Computer games are beginning to break out from their console and entertainment world, and finding more constructive applications in the worlds of business and education. This special edition of HiTech looks at a very French revolution.
Emmanuel Exbrayat, PDG Donuts: “Serious Games are quite complicated to explain, because it’s something enourmous. They include educational modules, communication modules, simulations, so they’re adressed to all, to every kind of public, young and less young. It’s all types of technology, all types of messages. Serious Games are a modern and efficient tool to spread a message and help it to be learned.”
Isabelle Bigot / Chargee de Comunication au SYTRAD: “We had a communication project in all the primary schools of our territory, but we didn’t know what tool to use. By a third person we met Emmanuel Exbrayat, we talked to him and he suggested to make an interactive game targeting primary schools. It is a house with different rooms, and the child should click with his mouse on different objects in this rooms – for example, in the kitchen there are dishes or cardboard boxes – and he should put them in the right garbage container. A container for recyclable waste, a compost can for food leftovers. The children are very very satisfied, because the video tool is something what they know well, something modern, and it allows them while playing to learn about the environment and to get the right message about recycling.”
Sebastien Beck / Daesign: “Today all the big enterprises in France use Serious Games to train their employees – be it banks, insurance companies, service providers like phone companies, or something more recent like car industry which also uses Serious Games… The manager is my avatar – meaning a character who represents me. I’m facing Emilian and have to direct my character’s behavioural intentions. Here, for example, I’m going to show some interest to my collegue… Every time I make a choice, my collegue, according to his phsychological profile, his intentions and all my previous actions till this point, will react in different manner. I as the manager have to adapt to the situation and make good choices.”
Josephine Laforet, professeur de marketing – IMUS: “Immediately I saw how the students were attracted, because I completely entered their world: we were in a virtual game, controlled by computer. And at the same time it gave us many new ways of development… This software uses a pedagogical approach: you lead a negotiation, and in the end the program returns you the analysis, telling you where you played well and explaining the reasons, but indicating where were problems which made a character get angry and leave. That’s interesting, because we can see step by step what worked and what didn’t, and this is how we advance and learn new things.”
