The “Serious Games” Landscape

An overview of why we’re here…

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All Games Are Serious!

(applause)

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Why we’re here?

> We love games!> We know we’ve got a better solution> Killing time until Half-Life 2> We need new markets for our skills> We scammed a free press pass > We have questions about this area> Woot! free day off from work!> Face it the PC games market sucks> We want to reach for bigger things

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Call to Arms!

>We can hit a tipping point  We’re a fad until we aren’t

>A rising tide can lift all boats  We need a flood not an arc

>This is studio-centric market  Publishers not needed

>Lots of roles to play

Searching for a Definition

What are serious games?

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Problems…

> Solving problems is what humans do> Entertainment is a solved problem> There are other problems…

  Teaching People

  Figuring out the Right Policies

  Putting Robots on Mars, Venus and Mercury

  Overthrowing Dictators

  Responding to Threats

> Problem solving is a big business!

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Games are Solutions

> Play has been used since dawn of mankind> Playing is problem solving> At times we’ve even been very deliberate in

what and why we play  Chess, Checkers, Go

The OlympicsWar Games

  Roleplaying

  Simulations

  Game Theory

> And now… computer games

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So What are Serious Games?

1. Serious Games are Solutions to Problems

2. Serious Games =“Any computerized game whose chief mission is not

entertainment – (K-12 + advertising games) + all entertainment games which can be reapplied to a different

mission other then entertainment.”

Why “not” K-12?The market is a mess and K-12 is a partial stigma

Why “not” Advertising?Derivative market and “placement” is not a game

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Why is Computerized important?

> We gain a lot of comparative advantage  We can do things we couldn’t before

  Allows us to make complex single player experiences

  Distribution can happen via the Internet

  Modifications and customization

  Ability to do automated assessment

  How else to fit into e-learning revolution?

  Where the people are…

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Serious Games

Government

Military

Games for Health

Higher Ed

Eduware

Prep/K-12

Home SchoolCorporate

NGOFoundations

Non Profits

Trade Associations

Individuals

Federal State LocalUser Map

Political Statements

Hobbyist/Mods

Advergaming

Training

Analytics

Past & Present Perspective

From games to serious games

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A History of Games

-8000 -7000 -6000 -5000 -4000 -3000 -2000 -1000 0

"Bocce"

Senet

Backgammon

Go

Olympics

Chess

Monopoly

Space War

Pong

Atari

Energy Czar & Scram

Balance of Power

SimCity

We’re just getting started!

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Then & Now: Oregon Trail

1985 2004

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Then and Now: Flight Simulator

2004

1987 Evans & Sutherland

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Then and Now: Half-Life

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Created So Far?

> SimHealth> Close Combat:

Marines> America’s Army> Battle Site Zero> Virtual U> Environmental

Detectives> Hungry Red Planet> Catch the Sperm> Virtual Leader> Under Ash

> Hidden Agenda> Balance of Power> SimCity> Other Sim Series> Flight Simulator> Rollercoaster Tycoon> Capitalism> Surgeon> Civilization> Railroad Tycoon> President Elect> Korsun Pocket

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What has this gotten us?

> Mostly one-off titles sponsored by enlightened third parties  Foundations, Non-profits, Military, Higher-Ed

> Majority developed in the last five years> A plethora of traditional games which

can be repurposed by savvy teachers> The K-12 eduware ghetto> Few commercial pioneers past & present

  Most focused on traditional training markets

> No sense of defined industry   But some emergence we can build on this

week

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Current Position

> A project history to build from> Incredible technology looming

  Graphics tech faster then Moore’s Law

  New consoles by 2006

  Portable market hypergrowth

> More academics & programs contributing> Increased industry cooperation> Invigorated press; highly interested> Bracing for the assessment explosion> Poor PC games market> An opportunity to accelerate growth

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Broadbased Industry Support

> IGDA> ESA> GDC> E3Expo> ELSPA> NASAGA> DiGRA

A Closer Look

Space by Space

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Government

> “A democratic society depends upon an informed and educated citizenry”

- Jefferson 

MassBalance & BudgetUtah, Waterbusters

> Fed, state and local  Different degrees of funds and accessibility

> International: More activist governments

> The “CYA” factor and controversy  Escape from Woomera

> Could play a role of generalized industry support in some cases

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Edutainment/K-12

> Established retail market  Riverdeep, Infogrames, Leapfrog

> Lots of online stuff  PBS Kids, Scholastic

> Is there an independent business model?> Crossover games used periodically> School districts are “broke”> Home schooling shouldn’t be discounted

  1999: Home Schooling 850,000 (experts 2M)

  New York Times: Not just religious conservatives

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Higher Education

> Less constricted by standards> Able to take more risks> Better technology infrastructures> Better budgets

  Seen the price of textbooks lately?

