A recent Forrester Research report argues that within five years the 3D Internet will become as important to companies as the web is today.

As we move closer to the time when virtual reality, intelligent tutoring, 3D gaming, and just plain games inundate the training space, it would serve us well to examine exactly why games are beneficial. More importantly, we need to understand why games work. Contrary to current hype, people won’t want to play something just because it is in fact a game.

Why games?

One of the key questions any good instructional designer will ask before they develop a course is “what’s in it for the learner?” More commonly, we learner’s ask “What’s in it for me?” To be sure, motivation is a key element in getting learner’s engaged.

Motivation is key to any successful learning experience. If the learner does not have a desire to learn the information, most any approach will fail. The learner needs to understand what benefit they will derive from participating in the learning event.

There are numerous ways to motivate learners. One of the more prevalent ways is to make the learning experience “fun,” which can be defined in several capacities, only one of which means “pleasurable”. The American Heritage Dictionary defines fun as “a source of enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure.”

A sense of enjoyment can come from solving complex problems, overcoming challenges, or performing challenging tasks. Fun does not have to mean pleasure or light hearted entertainment. As a matter of fact, if you are trying to sell your game to decision makers who hold the purse strings, you might reserve the word fun for your development group and use other terms that are more strategically appealing.

When developing games for learning we in essence are striving to create an environment where students become enthralled with the content and motivated to engage in the learning process. You want an environment where learners seek out and gain knowledge that may not have been presented in the original curriculum. In such an environment, learners hunger and thirst for knowledge rather than passively absorb the information presented. They question, research, and challenge the subject matter—and by so doing, ingrain the material deep in their minds and increase the likelihood that they will use new knowledge after the actual learning event.

In the article “Why Education Needs to Embrace Videogames Instead of Fighting Them” gaming guru James Paul Gee contends, “Real learning is not about ‘facts’—but about having such deep experiences of the world…that the facts become part of what it takes to ‘play the game’ or take on the identity. Real learning means learners cannot just talk about what they have learned, but actually do things with it.”

Have you ever been so captivated by some topic that you go above and beyond the material presented to learn more and engage at a higher level? The experience can be exhilarating.

Social learning

In addition to the fun factor, people like to socialize and learn from one another. But how do we accomplish both motivation and socialization in the same experience?

One solution is to give the player an identity they can relate to. Allow them to customize the look and feel and truly make it their own. Create challenges and obstacles that engage the learner and give them the tools they need to succeed. Provide resources to enhance the knowledge they come to the game with. Allow them opportunities to think about the outcomes and develop their own path to success, when and where possible. In other words, let the game grow with the learner. Develop a strategy for systematically challenging the learner as they acquire new skills and information. In addition, don’t use the online world exclusively for learning. It should provide experiences and challenges that are then brought to the table outside the game for discussion and resolution.

If you are on a tight budget or time restricts your ability to develop well planned and thought out games, here are some simple ideas to make your learner feel like they are in a game as opposed to the traditional online learning module.

§       Script your learning from a first person point of view graphically. The developer does not need to animate the scene, just simply act as if they learner is in the scene and their eyes become the camera view so they can scan the environment and feel as if they are walking around.

§       Use lip synching and simple gestures that your characters exhibit to give your characters life. There is inexpensive software with libraries of characters that speak. You simply type in the text and the avatar adapts its gestures and lips to match the text. If you can afford to spend a bit more, you can use your own designed characters and simply buy the code to create your own unique look and feel. There are limitations to using this software, but overall it adds a nice touch.

§       Avoid using the “Next” button. (This is true for almost all online learning today.) Script your learning in terms of scenes rather than screens. Use transitions such as “fade in” or “fade out” to move from one scene to the next.

§       Graphically design your experience so the learner feels as if they are in real environment where they will be working when they move from training back to the job.

