Where serious games are used

Serious games are used in a variety of fields since they can be applied to address a broad range of problems or challenges. A few fields where serious games are particularly prevalent:

• Education: Serious games are used to teach specific subjects through gamified exercises and simulations. This way, students can learn math or a new language amongst others. This application is one of the most recognized uses of serious games, often referred to as educational games.
• Healthcare: In the healthcare sector, games are utilized in rehabilitation by translating physical exercises into in-game actions. Another use in healthcare is to train medical procedures in a simulated environment. Learn more about this on orbitsource.online
• Training and consultancy: An increasing number of consultancy agencies make use of serious games to explain and train teamwork, as well as to navigate social and logistical dynamics within businesses.

These examples highlight only a few areas where serious games are applied. They are also used in the military for training purposes, in marketing to acquire and retain customers, by governments to raise social awareness and in several research initiatives. We are just starting to discover the potential of games with a purpose and more applications are likely to emerge in the future.

What are the advantages of serious games?

So why are more and more companies using games to reach serious goals? What’s wrong with a good old book or e-learning module? While there’s nothing wrong with the old methods,  games offer a new and effective way to transfer information and knowledge. Here are some key advantages of serious games:

1. Higher engagement and immersion: Games are designed to motivate players to keep playing through rewards, story progression, and various feedback systems. Coupled with a beautifully crafted environment, games can fully immerse players in the subject matter.
2. A safe space to experiment: In the real world your actions have consequences, sometimes this can lead to damaged material or hurt feelings. Games provide a safe, virtual environment where players can experiment freely without the risk of real-world repercussions.
3. Positive emotions improve learning: Serious games are fun! Studies have shown that students who use games to learn, experience more positive emotions. This leads to an improved learning experience compared to traditional learning methods and video tutorials.

These advantages make serious games a valuable tool for education and training.

How do serious games work?

So how does it work? Why are people more engaged when they are playing a game? And how does this improved engagement enhance learning? Below are four core elements commonly found in games. These elements contribute to both the entertainment value and the effectiveness of their serious purpose.

Interactivity: gameplay

At the core of all games is the concept of ‘gameplay’. This can be described as the decisions and actions a player must take to overcome challenges. For example, in the Super Mario series, the player needs to learn how to control Mario to jump over tortoises and gaps to reach the end of the level. The interactive element is what makes games fun.

Unlike books, films or other one-way learning experiences, games allow players to interact with the subject matter. This enables players to experiment and explore different outcomes based on their actions. This mirrors how humans naturally learn. Children learn by interacting and experimenting with the objects around them, sometimes resulting in small injuries from touching a hot stove or falling down a couple of steps. Games provide a safe space for players to experiment with real-life situations without the risks, consequences, or physical damage associated with the real world.

The metaphor: story and setting

Explaining divisions is always more fun when it involves pie or pizza. A metaphor can help visualize complex subjects. Similarly, games use metaphors to provide context for the actions and decisions players must make. The story and setting of a game are powerful tools for creating an immersive experience. Players become more engaged with the characters and their journeys when they care about them. Often, these games also feature vast and beautiful worlds to explore, appealing to our fundamental desire to discover and gain new experiences.

In summary, beyond merely using metaphors to explain complex ideas, the story and setting of a game significantly enhance player engagement, immersion, and retention of knowledge or skills.

Progression and feedback: challenges and rewards

An important aspect of learning is that the challenge presented aligns with the student’s current skill level. If an 8-year-old has to learn advanced mathematics, they likely won’t have the required background knowledge, which can quickly result in frustration and loss of motivation.

Games use many different progression systems to engage and retain players from all skill levels. Most games have a difficulty setting for example. Some games even adapt the difficulty automatically based on the player’s performance.

In addition to aligning challenges with skill levels, games are also very rewarding. When a player overcomes a certain challenge, it triggers the release of endorphins which enhances their mood and self-esteem. This feeling encourages players to continue playing in pursuit of that endorphin rush. Have you ever experienced a rush of endorphins from learning Pythagoras’ theorem?

Social aspect: multiplayer

Learning in groups is generally more effective than learning alone. Multiplayer games allow players to interact with each other, whether online or in person. The ability to play or compete against other players is a significant motivation for many gamers, encouraging them to continue playing. The interaction creates unpredictable situations, which in turn can create interesting challenges or funny situations. Being able to compete or cooperate with other players, improves both learning and engagement.

