What serious game would you create?

 

Here's the scenario - imagine this exercise to be an extremely low-budget serious game, if you would.

 

You're an entrepreneur in the serious games industry. A venture capitalist has just invested $1,000,000 in your company for the express purpose of funding the development of one or more serious games. What will you build?

 

The decision is entirely up to you. Here's some things to think about:

 

 

• Where are the returns on investment highest?
• Do you see any underserved niches?
• Where is the competition (other companies making serious games) the toughest?
• Which kind of client do you want? (Check the serious games overview article for information on different types of clients)
• Will you produce one big game, 3-5 medium-sized games, or 10 or more smaller ones? (Check the serious games costs article for information on costs)
• What are you passionate about achieving with serious games?

 

 

Comment on this page or edit the wiki with your ideas. Add your name to your idea, if you wish.

 

Micah:

 

I think that I would develop a number (5-10) of serious games. I would diversify in order add a sense of protection in case several of the games are a bust. One of my games would be created in flash and I can envision it to be science 9 related surrounding the theme of space (to supplement the Science Probe). The main mission of the game is to have it created so that the students have to design a mission with a spaceship that would see them travel to the different planets in our solar system to explore the nature of gravity. The students would have to virtually golf a round (9 holes) on each planet.

I believe that supplementary materials are a nice market because at present time many of the materials are outdated and school districts are having to invest new money in order to restock inventory for the new IRP’s for Science 8-10. Supplementary games could make for a huge return as much of the present material base is image and video based. Interactive elements are very lacking.

 

Invented Games:

 

I like the avenue that Micah has taken and would copy that subject area as valuable gaming themes. Science lends itself nicely to the investigative and explorative nature of the topics. My game would definitely include levels of play and would increase in difficulty as the player manipulated and strategized through different sections of the game to ultimatley WIN a top level. I have observed that students are really into achieving and advancing into different levels. The game that I would invent would be highly interactive with activities that engage both the right and left side of the brain. Graphics and multimedia images would be a definite inclusion to my game or games. In addition, I would include the ability to interact with other players and to possibly compete with other cyberspace players.

 

Tracey

 

From Ada:

 

How about a "Popularity Contest" game. This game would have the players move up and down in a ladder of popularity or how well-perceived you are by others through decision making (social responsiblity), problem solving (math, science, etc.), text and visual interpretations (art & english), athletic ability in races and games (P.E.), etc. This way, the game would be applicable across the curriculum and involves various interactions. This would be one big game that doesn't really have a whole lot of direct competition because most current educational games are specific to a subject. I think this would be a valuable venture that educators and administrators would find valuable to complement to the current curriculum during technology/computer sessions in school as well as when children have free time in elementary schools. The interactions and results from this game can even stir many discussions and help students brush up on their various academic skills!

 

From Paul:

My version of the above would be to simulate real life decisions facing students in order to develop their empathy skills. I'd love to see some effective Personal Planning scenarios that would portray accurate decision making. Definitely interactive, it could promote a lot of discussion. I remember using a Personal Planning program when I taught in the VSB 15 years ago - can't remember what it was called - but it'd be brilliant to have an updated, interactive IT solution relevant to today's students.

 

From Barb:

I like the idea of having the students develop a game that would be centred around a topic ie., human resources management. We could work collaboratively on the goals and logistics and develop something that meets their need for excitement, fun and or course, curriculum objectives. I think a game that students produced using avatars, their own audio and video could be very engaging. Perhaps, taking presentations to another level where they try to outdo each other and score on various criteria.

 

From Tracey:

Ada, love that idea....maybe the real-life popular people - so to speak - wouldn't be so "popular" on the ladder of decision making and skill level. I also like the idea of having games centered around Personal Planning topics....like the Heart Smart program for healthy lifestyles with different healthy and not so healthy choices presented and different scenarios having to be chosen to move into certain segments of the game - an unhealthy choice could lead into a challenging situation that the gamer would have to get out of quickly - to get back on the healthy track.....the sky is the limit for ideas. I find it's just a matter of time, again, for teachers to find games that align with the curriculum, are educational, fun and are not the shoot em up, run over or killing type games the kids actually seem to love.

 

From Richard:

I've never given the topic much thought, but reading these engaging ideas above made me think I'd go with battles and war scenarios, spys and presidents/prime ministers/generals making decisions, all the way down to the actors carrying out various missions. There could be all sorts of collaboration between different military units (army, navy, airforce, marines etc.), there could be discussions between the leaders of the combatants, strategies to take specific sites and so on. I don't envision the kind of blood and whatnot that we might see in, say, a movie like Saving Private Ryan, or gross violence. But a game that allows older users (say 14 and up?) to strategize, to synthesize information and data from multiple sources could give them a sense of what the real world is like.