> Struggling with “E-instruction”> Academic Contributions & Research> Will build lots of stuff themselves> Great potential partners

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Health Care

> Games for Health: Documented Uses  Game as Carrot Model

  Health Education & Media

  Patient Treatment• Asthma, ADD, Motor Skills, Psychological,

measurement, Biofeedback

  Create/instill/measure conditions in research

  Administrative/Professional Training

  Technology Transfer

> Medical issues w/games  Clinical Trials and protocols

  Violence? Repetitive Stress Injuries, Eyes, Seizures, Obesity?

> Market Possibilities

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Corporate

> Larger Pen & Paper contingent> Fractured vendor community

  Number of mom & pop shops is staggering

> Uses  Training (not just for workers)

  Analytics• Breakaway

  Advergaming• YaYa Games

> What will be the effect from LMSes and E-learning?> Big companies plan budgets far in advance> The “near mythical” ROI issue

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Military I

> Huge e-learning commitment> Obvious crossover opportunities> Training & advergaming> Contracting process> Examples:

  Close Combat Marines

  Full Spectrum Command

  Full Spectrum Warrior

  Spearhead II

  Army Game Project

  DarWars

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Military II

> More Examples:  Guard Force (National Guard)

  Joint Force Employment• Crossover into Real War commercial release

  SIMSar2• Coast Guard Search and Rescue

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Non Government Organizations

> Fundables and funders> Dollar Per Impact> Examples:

  Markle Foundation• SimHealth

  Leimondt Foundation• Hidden Agenda

  Global Kids• Policy Slam

  Sloan Foundation • Virtual U

  NAHB• Building Homes of Our Own

> Risk Takers!> Transition the funding axis

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Other

> Journalism> Artistic

  Trigger: Game Art

> Editorial  Newsgaming

  Fix Your Commute• Smashing Ideas

> Propaganda &> Political statements

  Eyewitness

A Serious Games Network

Who’s doing what and where?

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> Timeline  Started 2002  First meetings spring 2003  Listserv founded February 2003  Lounsbery Funding July 2003  Currently over 240 members  Games For Health 2003

> Goals  Help policymakers and administrators  Organize greater serious games community  Support other projects and independent efforts

> Results  Lots of press and growing network  Useful resource for government agencies  Contributing to legitimacy of space  Serious Games Summit 2003!

Growth of Serious Games

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Serious Games ERTS

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Who’s Else is Out There?

> Games to TeachEducation Arcade> ETC @ Carnegie Melon> IC2 @ Austin> ICT @ USC> Moves Institute> Army Game Project> DARPA> Microsoft Research> Academic Co-Lab> MediaX (Stanford)> Variety of Independent Evangelists> Lots of new projects incubating

The Broader Marketplace

This stuff doesn’t grow on trees

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Lots of Potential Markets

> U.S. Textbook Market $3 Billion> Corporate Learning $66 Billion> Government Training $40 Billion> IBM Training Budget $700 Million> U.S. Army Training $7 Billion+> E-Learning $10 Billion+> Government Simulations $3 Billion> Leapfrog $680 Million> Foundation payouts $20 Billion+> Business Analytics $5 Billion+> 1% of all of this? Priceless…

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A competitive environment

> Other major media  Books

  Film

  TV

  Music

> Other forms of teaching  Lectures

  Textbook

  Multimedia

  E-Learning

  “Pen & Paper” Games

  Outward Bound

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We have some hurdles to jump

> Structural  “game developer” isn’t in the yellow pages

  There is no sense of standard practices

  Emergent community means it’s fractured

  Education institutions are mixed bag

> Antipathy  Games are “kids stuff”

  Costs are “expensive”

  Timeframe is “too slow”

> Inexperience  Not everyone speaks “game”

  Production management is not the forte of most potential clients

  Many developers unable to stomach the bizdev

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More hurdles…

> Published reports and Perception  Games didn’t help science test scores (2001)

> We haven’t defended ourselves well  This is just a military thing

  Let me see those games!

  What other influences were there?

> Yet another fad…  We are until we aren’t

> We’re in the midst of a generational shift…

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Average Age of a…

> U.S. Representative 54> U.S. Senator 59> U.S. Governor 49> U.S. Teacher 43> School Principal 48> Corporate CEO 56> College Dean 36> Military Colonel 45+> General/Admiral 50+> Physician 48> Gamer 29

A Typical Colonel

A Typical CEO

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A Typical Gamer

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Who else wants a piece of this?