Successes and examples

Serious games have been successfully applied to several fields. Here are some notable cases that highlight the impact of serious gaming:

• Sea Hero Quest: This innovative game collects data to detect dementia at an early stage. Remarkably, data that would typically take 176 centuries to gather was collected in just a few months through this game.
• Assassin’s Creed: Origins Discovery Tour: Although the title suggests otherwise, this special game mode focuses exclusively on exploring ancient Egypt, functioning as a virtual museum. A unique aspect of this example is that it serves as an addition to an existing entertainment game, making it accessible to a broad audience.
• Underground: This is one of the first publicly available games designed for the WiiU to train surgical procedures using a custom-made game controller. This controller simulates the movements of expensive hardware, providing an affordable and effective training tool. We have learned much of this experience and are now creating Laptitude, a complete platform with custom hardware and software that teaches laparoscopic core skills.

These are just a few examples of serious games. What defines these examples is that they all have a very strong entertaining component as well as a serious purpose. The more entertaining a serious game is, the more effective it becomes as a tool for training, education, or achieving other objectives.

Learn more about serious games

Now that you have a basic understanding of serious games and their applications, you might be interested in learning more about the topic. There has been extensive research on using games for purposes beyond entertainment. A good starting point for delving deeper into this subject is to explore terms closely related to serious games, such as gamification, game-based learning, and applied games.

Closely related to serious games are gamification, game-based learning, and a range of other terms to describe similar practices. If you want to know the differences between these terms, read our article on the differences between gamification, game-based learning and serious games.

How does behavioural change work?

Behavioural change doesn’t have to be difficult. For example, if you offer an employee a 20% bonus for walking for 30 minutes during their lunch break each day for a month, they are likely to do it. However, it’s unlikely that they will continue walking after the bonus period ends, and the motivation provided by the bonus may only be temporary.

Extrinsic motivation is heavily influenced by environmental and external factors, rather than an individual’s internal drive. Extrinsic motivation works through rewards or punishments. As soon as the reward or punishment disappears, so does the motivation.

That being said, this method can be effective in certain situations. For instance, when receiving a one-time discount when signing up for a monthly subscription.

Intrinsic motivation works differently. It is driven by your internal desire to make changes, rather than external rewards or pressures. Achieving intrinsic motivation requires self-awareness and an understanding why behavioural change is necessary.

These two types of motivation are not completely independent of one another. Extrinsic motivation can gradually transform into intrinsic motivation over an extended period.

Let’s go back to the example of the employee who is offered a 20% bonus for walking 30 minutes during their lunch break for one month. After the first month has ended, the employee will stop receiving the bonus. Studies reveal that it takes about 66 days to develop a new habit, meaning it takes this long for a new habit to be naturally integrated into daily life.

Now, imagine the employer decides to offer the reward for 3 months instead of just one. In that case, the employee is more likely to experience the benefits of exercising for 30 minutes every day. Perhaps they feel healthier, more focused, and happier. This helps to grow their intrinsic motivation. The employee becomes aware of the goal and has a personal reason to do it. As a result, there is a higher likelihood that the employee will continue walking even after the bonus period ends.

Behavioural change and games

Serious games provide external motivation to complete tasks. These games include a challenge, an action, and a reward. So why are games effective in promoting behavioural change, creating awareness, and growing intrinsic motivation? The answer: experience and engagement.

Experience: stories make memories

The impact of games on behavioural change has been widely studied. Researchers concluded that video games with storylines positively influence health-related behavioural change.

Storytelling in games helps people understand the importance of changing behaviour. By immersing the player in a virtual world filled with interesting characters and a compelling storyline, games make an impression and create lasting memories that help reinforce the ‘moral of the story.’ This makes the player less likely to revert to old habits and more likely to adopt new, positive behaviours.

Engagement: we love games

Games are fun. The higher the entertainment value, the more engaged we are. Several techniques increase engagement in games:

• Daily login bonus: players get a bonus every day they log in.
• Levels: serious games are often level-based. When players improve, they reach a higher level, which keeps the game challenging.
• Rewards: Successful actions are rewarded with in-game rewards (such as points).
• Leaderboards: a visual representation (ranking) that allows players to compete with each other.
• Feedback: players receive direct feedback on their actions. Even when making the wrong decision, the game ensures that the player will understand without feeling attacked.