Leading the way

What can we learn from pioneers forging the way in the game industry? Let’s first explore an example of a great game, created for learning that did not meet with immediate success. Then we can outline the process for developing a game (from an instructional perspective) and define the competencies necessary to build the game.

The game, called Arden, the World of Shakespeare, was a project out of Indiana University funded with a $250,000 MacArthur Foundation grant. Its creator, Edward Castronova, an associate professor of telecommunications at the university, wanted to use the world to test economic theories. By manipulating the rules of the game, he hoped to find insights into the way that money works in the real world. Players enter the game and explore a town called Ilminster, where they encounter characters from Shakespeare, along with many plots and quotations. They answer trivia questions to improve their characters and play card games with other players. Coming from Castronova, a pioneer in the field, the game was expected by many to show the power of virtual-world-based research. But according to Castronova there was a problem with the game: It was no fun.

In the Learning Circuits article, “Get in the Game! The Cisco Binary Game,” Cisco developer Jerry Bush explains that there are three essential components to making a successful learning game. First you need a skilled educator, a knowledgeable subject matter expert, and a technical game development team. Without the three components you will likely develop a game that truly does not teach or a teaching experience that doesn’t motivate.

“Cisco’s most successful learning game is one developed by Bush to teach individuals how to perform binary calculations, and to improve that skill. The simple yet engaging online Binary Game enables students to quickly gain proficiency with a vital skill. "It develops their ability to think in binary, as well as notice patterns and develop strategies," says Bush. Experienced players can work 50 problems in five minutes, far faster than they could in a classic homework situation, and with much greater enjoyment.”

The world of academia or corporate education is not totally ready to embrace and fund such projects on a large scale. But preparing now for the inevitable future will allow you to make informed choices, develop or hire competencies necessary and keep your costs under control. Rather than plunge into the deep end of the pool, like many of us did with e-learning, we can learn to swim first and be better prepared for the currents that will drag us under if we are not skilled and adept and manipulating this complex opportunity.

What does it take?

A successful development team will be staffed with experienced instructional designers and subject matter experts. These are people we are accustomed to working with during development. As e-learning entered the playing field, we introduced some new players to game: developers, who typically come with a set of technical skills and graphic art or design skills.

In addition, you need a lead designer or project manager. This person oversees the whole design and development process. This is similar to e-learning development, but this lead designer must have a thorough knowledge and background in the game development process, not just content authoring tools.

The game designer defines and documents how the game actually functions. They conduct background research to make sure the games assets and elements are consistent with the time period, for example. This is a key position in the fun factor. They must know how to develop games that will intrigue and capture their target audience. This position is similar to your storyboard developer but requires much more skill in creating complex scenario mapping, and researching to make sure the elements are consistent with the message being delivered. Subject matter experts can assist in validating the designer’s research.

The level designer uses game engine tools and incorporates the components defined by the game designer in to the level. Similarly, interface designers define the layout of the environment and the screens in various gameplay modes.

The role of writer is critical to adding fun. Your writer must be able to develop a compelling storyline and capture the players interest for a long periods of time. The graphic artist creates all the assets and designs the physical environment. This person needs to have 3D graphic development experience. Once again, this is critical in developing a sense of fun. The visual appeal of the game is a primary consideration to players and will be important in maintaining interest in the game. Finally, you need a sound technician. In addition to dialog and narration, ambient sounds can add a significant element to make the game more immersive.

Defining online worlds, games, and simulations

There are stark differences between simulations, games, and online worlds. Yet we tend to use these terms interchangeably. These concepts are often used in conjunction with one another, but they do not represent the same concept.

Simulations are primarily driven by one person who interacts with characters (avatars) or scenarios. Simulations can occur within an online world, but are not an online world. An online world is typically a 3D representation of the real world and a place to host events or learning experiences.

Games can be incorporated in to an online world or build from scenarios or simulations. The game itself may not be a simulation or an online world. For example, it may a modified version of a television game show.

There are many types of online worlds, and understanding their differences will help you better communicate with your developer and their team.

