THE NEXT big web 2.0 phenomenon is tipped to be serious games, online education tools that use games technology and role-play worlds for an interactive learning experience that is already attracting the interest of businesses and the public sector.
Derry start-up Silvertongue Software is an early player in the fast-emerging market and recently won a contract with the Irish Health Safety Authority (HSA) to build an educational video game for teaching young adults about workplace safety.
Still in development, it has a similar look and feel to Sims, the best-selling computer game, but uses the gameplay techniques to teach health and safety rules in a way that makes it easier for 17- and 18- year-olds to absorb.
“We wanted strong graphics that would appeal to the age group, something really gamey with a touch of anime,” said Caroline Anderson, managing director of Silvertongue. “We will also be fitting it with widgets for Facebook and Bebo, so users can compete to get the best score and earn badges.”
The aim is to make dull guidelines more exciting.
“Educational games can be very dry and the big challenge is to make them better than glorified multiple choice,” she said.
“We try and keep it fun and interesting.”
No easy feat when the message is to pass on advice on avoiding dermatitis in a hair salon or how to lift things in a warehouse. Users can wander into different workplace scenarios and embark on a whole range of tasks that will teach them about safety risks with measurement tests to evaluate what they have taken on board. The HSA plans to launch the game in June as a free instructional tool on its website.
Using a game development platform combined with flash software, Silvertongue has created an innovative pseudo-3D graphic style that suits the web delivery platform.
“Delivering full-blown 3D over the internet is very difficult to do; the user has to download software onto their desktop. We spent a lot of time finding a compromise that made it visually strong and easily accessible without having to download anything,” said Ms Anderson.
Run out of an incubator facility in North West Regional College, Derry, Silvertongue has already developed serious game projects for Shell, Coca Cola and the Northern Ireland Business and Innovation Centre.
The two co-founders of the company came out of a Higher National Certificate course in interactive computer entertainment at the college and were attracting interest from traditional game publishers, but it was a learning component in an early game that grabbed the most attention and persuaded them to change direction.
Ms Sullivan said that there had been a significant shift in the last 18 month as more organisations have overcome prejudices about letting games anywhere near the workplace.
“There had been a lot of resistance to serious games, but that’s starting to change. People are even asking us if they can work with social networking sites.”
