Buzzword Decoder: Serious Games and Gamification

At first glance, “serious games” looks like an oxymoron;when managers take a second look, they often think of “gamification.” Seriouslearning games are neither. A growing presence in corporate eLearning, seriouslearning games present opportunities to create engaging and interesting contentthat learners voluntarily spend time with—and learn from.

Serious games and gamification of eLearning differ insignificant ways. Gamification applies elements of game mechanics to eLearningcontent; maybe the ability for players to move up through levels as their skillset grows, the possibility of winning badges, or the appeal of competing withco-workers. But the content is not specifically designed as a game; gamemechanics are simply overlaid onto eLearning content, or existing trainingmaterials are placed into a game-like framework. Plugging content that learnersneed to learn and remember into a Jeopardy-likegame is one example. Any content could work; the game is not directly relatedto the learning materials.

Gamification is increasingly claiming a place in corporateand educational eLearning; it can make learning repetitive information engagingand even fun, which gets employees to spend more time with it and thereforeperhaps retain more of the content. It exploits the addictive nature ofgame-playing that appeals to many learners, whatever their age.

Serious games also appeal to learners’ playful orcompetitive inclinations, but they are on an entirely different plane. Aserious learning game is eLearning that is built from the ground up as a game;the objectives address both the content of the training or actual eLearning and the elements of a strategic game.Learners are presented with a challenge, and they must apply knowledge andinformation learned through the game in responding to the challenge; theyreceive feedback and interact with other players, who can be co-learners orcharacters in the game. The game is an immersive and interactive experience.

When analyzing results of a serious learning game, managerscan learn whether employees have covered essential content, of course; butperhaps more importantly, they will also gain “a much higher-levelunderstanding of the player, his reasons for success or failure, and how toimprove the training or provide further development for that employee, so theoutcome produces better results and has a longer-term effect,” according to SueBohle, executive director of the Serious Games Association. (Read Learning Solutions Magazine’s interviewwith Bohle on September 29, 2016.)

The use of serious games in corporate eLearning is takingoff; an analysis released by Sam Adkins at the Serious Play Conference in July2016 forecasts growth of 22.4 percent in game-based learning over the 2016 – 2021period. Adkins attributes this to both the emergence of empirical evidence thatgame-based learning is effective and the emergence of “corporate-facingcompanies” producing game-based eLearning and tools.

Not all serious games require sophisticated graphics andartwork or the complicated bells and whistles that are expensive and time-consumingto create. Companies and educators are increasingly able to take advantage ofplatforms and resources that are freely available—and often are shared amongeLearning developers, particularly among educators—to create serious learninggames. Bohle produces the Serious Play Conference, an annual gathering whereserious-games experts and developers gather to share information; sheencourages eLearning developers to seek out forums where serious-gamesprofessionals encourage this kind of sharing and mentoring so they can explorethe possibilities serious games could offer learners in their companies.

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