At Grendel Games, we often create serious games to promote behavioural change. We typically deploy them for a minimum of three months. As mentioned before, learning a new habit takes an average of 66 days, which is a considerable amount of time. However, the engagement and enjoyable experiences games provide, ensure people continue to play. As a result, the message is delivered more effectively, increasing the likelihood that the player becomes intrinsically motivated to continue the desired behaviour.

In practice: Greenhabit

We make games aimed at behavioural change. A great example is Greenhabit: a game that makes improving your health fun.

In Greenhabit, players receive a daily challenge. This challenge, message or question is focused on one of the 5 pillars of a healthy lifestyle:

1. Healthy nutrition
2. Exercise
3. Relaxation
4. Positive thinking
5. Social environment

In a 12-week adventure, players complete as many daily challenges as possible. Points and badges serve as in-game progress rewards. You can also win physical rewards, such as a healthy food box from the local supermarket.

You’re not alone on this adventure. You play the game with a colleague and a buddy outside your company. By working together, the players keep each other motivated and return daily.

The game has a combination of teamwork, refreshing content and challenges, appropriate rewards and insight into your progress. This makes the game interesting to play, exposing players to the desired behavioural change for a longer period. This way, Greenhabit excitingly ensures a healthier lifestyle.

Let’s play!

A well-developed serious game is the perfect way to realize behavioural change. It can be applied in an infinite number of fields, like healthcare, education or sustainable projects.

1. Underground: train surgeons in a risk-free environment

Practice makes perfect. However, in some professions, practising skills does not come easy. For surgical training, it’s impossible to practice on patients due to the risk of complications that would bring. So traditional surgical training methods make use of simulators. However, these simulators are expensive and not engaging.

The University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) noticed these simulators weren’t used often enough by trainee surgeons. On the other hand: the surgeons enjoyed playing games on their smartphones during their breaks. What if the simulator is transformed into an experience as exciting as Angry Birds?

Objective: to make training for surgeons as fun as Angry Birds

The UMCG and Grendel Games developed the game Underground. In an exciting world, the surgeons play Sari, a brave girl who must free her robot friend Sw4nk from the mines. With a customised laparoscopic controller, the surgeons must complete challenges that simultaneously train their motor skills.

The results of Underground

The implementation of Underground has brought many advantages for both UMCG and the trainee surgeons:

• For the hospital, a serious game is much more affordable than a simulator;
• Surgeons practise more often and therefore, are better prepared;
• Underground’s risk-free training environment and challenging storyline reduce performance pressure – players have a great time while practising;
• The effects of the game are

The serious game ‘Underground’ won the Dutch Game Award twice and has been proclaimed by Forbes as a ‘game that can change the world’.

2. Sea Hero Quest: effective dementia research

‘Sea Hero Quest’ is not just another game on your smartphone. Developed by ‘Deutsche Telekom Alzheimer’s Research UK’ and game developer ‘Glitchers’, it collects invaluable data for dementia research.

Objective: large-scale data collection

While you sail through winding canals in a boat on your way to the next checkpoint, the game is observing your performance. Sea Hero Quest uses a clever technique measuring your navigation abilities, which are among the first skills affected by dementia.

The collected data is used to better understand what ‘standard navigational skills’ are by establishing a baseline. From this baseline, researchers can see when someone’s navigation skills fall below average, which can indicate the onset of dementia.

The results of Sea Hero Quest

Sea Hero Quest has provided researchers with a wealth of data, unveiling early signs of dementia and shedding light on gender differences in navigation skills. Its gamified approach to data collection has proven to be both effective and engaging, with millions of players contributing to scientific research simply by playing the game.

3. Water Battle: safe water by helping cute creatures

Vitens, a water company, developed Water Battle to encourage water conservation in a fun and engaging way. The game involves whimsical water creatures and engages schoolchildren and residents of Leeuwarden to reduce water consumption.

In Water Battle, whimsical water creatures inhabit the water network of Leeuwarden. Their tiny homes frequently flood due to the excessive water consumption by the city’s residents. Schoolchildren join forces with citizens to help save the creatures’ home while learning about water and energy. Citizens can support children by spreading and measuring their water usage through a smart meter and app. As they adjust their behaviour, the water creatures are faced with less flooding.

The results of Water Battle

147 children participated in the pilot project. This led to an average water consumption reduction of 7%. This would save 2.500 litres of water per household per year. Top 10 players reduced their consumption by an impressive 25%.

Water Battle received 3 awards for its innovative and engaging approach to water reduction.