> Traditional simulation companies  Evans & Sutherland, Booz Allen Hamilton

• Anyone got a spare SGI 32 Processor System?

> Major consultants  Deloitte & Touche

• Cannon fodder approach.

> Military Industrial Complex  Grumman, General Dynamics, Etc.

• We’re in charge around here.

> E-Learning Industry  Apollo Group, Brainbench, Click2Learn

• More text and Java Applets Anyone?

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Why have previous efforts failed?

> They went to the wrong people!  EA and Activision are great GAME publishers  Commercial market growing too fast – no incentive

> Tech wasn’t mature enough  Many times ideas often outpace the platform

needed  No way to do cool team and multiplayer

> Market wasn’t ready  You think the antipathy is bad today?!??

> Sales strategy hard to work  How to recoup expensive unfunded development?  Money is in projects vs. products  No Internet, no easy marketing system

> Hard to raise capital for game companies

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What’s our story now?

> Things have matured> We have many things others don’t

  “You don’t ask a landscaper to build you a house”

  We have a unique audience share

  Cutting edge visuals and interface design

  Great AI and storytelling capabilities

  We make stuff ubiquitous

  Best a online communities

  A history of world building

> Games are becoming mainstream   Entertainment & culture

  Sheer numbers of devices staggers the uniformed

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What about crossovers?

> True Crossover  Full Spectrum Warrior

> Crossover for Distribution Help  America’s Army

> SimHealth  Sold about 35,000 copies

> Co-publish/Self Publish  Virtual U sold about 1000 copies

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Stories from the Front

> “That’s what we spend on toilet paper!”> We can run a contest!> Lets make it massive-multiplayer!> This is Phil from the Mailroom> Put more programmers on it> My beta report: You spelled thas wrong… > How do I print?> What’s DirectX?> Will this run on my Mac?> We don’t have sports in Australia> We’ll build this stuff with students

Building a Project

From games to serious games

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Typical Serious Game Project

> Mission is to effect some change or insight> Combination of developer and subject

matter experts> Often requires many disciplines to work

together> Funded by client; third-party funds; or as a

b2b sale. Not retail!> Commonly avoids SOTA target platforms> The market may not be in the software itself> Has unique engineering needs> Long (and arduous) run-up to go-decision

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Typical Project Stages

> “The Meeting”: AKA the Braindump> Pre-sell process: Fundamentals, Plan A> Ramp up: Committees, Experts,

Funding> The snag: Jump through proverbial hoop> Go ahead: Someone sent a check!> First Playable:Can they get it?> Alpha: Can they augment and test?> Beta: TEST! TEST! TEST!> Gold Master: Is everything else done?> Project Launch: What’s everyone’s role?> Post Mortem: Can we show it worked?> 2.0? If we only had more time!

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Everyone but the Developer

> Education Experts  Implementors (teachers, trainers, tutors,

evangelists)  Instructional designers

> Content Assistance  Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)  Testers & Steering Committee

> Internal  Internal Production & Management  Steering Committee & Advisory Board  The person who writes the check  Marketing & PR

> Others  Third Party Consultants  Co-marketing & Distribution

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Different Deal

> Most projects are work-for-hire> IP ownership is about continuation and

product support not “sequelitus valuation” for publishers

> Deals take much longer to incubate> Handholding client is critical – you

manage them as much as they manage you

> Budgets are (for now) much lower

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Construction Issues

> Design for the instructor> Adaptability & Modding> Distribution> Educational Standards

  All over the map!Federal & StateDoesn’t 100% translate to curriculumHave to constantly keep referencing them

> Assessment tools & LCMS> Transparency> How important Cross Platform?

Commercial Game

Player

Serious Game

Facilitator

Player

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Targeting the audience

> We should look at consecutive levels of impact

> Our ability to make complex situations accessible is key

> Your best users may not come from your highest target

> How you implement usage will determine success at each point

All stakeholdersincluding general public

All Students

All Faculty

Faculty Chairs

University Presidents

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A Small Note on Platforms

> Windows Dominates (duh!)  Government especially  Older PC architecture still a concern

> Macintosh still prevalent in education  16% marketshare in “education market”  All 7th & 8th graders in Maine have Powerbooks  Virginia's Henrico County (All Students)  30% of portable market in education  Virtual PC for Mac does a great job (but for how

long?)> Accessibility & 508 Standards> Educators “under using” the technology> Portable market too fragmented

  Interesting work by MIT’s TEP with PDAs  Companies not standardizing (yet)

A Typical Governor

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Developer Recommendations

> Don’t wait for the mountain to come to you  Contact local elected officials

  Get out in your business community

  Learn these markets

> Prepare for a long haul> Spend time helping with fundamentals> Work with outside experts

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Customer Recommendations

> Use professionals  How to evaluate them…

  Learn how to augment and enhance them

> How much game for your $$  Not how much $$ for your game

> Protect your ability to maintain the product but be flexible on IP

> Don’t forget about the meta-project

Building A Case

Don’t take no for an answer

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What to sell?

