Gaming V2

Gaming

What do we want to find out?

While traditional games aim to entertain, serious gaming focuses on learning in its widest sense, whether that’s for simulation, training or marketing.

The ideas delivered through our current ways of working are less likely to create genuine change1, the contradictions in people’s demands and the impact of the recession are more likely to disrupt the way we work than we are used to. We want to explore how we can use serious gaming techniques to simulate scenarios and innovations that can enable the Council to influence change and cohesion. We will also engage with those groups working in this area, such as MediaTree and KADU. We will research how gaming can be used to influence people’s behaviour, help develop skills, support personal development, anticipate potential scenarios and market virally. We will build on practice within KCC like schools, care centres & country parks and in Kent like simulation to support learning and ward walks, as well as UCA, Kent and Greenwich. As well as young people, they are now popular too with women, families and older people. Although it has a less profound impact on disadvantaged groups, gaming tends to benefit a wider range of them. Can be integrated with other tools and content, can be used as platforms and excel at involving users to refine the games themselves. Through agile techniques, developers can design games much cheaper than virtual worlds. We want to work out how we can improve ways of working for staff and engaging the public, whether through simulation, scenario planning or other gaming techniques.

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Known as the “innovator’s dilemma” that an existing system won’t invest in new approaches that threaten to destroy

How can you be involved?

If you are researchers/consultants2, we would like to explore how we could capture together how gaming techniques3 & concepts4 can achieve specific purposes with pilot group of staff or citizens

If you are innovators working in this high growth sector5, we would like to explore how we could pilot your tools with a group of staff or citizens on a particular issue or simulate gaming tools with online technologies used in KCC

If you are organisations6 in sectors who have used these tools, we would like to share the learning and explore opportunities for collaboration

What resources do we need?

A lot of Some Not a lot of

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Such as University of Edinburgh Such as psychology, gaming theory, logic, strategy, communications, marketing, training, etc 4 Especially if you are working in the following fields: Learning, cognition, pedagogy, perception, gender, affect, flowpresence, psychology, persuasion, consumer behaviour and HCI 5 Especially if you are specialised in simulation, world building, advergames, technical writing, digital storytelling or level design 6 Especially if you are working in cognitive tutoring, corporate training, museums, health, social issues, science, ecology, higher education 3