Company presentation PhD Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen CEO Serious Games Interactive “…develop games which contain advanced content, operate according to sound pedagogical principles, enable classroom customisation, and create real excitement within the core game market” - Henry Jenkins

History PhD project on computer games & Learning ( ) Talks with Danish game companies ( ) Research project for prototype development ( ) Launch SGI on back of research projects (2006- ) First products hits market (2007) Expanding with more products & client work (Today) Our company

Research project  Growing out of international research  Next generation of educational games  Mix of competences: Game developers, researchers, educators and content experts  Collaborate with companies  Global outreach through strong network  Strong technology and access to support Our company

Research project  Concept phase researcher & game developer  Design document research, developer & content  Prototype developer, advisory and researcher  Evaluation researcher & schools  Companies continue if project is viable Our company

Research project  Explore whether educational computer games have a future in the educational system and the form it may take.  Explore, develop and implement a prototypical educational computer game examining the challenges and possibilities in development process and the educational use of the title  Provide a foundation for a serious games industry through a prototype convincing other developers of the potential in developing educational computer games Our company

Background Unique cross-disciplinary team with strong roots in research. Founded in 2006 References Global Conflicts: Palestine (completed) Global Conflicts: Latin America (concept) Bolivia Brænder (completed) Mayas Eventyr (completed) Darwin (in-production) Financial company (in-production) Our company

Team CEO Commercial director Producer Game Director Lead Programmer Programmer Lead 3D animator 3D artist Character artist Tester Our company

Team CEO ($) Producer (Time) Game director (Quality) Programming (All programming) Graphics/animation (All graphics) Content (Story, script, dialogue) Board Commercial director (Sales, distrib. & Marketing) Our company

Media coverage Our company [Play CNN trailer]

This is not about edutainment Little intrinsic motivation: Extrinsic motivation through rewards, rather than intrinsic motivation. No integrated learning experience: Lacks integration of the learning experience with playing experience - learning subordinated play experience. Drill-and-practice learning principles: Rely on drill-and-practice rather than understanding – training above learning. No teacher presence: No demands on teachers or parents. Simple gameplay: Built on a simple gameplay from classic titles. Small budgets: Produced on limited budgets with limited technology. Educational Games

Edutainment has problems Most of what goes under the name "edutainment" reminds me of George Bernard Shaw's response to a famous beauty who speculated on the marvelous child they could have together: "With your brains and my looks..." He retorted, "But what if the child had my looks and your brains?" (Papert, 1998: 88) Educational Games

Design philosophy Innovative gameplay Feels & plays like a game Integrated game and learning experience Meaningful & relevant learning experiences Games part of larger learning context Our design philosophy

Work process Research /Plan Implement Concept Prototype Production Testing 1 month2 months 1 month 0,5 month Important with fast feedback Depend on iterations of concept & prototype Above influenced by budget & scope Our design philosophy

Our work: Global Conflicts: Palestine Platform: Mac/PC, single player, CD-Rom Technology: 3D game engine Unity Playtime: 8 hours Budget: 5 mio. DKK Game: It is about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a strong integration between learning & playing. You play a journalist that solves different assignments by talking to people and locating the right sources while building trust. Target group: Older students + mature people Advantages Strong, visual, immersive universe Feels & plays very close to a real game Unique gameplay Disadvantages More expensive with 3D Long development time Harder to test & change gameplay [Show trailer]

Freelance journalist Get the best article Find informants Gain their trust Get their story Dig out best quotes Put together article Highest journalist level Gameplay What is Global Conflicts: Palestine You Goal Means Winning

Teaching form Teacher talks Play Game Plenum Group discussions  Read topic overview  Overview of theme  Teacher’s manual  Topics overview  Curriculum mapping  Explore perspectives  Experience issues  Mission sheets  Discuss experiences  Write article  Worksheets  Online companion  Debriefing  Evaluation What is the product

Different rooms for learning styles Group work Reflective observation Active experimentation GC: Palestine Lecture Abstract concepts Concrete experiences Kolb’s cycle covered with different teaching forms in the course. The teacher is crucial to facilitate a full learning experience. Empirical study

Qualitative feedback (students) “Global Conflicts: Palestine is a fun and different way to receive learning” (Female student, 18 years) “You had a greater desire to learn about the topic from Global Conflicts: Palestine” (Male student, 16 years) ”You learn a lot about how Israelis and Palestinians respectively look at the conflict, because you talk to different persons... I think it is good that the stories derive from reality, providing the stories with a realistic tone.” (Female student, 18 years) Empirical study

Qualitative feedback (teachers) Customers "By playing the game, the students reached a higher level of understanding on the issues of the conflict, than I could have accomplished in a traditional way, so it has my highest recommendations.”(Danish 8th grade teacher) "They are VERY interested and are highly motivated to it themselves.The parents say: Wish we had that form of teaching in school!” (Danish high school teacher "I used the game with our 11th grade World Cultures students - I have never seen the computer lab so quiet! All of the students were seriously engaged and many expressed that they really enjoyed it” (US high school teacher

Students want more... Empirical study  90% students find it to be an interesting course  88% students find it to be an interesting educational material  59 % students find they learned more  90% students wants to try a similar course again Sample: 51 Danish High school low- middle class students after a one-week course (similar results for 8th graders).

Our work: Bolivia Brænder Platform: Mac/PC, single player, CD-Rom Technology: 3D game engine Unity Playtime: 1 hour Budget: 1,2 mio. DKK Game: It is about the challenges facing Bolivia. Gameplay a bit simpler than GC: P. It relies on technology from GC: P. The game is split into two missions. Target group: Older students + mature people Advantages Strong, visual, immersive universe Feels & plays very close to a real game Welllproven gameplay Disadvantages More expensive with 3D Medium development time Limited changes to gameplay Only works for some domains of knowledge

Our work: Mayas Eventyr Platform: Single player, webbased Technology: Isometric Flash game engine Playtime: 45 minutes Budget: 0,65 mio. DKK Game: Is about the Maya indians in Guatemala and the challenges they have especially around language barriers. Target group: 5-8 years old private users Advantages Easy & simple graphics Easy to access & navigate Lower budgets for more interaction More chance for innovative gameplay Disadvantages Often not perceived as a real game Immersion & realism suffers Often more approriate for younger age groups

Our work: Darwin Platform: Single player, web-based Technology: UNITY 3D engine Playtime: 30 minutes Budget: 0,5 mio. DKK Game: Is aimed at learning children about Darwin and evolution theory as an example of what natural science is. Target group: years old private users Advantages Easy & simple graphics Easy to access & navigate Lower budgets for more interaction More chance for innovative gameplay Disadvantages Often not perceived as a real game Immersion & realism suffers Often more appropriate for younger age groups