MMOFPS (massively multiplayer first-person shooter). These are first person shooter games and are not typically used in education. A popular example is the game Halo.

MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-play games). This virtual world allows you to play the role of a defined character in a virtual world. Everquest and The Planes of Power were two of the first in the US to develop in this environment. Disney’s Toontown Online is another example.

Disney’s Toontown

MMORTS (massively multiplayer real-time strategy). These strategy games that allow more than one player to interact with each other online. Saga is an example of this type of game.

Metaverses are environments where players—under the guise of an avatar—interact with each other socially in a virtual world that mimics a real place. Often, these virtual worlds are created by those who would like to define an alternate reality space for their character to socialize. Second Life is the most popular of this type of environment. This has been used mostly as a meeting place for learning. Some small adaptations have been to create training, but it primarily feeds the need for socialization and learning through interaction with others.

Second Life

MMOLE (massively multilearner online learning environment). The MMOLE can be any online virtual world environment where learning is the primary objective. Learning can occur in classrooms, webinars, simulations, or role play exercises. Games can also be placed in this 3D learning environment. Players, cloaked as avatars, can interact and have engaging discussions via chat or VoIP. Proton Media’s Protosphere is one example.

Ready to build?

Once you have assembled a team, the process becomes as important as the team. Here are four steps you will generally need to follow when developing a game—these may look familiar.

Design. A prototype is typically developed at this juncture to give the reviewers a quick glance at the look and feel of the game, as well as help you uncover additional functionality that will require testing. In this step, you define the games goals and objectives, victory conditions, termination conditions, outline scenarios at a high level and layout any rules required to play the game. For example, what obstacles will the player face and how will they overcome them? Is there more than one way to succeed?

At this stage, it is also helpful to identify whether the game is going to be action-based, role-based, a puzzle, or simulation. This helps your developer identify the development tools necessary to create the game. Most corporate games will be developed for a PC but if you are considering any other platform such as the Xbox, Playstation or Wii, it is critical to specify that at this point in time. Looking at the Wii as an option is an interesting proposition. That platform has opened new avenues previously not interesting to corporate learning developers.

If you opt to use a storyline it may present challenges. You need a writer who can create interesting and relevant content. They need to create characters that are believable to your audience. The story needs to engage the learner and be relevant to the subject matter. It takes a skilled professional with extensive knowledge about the subject matter to make a story concept work.

Finally, your game environment (or look and feel) will be identified at this stage, along with any graphical or auditory elements you want to incorporate.

Development. Games are built in levels. It is helpful to build each level separately and test each one thoroughly before connecting them. This is the stage in which you will flesh out much of the content and your graphic elements and assets. You should also use this stage to refine your scenarios with prototyping and playtesting. The complete story will be developed and character types incorporated into the story.

Testing. Once again, make this available to your SMEs, as well as your target audience to ensure you are on the right track and that their needs and wants are being met. Sometimes we get so involved in the development that fresh eyes and a differing perspective will help make sure you are meeting the outcomes.

Evaluation and Refining. This is the stage in which all feedback from testers is addressed—either fixed or revised to meet the technical requirements as well as the learning objectives. Usability is typically tested at this point in time. Although usability should be a key concern from the beginning and early testing should flesh out some usability issues, this is where the real in depth usability testing is conducted with your target audience.

As your skilled team follows these processes, it increases the probability that your game will not only meet the desired outcomes, but make people want to play it again and again. Once you have followed all the necessary guidelines to develop an immersive and challenging game that is sure to motivate your players to learn, ask yourself and your players:

§       Did it meet the fun factor?

§       Was it engaging?

§       Did your player feel like they were immersed in the experience?

§       Were the obstacles challenging enough to keep your player engaged without overwhelming them?

§       Did the storyline appeal to them and motivate them to delve deeper into topics they may not be familiar with?

Finally, remember the first 10 minutes of your game are the most important. First impressions are lasting.