Serious Games: A Serious Market for

Game Producers

Dr. Christopher R. HarzMay, 2009

Serious Games

• Definition

• Types of Games

• How they get produced

• Related Areas

• Persistent Worlds

• Animation for Presentations

• Where to Learn More

Background

• Serious Games: Games used for non-entertainment purposes

• BUT must still be fun, motivating

• Typical Applications

• Education: Game Based Learning

• Training for Government and Military

• Industry Training (Fortune 2000 In-House)

• Advanced Visualization (GIS, DHS)

Show Me The Money

• Current Hot Areas

• Military, esp. Army

• Government (DARPA, NASA, DHS, DoI, etc.)

• Medical

• Medical Training (Doctors, Nurses)

• First Responders (Emergency Care)

• Industrial (Fortune 1000 Companies)

• Niche Areas

• Legal, Science, Politics, Religious

Examples of Military Games

•America’s Army (www.americasarmy.com)

•8 Million Players

•$8MM Initial, $10MM/Yr.

•Initially a PR Game

•Now PR AND Training

•Most Successful SG

•Civilian Version (free)

•Military Version

•Up to SECRET Level

•Training of Army Units

•Used to evaluate new weapons and concepts

America’s Army (cont’d)• Funded by US Army (Manpower)• Created at Naval Postgraduate School• Based on Unreal Tournament Engine• Production Team: gamers and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)• Used Rapid Prototyping Approach with Real Soldiers• Upgrades keep the learning fun and challenging

Other Military

• Full Spectrum Warrior (Pandemic, Sony, ICT)• Army School and Commercial Versions

• Avant Guard, for USAF, by Games That Work

• Find Ambushes with UAVs

Other Military

• 24Blue by BreakAway Games • US Navy Training Game

• Starcraft, by Blizzard• COTS Game used by USAF to train Strategy

Other Military Games

• Civil Support Team Trainer (for ANG) by Engineering and Computer Simulation, Inc.

• Asymmetrical Warfare ($6M) by Forterra (was There) in Persistent World

Tactical Iraqui

• Language/Culture Learning Game by USC ISI (www.isi.edu)

• Funded by DARPA ($8M)

IC and DHS Games

• By Visual Purple (www.visualpurple.com)

• DIA Game for Decision Aiding

• DHS Game for Responding to Crises

First Responder Games: Hazmat Hotzone

• Developed by Carnegie Mellon, now Sim Ops Studios (www.simopsstudios.com)

Hazmat (cont’d)• Initial LAN, eventual Online• Teaches Firefighters Operations in Hazardous Areas (Gas,

Radiation, etc.)

Code3D

• By SimOps Studios

• First Responder Training

Airport Security Training

Medical Games

• TruSim by Blitz

Medical Games (cont’d)

• Pulse!!, by BreakAway Games of Hunt Valley, MD (www.breakawaygames.com)

• Based on Bethesda Army Hospital

Medical Games (cont’d)

• Treatment of PTSD

• Very high number of patients

with severe combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

• Virtual Iraq, by Dr. A. Rizzo (USC, San Diego Naval

Hospital)

• Treatment of children with

cancer

• Free Dive, by BreakAway

Games, for distraction during chemotherapy and other

medical treatments

Games for Social Change

• Food Force, by Deepend and Playerthree(www.food-force.com)

• For United Nations, about hunger

Social Change: Pamoja Mtaani

• Game for Kenya (HIV Rate: 5%)

• Pamoja Mtaani (Together in the Hood, Swahili)

• Virtual Heroes, Inc., Warner Bros.

• Adopt one of 5 Identities, learn to beat HIV threats

K-12 and University Games

• Wolfquest, for Biology Classes

and Zoos

• By EduWeb

• PowerPolitics III, for History Classes

• By Kellogg Creek Software (www.kelloggcreek.com)

Legal Games• Objection! and Expert Witness!• Transmedia Games (www.objection.com) • For attorneys to practice court cases• In wide usage; can get academic credits• Other Legal Apps: Forensic Animation for presentations to Juries in Court

Political Games

• Take Back Illinois, for Republican Party

• By Persuasive Games (www.takebackillinoisgame.com)

Political Games

• Polar Palin

• By Enterprise

• Oiligarchy

• Game about

global warming

Religious Games• Interactive Parables, to teach Bible Stories• By GraceWorks Interactive (www.graceworksinteractive.com) • Sales in Christian Stores, via Internet

Industrial Training Games• Stone City, for in-house staff training of Stone Cold Creamery• By Persuasive Games (www.persuasivegames.com)

Industrial Training (cont’d)• Anti-Fraud (Visual Purple)• DirecTV Customer Support

