Unlike so many other settings where seemingly meaningless and repetitive tasks frustrate us, in games we are at one with our story…We come to desire the victory that the story presupposes, and we simply must find a way to win.
You might think of games as child’s play. You know, Chutes & Ladders. Monopoly. Hide & Seek. Some adults think games are a waste of time. But studies reveal that playing games at work can engage employees and result in deeper learning and behavior change.
The term “serious gaming” has been around for a while. As the name implies, there’s nothing tame about this type of gaming. In his article “Serious Games for Serious Topics,” Clark Quinn describe that a serious game “can introduce tension and crises to simulate the realistic experience of practicing a particular skill, or depict consequences, more easily than other types of learning.”
It’s not a lesson wrapped in entertainment. The “serious game” turns learning objectives into essential decision points. The learner is cast as a potential hero. It involves an other-world context, consequences, and often exploratory path options. The outcome is something that the learner sincerely cares about.