4. EndeavorRX: a video game as a treatment for ADHD

When thinking of medicine, you’re likely to think of pills. American company Akili has proven serious games can function as medicine just as well. After six years of scientific research, they developed the first FDA-approved game to treat children with ADHD: EndeavorRX.

The results of EndeavorRX

EndeavorRX challenges children to fly a craft through obstacle courses, where they must dodge obstacles while collecting rewards. According to research, the game helps improve attention and concentration in one-third of the participating children with ADHD. Additionally, as many as half of the parents reported a positive change in their child.

5. Reducept: reduce chronic pain with virtual reality

When people experience chronic pain, their body continuously sends pain signals to their brain even when it’s not necessary.

Together with Margryt Fennema, health scientist and digital healthcare innovator, and Louis Zantema, medical psychologist, Grendel Games developed a serious game to help patients understand and learn to cope with their pain: Reducept.

The results of Reducept

Virtual reality plays a significant role in Reducept, winner of a World Summit Award. It enables patients to become more aware of the source of their pain. The game also helps patients understand how to manage and reduce their pain through by learning about virtual reality, pain and psychology. Results from Reducept show that patients who play the game experience a significant reduction in chronic pain.

Serious games: endless possibilties!

Since the first attempt 200 years ago, serious games have become incredibly successful. Through research and technological advancements, the possibilities are endless. Serious games have made a significant impact on the world.

When developing a serious game, we combine the best of both worlds: the power of research and our expertise in game development. This combination enables us to make games that are entertaining and effective in accomplishing their goals. In other words: training through gaming. Read here how we do it.

Gamification, serious games and game-based learning are very similar. All three are very effective to motivate players. The difference between gamification and game-based learning is that in gamification you apply (some) game elements in an existing (non-gaming) context and in game-based learning you use existing games or specially developed serious games to learn. The difference between game-based learning and a serious game is that game-based learning is more a method, the way of learning, and a serious game is a product in which game-based learning is possible. Let’s take a closer look at gamification, game-based learning and serious games.

What is gamification?

Gamification is not about a game, but about the use of game elements in a non-gaming context. It is a method in which one or more game elements are processed in a process to better transfer knowledge. A similar definition of gamification is a set of activities and processes to solve problems by applying the properties of games. By applying game elements users become more involved, are more productive and have more fun. A good example of gamification is Kahoot, a tool that allows you to compose a quiz. Users can then take part in the quiz via their phone or laptop and fill in their answers live. After each question there is an intermediate mode in which you can see how well you are doing compared to other players. This leaderboard, an example of a game element, motivates players to do their best.

Pros of gamification

• Simple implementation and low development costs.
• Can be applied as an extra layer on an existing product or intervention.
• Great for making repetitive or boring actions more fun.
• Effective to stimulate competition within a company and motivate employees.

Cons of gamification

• Less effective in the long run because the virtual rewards do not provide long-term satisfaction.
• Only appeals to a limited target group, mainly people who are performance oriented.
• Can not be used for all types of problems. With only gamification, you do not learn new skills.
• Can only be used as an extra layer for an existing intervention.

What is game-based learning?

Game-based learning is the use of existing games or specially developed serious games to learn something or to achieve a specific learning outcome. The difference between game-based learning and a serious game is that game-based learning is a learning methodology, and a serious game is a product in which game-based learning is possible.

Pros of game-based learning

• Appeals to the target group, because it better suits their interests.
• Game-based learning provides an environment in which users can experiment and receive immediate feedback on their actions.
• This is a proven effective way of learning.
• In this environment new skills are trained and knowledge is transferred
• Due to the high immersion and captivating game environment, game-based learning keeps users’ attention for a long time.

Cons of game-based learning

• The use of game-based learning depends on supply. There is not (yet) a game for every possible problem.
• A companion, instructor or teacher is needed to properly guide game-based learning.
• Think about defining the learning goals, explaining and assessing.
• This facilitator, instructor or teacher must have extensive knowledge of the game being used.

What are serious games?

Serious games have a primary goal to transfer knowledge, teaching skills or the stimulation of behavioural change. Entertainment is not the main objective of serious games. Serious games are often used by companies to achieve complex goals. In education, the healthcare sector, within governments and for scientific purposes, serious games are often used. A good serious game is indistinguishable from a game that focuses purely on entertainment. By using an attractive virtual world, exciting characters, rewards and challenges, games become attractive to play. A serious game gets its power from the storyline. Every game has a storyline, but in serious games a message is incorporated in it, depending on the learning objective of the game. Combined with the challenges and rewards, the game can be set up in such a way that the users (sometimes unconsciously) learn a new behaviour or take on new knowledge. Learning in a fun way. All over the world we see beautiful results in which serious gaming played a leading role. Discover five examples of successful serious games.

