concrete, immersive, and open-ended than textbooks. By definition games respond to social constructivism goals such as learning by players’ collaboration. The immersive nature of the game proves itself essential to training and learning success. As Cathy Moore, an international instructional design thought leader dedicated to saving the world from boring instruction says, ‘Our job is to design information [sic] experience’². Games are the very tools in trainers’ hands that enable practicing this brilliant idea. Through immediate application of learned content and immediate reward, addictive learning experiences are created.

To summarise all the benefits of this powerful training tool in a brief article is a challenge. But just to name a few: mentioned team collaboration and individual engagement, practical problem solving and skills are the main advantageous features. Quoting Kevin Corti, founder, PIXELearning Limited: ‘Games­based Learning (a.k.a. ‘Serious Games’) is all about leveraging the power of computer games to captivate and engage end­users for a specific purpose, such as to develop new knowledge and skills. Games­based Learning enables learners to undertake tasks and experience situations which would otherwise be impossible and/or undesirable for cost, time, logistical and safety reasons.’³

There are many paths for combining modern technology into games for training and teaching purposes. To understand the full scope of possibility helps with better content delivery choices, which are more suitable for the desired learning outcomes. It is almost an impossible task with cross ‘genre’ developments emerging almost everyday, but an attempt at online training games classification may look like the description below.

In serious games as the name indicates, the entertainment goal of an activity has been replaced with a purpose, namely, solving a problem. This has traditionally been used for defence, education, scientific exploration, health care, primarily using many simulation activities (one of many is ‘Amnesty the game’)⁴.

Within this category are replication games. They replicate the traditional way of study or training. These are often embedded games characterised by clear, short-term goals and enabling objectives. Primarily the game’s focus is on student self-tests and concentration enhancement. Typical activities are Drag-and-Drop, Matching and Flashcards. Scenario situation simulations are based on multiple choice questions and audio files belong in this category also. Typically, users would go through the game path individually. A good example of an advanced replication type would be ‘DNA – the double Helix’ game⁵.

Collaborative games require the players to form a team and work together to achieve a goal or goals. Often these games offer simulation replicating real life scenarios and demand application of acquired knowledge and skill, for example in procedural practice. Conversely to replication games, a player is expected or independently chooses to form a team, and will also take on a game specific personality (Role Playing Game). Within this category also sit:

• MMOG, MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) – multiplayer games supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously.
• MMORPG (⁶Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) – online games, typically featuring at least one world, which continues to exist and evolve while the player is offline. As in all RPG type games, players assume the role of a character (as in Everquest, for example).

Immersive games are usually extremely life like, described as ‘shooter’ style with typically an action or adventure context, highly developed 3D graphics and played in the first person. These types of games require and develop higher-level skills and strategic thinking. The game space is variable and large, with its own set of rules. It sometimes also allows temporary cooperation. When used in the serious gaming field, these types of development would typically be used for military, civil defence or medical training purposes, e.g. ‘America’s Army’⁷. A simplified version of immersive games is also possible, such as ‘Immigration game’ in Tenement Museum, New York⁸. Additionally, ‘Second Life’ is a great example of a simulation SIM game, where either the individual or a group creates an immersive reality. The flexibility of these virtual worlds enables almost countless training scenarios to be played out.

Immersive games can also wrap and intertwine with real life, be even more collaborative (these boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred) and cross platform. The training goal is primarily to develop teamwork habits but it can also deliver almost any other training content that is possible to be written into the game plot. Alternative reality games (ARGs) are an interactive delivery with a storyline evolving over time, using multiple communication platforms, media and devices. The key feature is the ARG’s co-existence with real life, and also how the plot can be affected by participants’ ideas or actions. The following can be considered as variations of ARGs:

• Trans-reality games combining virtual gaming with game experiences staged and played in physical environments. Another variation of this game concept are Trans Reality Role Playing games (TRRPGs)
• Transmedia storytelling (also known as Multiplatform Storytelling) is very similar to ARG, where the audience engagement is the key and these pieces of content creating the narrative are linked together overtly or subtly.

The desired outcome in ARGs is the players spontaneously forming communities focused on unravelling the mystery or solving the question embedded in the game.

Augmented reality games are usually based on the same principles as alternative reality games, primarily using an augmented tagging engine, mobile apps, iphones, smartphones and tablets. The augmented reality engine is also used in increasing the number of MMORPG and trans-reality games.

Good examples that illustrate the various development types described above well are:

• Transmedia story/recruitment campaign for the Royal New Zealand Air Force designed by Brooke H. Thompson⁹,
• From the same designer ‘Missed Steaks’ – a fun alternate reality game created to train employees in medium-sized businesses on their corporate communication and team building skills,
• ‘The Lost Ring’ 2008 by Jane McGonigal – ARG developed for McDonald’s and the International Olympic Committee for the 2008 Summer Games¹⁰.
• CES 2010: Parrot AR.Drone – An iPhone-Controlled Quadricopter – a phone base augmented reality game¹¹.

In conclusion, even if game-based training is not dominating the training delivery yet, it is very likely to do so in the near future. After all, ‘We live in a world in which information and entertainment are customizable and immediately available.’¹² The Internet and the Social Media are forming a reality in which many believe that the games will soon be the preferred platform not only for communication, training and education, but also branding, marketing and sales. Games will become the primary tool used to influence and modify behaviours. This trend is inspiring a new emerging discipline called gamification, which explores the use of game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems in typically non-game situations. “At the intersection of loyalty, behavioural economics and game design – [it] is growing dramatically, with Gartner Group projecting that 70% of the world’s biggest companies will be actively using gamification by 2015”¹³.

_________________________

¹ an engineer, educator, environmentalist, entrepreneur, and social scientist at Harvard University
² http://blog.cathy-moore.com
³ http://www.pixelearning.com/docs/seriousgamesbusinessapplications.pdf
⁴ http://amnestygame.com/
⁵ http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/dnahelix.html
⁶ http://www.everquest.com/
⁷ http://www.americasarmy.com/
⁸ http://www.tenement.org/immigrate/
⁹ http://www.giantmice.com/portfolio/args/air-force-special-ops/
¹⁰ http://olympics.wikibruce.com/Beginners_Guide
¹¹ http://toucharcade.com/2010/01/06/ces-2010-parrot-ar-drone-an-iphone-controlled-quadricopter/
¹² Georgina Bath Goodlander, Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA
¹³ http://gamification.co/2011/10/27/intrinsic-and-extrinsic-motivation-in-gamification/