By Monica Chen
The Herald-Sun
DURHAM, NC — EMS simulators, psychological testing and a robot baby.
The training tools and instructional video games displayed at IBM’s Serious Games Day on Wednesday were far more entertaining than a Powerpoint presentation.
The event, hosted by IBM in Durham’s Research Triangle Park, where more than a hundred developers, academics and college students gawked at products and demos from around the country and discussed the future of serious games.
What are “serious games”? It is a burgeoning industry that uses video games in everything from training EMS workers to respond to terrorist attacks to using a robotic “human simulator” that breathes and bleeds to train health care workers.
And as defined by developers and academics on Wednesday, serious games are video games that use a combination of simulation and narrative to transfer skills.
The event was hosted in part to preview IBM’s Innov8 v. 2, a game used in business process management training that the company has been developing for about a year.
“This is the perfect storm,” said Phaedra Boinodiris, IBM Serious Games Manager. “With President Obama’s emphasis on a smarter planet ..., serious games can help train people in a smarter way.”
“It’s these tools that help you visualize and train for jobs in the future,” she added.
The event also showcased a panel of experts from academia, corporate game development and health care, including: Richard Kristof, president and CEO of American Research Institute; Stephen Mahaley, director of Learning Technology at Duke Corporate Education; Amar Patel, manager of Medical Simulation Center at WakeMed; and James Lester, associate professor of Computer Science-Engineering at N.C. State University.
“Any process that can be articulated can be depicted,” said Jim Wexler, owner of BrandGames in New York.
The panelists also said instructional video games can more effectively train large numbers of people because they eliminate the cost of travel to conferences and provide standard instruction.
Training through games can also provide companies with data on the performance of their employees.
Audience members asked the panel how to strike a balance between fun and instruction in serious games. One of the criteria for a “fun” game, according to one audience member, should be that the player would take the game home and play it in their own free time.
Gerke Max Preussner, technical director of Virtual Heroes of Durham, said one of the difficulties in making entertaining serious games lies in cost and in expectations.
“One of the mistakes serious game developers make is they apply the same paradigm to the rest of the population as hardcore gamers,” Preussner said. “Most stay-at-home moms, for instance, probably wouldn’t prefer hyper-realistic World War II shooters.”
A group of Wake Technical Community College students on hand said the entertainment factor of a serious game is a must.
“A game has to immerse you in that world,” said Jason Walker.
“One thing you have to worry about is if you focus too much on the education, it’ll get in the way of playability -- being engaged and entertained,” said Martin Gattis.
IBM is planning to release Innov8 v. 2 in May and host various Serious Game days around the world. The location and date of the next event are yet to be determined.