Pros of a serious game

• Is widely applicable for almost any type of problem or objective because it can be fully customized.
• Can be tailored to any possible target group due to the wide range of available game genres.
• Is effective for a long time because the player is intrinsically motivated to continue playing the game. Because of this it can be used for behavioural change.
• Has a high degree of immersion which makes the learning effect greater than other interventions.
• It is a stand-alone intervention.

Cons of a serious game

• The development of a serious game is complex, takes a lot of time and is therefore often more expensive.
• Requires specific domain-knowledge to develop.
• The launch and support of a Serious Game needs planning and support

Serious games, gamification and game-based learning: a conclusion

Gamification, serious games and game-based learning are very similar. The difference is that gamification applies a few game elements in an existing context. Game-based learning is a training that consists entirely of game elements. However, both gamification and game-based learning are very effective in motivating players and are accessible in terms of implementation and cost. Gamification is easy to implement and therefore has low costs. It is suitable for making repetitive or boring actions more fun and can stimulate competition within a company. Gamification is less effective in the long run and is not always the right solution. Game-based learning fits well with the interests of the target group and is therefore often very appealing. Users can experiment in this environment and because of the captivating game environment game-based learning keeps the user’s attention for a long time. However, the use of game-based learning depends on the availability on the market and a facilitator/instructor (with sufficient knowledge) is needed to properly supervise it. A serious game is broadly applicable because it can be fully customized. Because serious games motivate the players intrinsically, they can also be used for behavioural change. However, the development of a serious game is more complex and therefore often more expensive than, for example, gamification.

The degree of fun in serious games is mainly reflected in game design. A serious game has to fit the target group and it has to translate the project objective into good game design. In addition, the right game mechanics are important to make the game exciting and to guide the player through the game with ease.

We asked our game designers how this works.

Serious games help to motivate learning and to realize behavioural change. Games are generally played for entertainment. In serious games, the learning objective is key, but the game has to be fun.

The degree of fun in serious games is mainly reflected in game design. A serious game has to fit the target group and it has to translate the project objective into good game design. In addition, the right game mechanics are important to make the game exciting and to guide the player through the game with ease.

We asked our game designers how this works.

Firstly, it is important to understand what the development of a serious game looks like. When making a serious game, we look at three parts:

• Objective: what is the ultimate goal of the game? Think of stimulating a positive behavioural change, transferring knowledge and/or the motivation for learning.
• Content: what information needs to be transferred? In which environment is the game used? Is it in the classroom, in a museum or perhaps in a hospital? And who are the target group and the end-user?
• Game design: In which world does the game take place, who are the main characters, and what challenges need to be completed? How is the game developed graphically?

These three parts must fit together seamlessly.

What makes a serious game fun?

To make a serious game fun and entertaining it has to:

• connect with the target group;
• translate the content into a game;
• have the right game mechanics to achieve the objective.

To realize this, there is quite a lot involved. Let’s take a closer look at these points.

A serious game tailored to the target group

Everything starts with an objective. Think about ‘transferring knowledge’ or ‘realizing a behavioural change’. Such a project objective often contains information about the problem, the solution and the target group.

An example of a project objective can be: “Activate professionals in the financial sector to work on their health every day“.

In this case the target group is highly educated. The game may therefore contain more complex texts. For convenience, a mobile game can be chosen, because the target group always has a smartphone on hand that works on the common company networks. All these factors ensure that a game is readily accessible.

Translate contents into an appropriate serious game

Based on the project objective and design choices, game characters have to be invented. A fascinating and motivating character. That is quite a challenge, especially to make it fit the target group. Often certain characteristics of the target group are taken into account. Take as an example a serious game for surgeons. It is generally known that surgeons are motivated to help people. This is an element that can come back in the serious game. Also, surgeons may like to be the boss in an operating room and value status. In the serious game they don’t necessarily have to play as a surgeon, but it has to be a game character that fits the characteristics of the target group. For example, it is possible that a serious game is developed in which the surgeon plays the role of a pilot, the boss in a cockpit.

