What’s in a Serious Game?
A recent report from GameIndustry stated that 83% of the United States population plays games; averaging 10.5 hours spent playing per week.
Image courtesy of Game Industry
More and more leading companies are adopting games for learning. Perhaps ‘game’ has a negative connotation for some. And I am sorry to say that in some instances I know why, some so called “serious games” look like really bad jokes to even the untrained eye.
According to a 2008 study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which works to further understanding of entrepreneurship, the economic impact of a great lecture can improve learning outcomes by 17 percent, while switching to a different delivery mechanism such as serious gaming can improve learning outcomes by 108 percent! Yes that is a 91 percent difference between a lecture vs. a different delivery method (such as a serious game).
