Valerio Eletti, Stefania Barca, Brunella Botte,

Giada Marinensi, Claudia Matera, Enrico Ruozzi

GACET’11 – Rome, 17 November, 2011

Serious Games: a proposal of taxonomy based on the relationship between game and simulation

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e-Learning Laboratory of CATTID dedicated to:• social learning• mobile learning • digital game based learning, with special

focus on simulations and serious games

Introduction

In 2009 was held at Label a series of seminars aimed to the systematization of knowledge and practice on simulations, serious games and business games, by analyzing and comparing many national and international experiences.

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Game

Learning

We learn first of all thanks to the experience and the

game is a particular form of experience

The relationship between game and learning

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Is there a relationship between game and simulation?

Game

Simulation

Is there a structured relationship between

simulations and games?

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The definition of simulation

Simulations

Allow to reproduce reality in a simplified way, so that we can better understand why things happen and how

The studies carried out by our research group have made it possible to define two big families of simulations:

LabSim TaleSim

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The definition of simulationLabSim

NETLOGOhttp://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/WolfSheepPredation

A LabSim is a virtual lab where the user

can observe, explore and analyze a

process in order to gain a profound

knowledge of it’s internal mechanisms

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The definition of simulationTaleSim

VIRTUAL LEADERhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qy3TLyj-HCY&feature=player_embedded#!

In a TaleSim the user is the actor (or one of

the actors) of the story and/or of the

environment to explore and there is an explicit formative

path

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The definition of game (1/2)

Johan Huizinga, “Homo Ludens”, 1938

Every game is an action full of signification; every game

means something and its applications could answer

to a lot of needs

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The definition of game (2/2)

Roger Caillois, “Les jeux et les hommes”, 1958

Four basic type of game:• Agon (rules)• Alea (chance)• Mimicry (imitation)• Ilinx (vertigo)

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The relationship between game and simulation (1/2)

Intersection between Agon and Mimicry

Games with rules

Imitation games

Games with both characteristics

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The relationship between game and simulation (2/2)

TaleSim

LabSim

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The definition of Serious Game (1/2)

Serious Games

Interactive experiences with the same characteristics and structure of a game. They could have different aims, like corporate training,

educational or social campaigns, and promotional activities.They reproduce real situations in which using knowledge and acting

with strategy could help reaching a final goal.

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The definition of Serious Game (2/2)

Serious Games area

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A proposal of TaxonomyIntersection between Agon and Mimicry

Role Playing Game

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A proposal of TaxonomyIntersection between Agon and Simulations

Business Game

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A proposal of TaxonomyIntersection of Agon, Simulations and Mimicry

Simulators

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A proposal of TaxonomyIntersection between Simulations and Mimicry

Serious Game to improve Soft Skills

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A proposal of TaxonomyIntersection between Simulations and Mimicry

Initial situation Decision Points Feedback

Each games forseen several decision points and different feedbacks

www.intouch-project.eu

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A proposal of TaxonomyDetailed classification of Serious Games

Fruition mode:online / offline

Seriuos GameUser: single user /

multi-user

Graphical User Interface (GUI):

2D / 3D

Structure: playful / not playful

Engine: with / without engine

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A proposal of TaxonomyDetailed classification of Serious Games

Role Playing Game

Fruition mode: online / offline

User: single user / multi-user

Graphical User Interface (GUI): more often 3D

Structure: playful

Engine: with

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A proposal of TaxonomyDetailed classification of Serious Games

Fruition mode: mostly online

User: mostly multi-user

Graphical User Interface (GUI): 2D

Structure: playful / not playful

Engine: withBusiness Game

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A proposal of TaxonomyDetailed classification of Serious Games

Fruition mode: mainly offline

User: mainly single user

Graphical User Interface (GUI): 3D

Structure: playful

Engine: withSimulators

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A proposal of TaxonomyDetailed classification of Serious Games

Fruition mode: online / offline

User: single user / multi-user

Graphical User Interface (GUI): 2D / 3D

Structure: playful

Engine: withSerious Game

to improve Soft Skills

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Conclusion

• This taxonomy could be considered as a starting point to define a shared background aiming to identify what Serious Games are, and to research their best application context

• We hope that this taxonomy could represent a first step toward a more precise Serious Games’ classification, in order to create a widely shared starting point for further research in this field

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label@cattid.uniroma1.it

MORE INFORMATION

www.cattid.uniroma1.it

www.label-journal.it