A surgeon as a bomb expert: the storyline and game world

The storyline and the game world of a serious game must also fit the environment. Back to a game for surgeons who need to learn how to operate. You can think of a serious game where the surgeon is on a smartphone or console in an operating room and has to cut in the right places. This is quite exciting, but it can be more exciting! To keep the user motivated and increase the fun factor, a similar setting can be created. What if the surgeon moves into the game as a bomb expert? They start at level 1 and see a time bomb, where they have to cut the right threads in 5 minutes. There are 5 red threads. By watching how the threads run, a decision can be made which threads need to be cut first. Has the wrong wire been cut? Boom! This is just an example of how the content and setting is transformed into a suitable game, where design, story and characters fit the environment, but exitingly. The context is a very important part of the game.

Besides the narrative (the storyline, game world, and characters) other factors also play a role. There are numerous factors that can be implemented in a specific game. The list is endless. Think of ‘pacing‘ or ‘flow‘. This is a game principle where the duration and intensity in a game are determined. A game should feel like a ‘ride on the roller coaster’: sometimes calm and sometimes full power ahead.

Interesting choices in serious games

Another example of a game principle is ‘making interesting choices‘. In games it is important that a choice is meaningful and leads to a certain turn in the story. A game becomes more fun when the user can determine how the game goes. In case of a wrong choice, it may of course be that the level has to be replayed, and that is where one learns from certain choices. Rewards in the game help to motivate the player to consistently make the right choice.

As you can see, the number of factors in the design of a serious game is endless. They also depend very much on the objective, target group and type of assignment.

Choosing the right game mechanics

Game mechanics can be seen as a kind of ‘rules of the game’. They guide the player through the game and make sure they don’t get stuck in a game. There are different kinds of design disciplines that make a serious game more fun.

A design discipline that improves the game experience is ‘game feel‘. This means that events in a game become more fun or realistic, or feel better, and therefore more exciting to perform. Game feel is often used in shooters (shooting games), where the player shoots a car and then causes an explosion. When the explosion occurs, the screen may start to vibrate and the controller vibrates from the recoil of a weapon. Game feel’ ensures satisfaction to perform an action.

Challenges and rewards

Challenge and reward ensure progress and feedback. A good game has a progression system that motivates the player to continue playing. Often this is linked to a skill level. When the user is unable to meet a challenge after multiple attempts or when the challenges are too easy, he or she becomes less motivated. By placing the player at a certain skill level it is more rewarding to complete the challenge.

Rewards are important to keep the player involved. Rewards give the user a sense of euphoria. Balancing reward is important. Balancing’ indicates how often and how big a reward should be. Imagine you get a compliment for your work every Monday morning at 10.00 am. The first time this gives you a very good feeling, but after a few weeks the value of the compliment will decrease. Often in games, the interval of rewards increases as the game progresses, so the challenge increases. Another principle is that rewards are given at random intervals, after level 1, then after reaching level 4, then again after level 5, then 8 and so on.

The same principle occurs in the balance between the challenge and the reward. If a player presses the start button in a game and then gets a big message with “congratulations, you’ve pressed the start button and completed the first challenge!”, the player probably thinks: “what is this?” The player then doesn’t feel like he has done anything important. A reward should follow when a big decision has been made with a happy ending or when the player has made a big effort.

‘A game is as good as its weakest parts’

A serious game can be designed meticulously, but if an important part of the game doesn’t work, the fun and motivation of the player can disappear in seconds. The User Interface (UI) must therefore be completely correct. The buttons, menus, and other signals should lead the user effortlessly to and through the game. Think of simple, crucial parts like a ‘play icon’ on the start button in the game and of course the word ‘start’ on that button.

Another example is a moment in a game where the player has to click on another character to start a conversation with this character, to get further in the game. For instance, most youngsters who regularly play games understand that they have to click on a character, and have a conversation when there is a large, red exclamation mark above this character. However, certain target groups may find that just an exclamation mark is not enough to understand that they have to click on it. That is why game mechanics are always tested with the target group during the development process. Do they understand the menus, texts and the steps that need to be taken in the game?

Conclusion

As you have noticed there are numerous factors that contribute to the fun factor in a serious game. In this article, only a few factors are discussed. Which game mechanics should be used and what the game world, characters and the game story should look like strongly depends on the objective and target group. All these elements contribute to the entertainment value of a game and need to be analysed and tested in every step of the process.

Would you like to know more about serious games and how they can help solve your problem? Please contact Tim Laning to discuss it!