Serious Games 101: What makes a game “serious”?

In this post, we will dig into what a serious game is, and talk about some awesome ways they are being used.

If you were asked to describe the experience of playing a game, what would you say? Fun, challenging, interactive, distracting even? For most of us, our game experience centers on heated Monopoly power struggles around the kitchen table, or thumb-flicking our way to the next level of a new mobile game during our commutes. Games offer a means of play, a means of filling downtime with enjoyment. So, how do we make sense of games that are called “serious”?

Serious games, which run the gamut from video games to mobile games to board games and beyond, are designed to do more than offer players a dose of fun. They are created and played to serve a serious purpose, such as gaining a skill or learning about a topic. In this way, serious games are a tool as much as they are an engaging experience.

But why games? Well, games are different from other media products, such as books or movies, because they offer an experience in which the player is actively involved in making decisions. A growing group of designers, educators, players and researchers are championing the potential of serious games for this exact reason.

Fields such as education, engineering, business, healthcare and even city planning have used serious games in endlessly clever and innovative ways, helping to achieve goals such as improving hiring practices, building empathy among players, teaching complex topics, and even training military personnel. Some examples include:

L’Oreal’s “Reveal the Game”

“Reveal the Game” was developed by L’Oreal to improve their employee recruitment. In the game, applicants challenge themselves to prepare a new product launch using a real-world scenario. Applicants can compete with each other and even share results on social media. Recruiters have said its made gauging performance more straightforward. Applicants can even earn prizes such as a trip for achieving a high score. In 2014, L’Oreal stated that it aims to recruit 1 in 5 of its managers from gaming channels.

Schell Games’ “Happy Atoms”

“Happy Atoms” is trying to make chemistry more approachable for middle and high school students. It is a lego-like experience that challenges students to explore atomic structures through play. Each set (designed to be used in classes) comes with magnetic atoms that can be stuck together. Once a molecule is made, an iOS device like an iPhone or iPad can scan the molecule and pull up information about its weight, chemical properties and other fun tidbits. It essentially offers students and 3D glimpse into the molecular world.

mtvU’s “Darfur Is Dying”

This narrative-based simulation game was created by 5 students at the University of Southern California in 2006 during Darfur’s genocide. This game takes the perspective of a displaced Darfuian who must navigate life in a refugee camp in order to survive. The game was designed as an advocacy tool, where players could learn about the crisis, Darfur and what they could do to help. It has been played by nearly 1 million people.

…And this is just the tip of the iceberg. If you’d like to do some more digging into serious games, check out Game for Change’s awesome archive of serious games, which you can sort through by topic, format, and more.