Business Games

• Refresh Marketing, by Muzzy Lane

• Open for Business, by SIMS2

• Games range from entry level to executive decision making

Games for Health and Fitness

• Dance Dance Revolution

• By Konami (www.konami.com or www.ddrfreak.com)

Health and Fitness (cont’d)

• DDR uses gamepad for interaction instead of keyboard or joystick

• Others in this genre include meditation, yoga, dance & martial arts, aerobics, sports training

• Wii very strong in this segment

• PS3 uses EyeToy

Pervasive Worlds

• Second Life, by Linden Lab (www.secondlife.com)

• >8M members

• Build and Sell Models, Animations, Games

Second Life (cont’d)

• Many job opportunities

• Create & Sell Virtual 3D Objects

• Clothing/Fashion, furniture

• Avatar Customization

Second Life (cont’d)

• Architecture/Buildings

• Animations/Movements

• Business Meetings

• IBM holds global meetings here

Second Life (cont’d)

• Stores (Some do $100K++/yr)

• Commercial Promotions

• Politics

• Concerts, Book Signings

Second Life (cont’d)

• Virtual Travel

• Presentations

• Gov. Warner (shown)

• Virtual Classrooms

Advanced Visualization

• Simulations and mini-games for exploration of complex data

• Used for GIS, Oil Exploration, Medical Training, Science

Advanced Visualization (cont’d)

• Animations in normal and stereo 3D

• GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is Booming Area

• Used for Industry, First Responders, Public

Presentation Animation

• Illustrations, Concept Art, and Advergames for Sales/Expos

• For PowerPoint and other Presentations

• No need to create from scratch--Can use & modify royalty-free libraries of models and animations such as Turbosquid(www.turbosquid.com) or Flat Pyramid (www.flatpyramid.com )

Example: Animated Sequence for Military Concept

Sample Objects to Buy/Sell

• >100K Turbosquid objects

• Use for presentations (royalty free)

Technical Challenges• Rapid Prototype Development

• Requires Agile Software Development, new types of modular construction with early and cyclical user feedback

• Userware for Local Groups• Enable local customization

• Faster/Better Feedback from Learning Group/Users• It’s expensive for entire game team to visit users to learn what needs to be

trained (e.g., go to FDNY to meet with firefighters)• How can this be speeded up?• Updating game: after product complete, form user group for ongoing interaction

and updates

• Optimized Mix of sensory input• All videogames are a compromise• What tradeoffs are feasible?• Expensive: visuals (high res, high # of models, fast updates)• Cheaper: Auditory (surround sound), haptic, selective resolution (high res visuals

on some items such as helmets and faces, low res on terrain)

• Short-Long Learning and ET• Try “chunking” instead of long linear process to learn the game• Embedded Training: Game exists within system to be learned (military vehicle,

consumer electronics, etc.)

Tech Challenges (cont’d)

• Mobile has huge potential (esp. iPhone)• Displays and controls

• How do you make game immersive on mobile display?

• How do you time-shift play for MMOGs, as mobile can often be interrupted?

• Creative use of platforms• Camera as part of game

• Music learning game using air on mic (flute)

• SD chip for storage (cinematics, video clips)

Tech Challenges (cont’d)

• New Technologies• Wireless Broadband (WiMax and LTE)

• Uninterrupted mobile play for County-size areas

• New Internet (IPv6)• Reduces transport costs, increases end-to-end quality

• LBG (Location Based Gaming)• Incorporate location of player into game

• Easy to monetize

• Great for tourist locations, cities, museums

• Possible now with cell towers, better with upcoming mandated cellular GPS

Resources

• Conferences

• Serious Games (www.seriousgames.com)

• Game Developers Conference (www.gdconf.com)

• Education Arcade (www.educationarcade.org)

• Games, Learning & Society (www.glsconference.org)

• IITSEC (www.iitsec.org) – Huge Military Conference

• Games for Health (www.gamesforhealth.org)

Resources (cont’d)

• Organizations

• Serious Game Initiative (www.seriousgames.org)

• DoD Community (www.dodgamecommunity.com)

• Games for Health (www.gamesforhealth.org)

• Magazines (free, online)

• Animation World (www.awn.com)

• Visual Effects World (www.vfxworld.com)

Summary

• Serious Games a Major Area in Gaming Market: >$800MM (2009) and growing

• Great earnings and opportunities

• Have fun AND make a difference (even save lives)

• Cash flow better than for entertainment games

• For both large and small companies (development typically shorter, cheaper than Xbox360-type games)

• Wide Variety of Serious Game Types

• Skills needed: Understand user needs, art, music, computer technology, team work, learning process—and keep it all fun and challenging!

Thank You for Your Attention!Thank You for Your Attention!Thank You for Your Attention!Thank You for Your Attention!

• Questions?

• Christopher R. Harz, Ed.D.

• harznet@charter.net

• harznet@AOL.com