> Sell the game last!  1. Sell the space

• Comparative advantages

  2. Sell the technology• Comparative advantages

  3. Sell your skills• Exclusivity

  4. Sell your approach• Comparative advantages

> Then sell your solution> Leave room to maneuver if plans change.

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Keep Hammering on Comparative Advantages

> Dominant media form of a new generation

> Can be played alone> Asynchronous

multiplayer groups> Instantly transferable

(i.e. digital distribution)

> Potentially modifiable and adaptable

> Best Visualization> Able to juggle more

factors at one time

> When was the last time you saw a boardgame for 1 person?

> How often can people meet at the same location for extended period?

> How often can roleplaying take into account 50 factors?

> What does a textbook bring to life?

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Will it be Fun?

Content & subject critical

Undefined

Demographically DiverseNot captured in a bottle!

Game players?

Fun to whom?

Subject fans?

More fun than XHierarchy of motivatorsLearn 4 career

Interested in subject

Assignment

I know it when I see it!

Fighting FiresManaging Fisheries

Blowing up Aliens

Final Thoughts

Are we there yet?

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My 10 Commandments

1. Solve the problem

2. Focus on comparative advantages

3. Don’t sell transference. Sell skill, process, insight

4. K-12 is a third rail unless you can find a backdoor

5. Build networks, lay foundations, partner3

6. Be as creative with your project as your product

7. Beware of other ways problem could be solved

8. Though shall not retail

9. We need to think big

10. This is not the game business as you know it

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Futher recommendations

> Build an industry face & Attract things collectively

> Identify and root out preconceptions  Create legitimacy through education  Push back properly against detractors  Promote professional development

> Push for big projects and problems  “We will not be successful with 50 $100K

projects”

> Catalog things better  Social Impact Games, Weblab, Teachers Arcade  Games for Health

> Think Global, Act Local  Elected representatives, local companies,

grassroots

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Future Events

> NGO Group Meeting  NYC, April, time & place TBA

> Education Arcade  E3 Expo, May 9-10, Los Angeles

> Games For Health  University of Wisconsin, September 16-17

> D.C. Serious Games Day II  Fall 2004

> Serious Games Summit 2005  Spring 2005, Time & Place TBD

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Next Efforts

> IGDA SIG Possibility> More Serious Game Subgroups> Expanded Web site features> More frequent issues of SNAGGED> Serious Games Annual 2005> Games for Health Literature Review> Drive down cost of ramp-up> Expand Serious Games.org

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Resources

> www.seriousgames.org  Serious Games Mailing List

  S.N.A.G.G.E.D.

> www.educationarcade.org> www.gamesforhealth.org

  Games for Health List

> www.socialimpactgames.com> www.acm.org/pubs/cie.html> Books

  Gee, Aldrich, and Prensky

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My Preamble…

> The are likely exceptions to everything I will say.

> I do not pretend to know everything about this space.

> I am not aware of every last project.

> My ideas are only part of the answer we’re constructing.

> I am trying to speak as much from experience as I can.

> I did not start out here. I am new to this area.

> Please laugh at my lame attempts at humor.

> And finally…

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Detour on SCORM®

> What the heck is this!!?!@?!  Shareable Courseware Object Reference

Model

> The LMS or LCMS  Learning Management System

  Learning Content Management System

> It’s almost all Web based  HTML, XML, Javascript, Java, Flash

> How do games fit in?  Can we retrofit high-end C++ .exes with

SCORM and LMS Systems?

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Don’t Take ROI for an Answer

> Fire Department  My building burned down…

> Jumbo Jets & Rocket Ships  What’s this button do?

> Can you really teach this with a book?  Strategy?

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Who’s Who and what’s their role?

> Development StudiosFind projects; educate client; make games

> Learning & Instruction Experts  Provide research; design help; content expertise; assessment

tools

> Publishers  Provide tech/industry support; look for crossover possibilities

> Facilitators  Ensure learning experience is fulfilling; build with and on top of

our creations

> Capital Sources  Fund us both philanthropically and commercially

> Customers & Users  “The problem”; support; funds; expertise; feedback;

adaptations

> Other Partners  Co-marketing; expert consultants; etc.