 

From Adam:

Great ideas here! Because I've been working in a medical & health sciences faculty for the past 3 years I can see real value in medical simulations, like Pulse. I thought Pulse's 'pitch' for why medical simulations are valuable was pretty convincing:

"WHY: Simulated experiences offer advantages over training in actual environments. They provide more flexibility, greater efficiency, improved ability to measure and assess progress, offer a safe space for learner failure, reduce ongoing and long-term costs and are able to be distributed and updated rapidly in response to changes. Virtual patients, powered by artificial intelligence engines, in a virtual healthcare environment, react as live patients would, and practitioners and students see the immediate, realistic consequences of their actions."

http://www.sp.tamucc.edu/pulse/info-factsheet.asp

Introducing competition into this in a cohort of students, in the form of a leader board like Ada's idea, could be very interesting. Imagine striving for that high score just like you did back when you played space invaders...

 

From Phil:

I would invent a game (let's call it "The Ring") that allows all of the players to compete online for the best ways to solve software development problems. The game would allow users to square off in order to solve coding problems that were too difficult for companies to solve quickly. Companies would need to pay $10,000 or so to post their problem inside "the ring" and member developers from around the world would compete to win $5,000 if they came up with the most elegant solution. In order to join the competition you would need to front $50 or so to join the community per year. One you were a member you would have the rights to compete on any challenge. If you came in the top three finalists you would have your years membership fee waived (the winner gets $5000 and you keep $5000). Companies would get to own the code for free. You would have dual revenue streams from the players and the companies. The game would also involve developer reputation and statistics like sports athletes which would be updated online in real time (so reputation wold also be a motivator). There would be a whole online community and huge "ring competition" every year that would involve very difficult or costly problems that carried higher dollar amounts. The game would basically put a pricetag on the concept of open source development ... whereby the top developers would be paid to solve problems. The winner of the yearly competition would win "the ring" and get $50,000, a lifetime membership and the right to wear a special "ring" for life.

 

From Julie:

I love it Phil, but I don't like the idea of Companies owning the code for free. Can the code become open source so everyone inside the ring can learn?

I would build pre-school games for 'free to use' on the internet and target advertisers of parents. They can be simple and build for Mom, Dad and child to play together. I have a 3 yr.old nephew who loves to play on the computer. Right now nickjr.com has some free games available and my nephew loves them. NickJr is just starting to sell simple games for $6.99 to $19.99. You get is a user name and a password and you can play as much as you like. You can link into Mommy sites and blogs which are getting huge. (I heard this on CBC radio but I can't find a link on their site. I'll keep looking).

 

From Adam:

This is a clever idea Phil. I was looking further into the business aspects of serious games, and came across a write-up of a presentation given in March this year at the Serious Games Summit by Doug Whatley, the CEO of Breakaway Games (who created the Pulse medical simulation game that Group 9 have given us the link to). He points out that when the buyer is an organisation, not an individual, it's a lot tougher to convince them of the product's value:

"Unlike individual consumers, organizations are slower moving when adopting new paradigms and need exponentially more convincing which is why the organization efforts underway are critical. Organizing efforts underway will help improve chances for projects to be approved. These include:

• Improving the design and use of games for educational purposes.

• Shaping things from a movement into something seen as a viable and growing

industry thus attracting needed investment.

• Providing easier means for customers to find producers and to lower the

transaction costs which are still very high for such projects.

• Identifying, and promoting the comparative strengths of games and the industry to

non-industry groups.

• Heralding distinct business cases that will encourage more corporate investment

in games.

• Educating developers about how to pursue available business and grant

opportunities.

• Showcasing examples of past and present efforts …that provide

histories to learn from."

 

Your Ring game idea would seem to address most of these points.

 

From Julie: Hey Phil, Sitepoint.com had a similiar concept on thier web site but is built more for designers.

I just went and looked for it now but it looks like it is not running anymore.

The concept was run like a contest. A client posted their needs for a web design and put a price up for the winner. The designers posted screengrabs of their ideas and concepts. The client gave each designer feedback on their design and the designer could adjust the design to meet the clients needs.

I think it died off because a lot of contests would just fold for no reason. Submissions were still made by designers but the client did not pay. I am guessing that they just grabbed the design idea and ran.

 

From Adam:

The Serious Games Institute in the UK is also working on addressing the particular challenges of the serious games market - their Serious Games Exposed project is aiming to map the industry in the UK to see how it fits in globally and to create links to and evaluations of serious games to help address the kinds of issues identified above by the Breakaway Games CEO.

Discussion Summary and Evaluation

It looks like people are all over the map when it comes to areas in which they'd create serious games, although most were in K-12 education. Within K-12 education, subject areas that people would create serious games in include:

• science
• interpersonal skills
• personal planning
• health issues
• history (at least, this is what I've translated the battle/war comment as)
• medicine

In pre-school markets, some would target kids, and build advertiser-supported applications. And software development was the focus of one other idea, which would be outside traditional learning institutions.

We would have liked to see some more discussion about precisely how you would invest the $1,000,000. Only one person highlighted a diversification strategy that included some level of thinking about risk/reward.