Power up!

Game-based
learning design

www.brightwave.co.uk

Contents
Foreword

Exploring virtual environments

12

Why use game-based learning?

Mobile games

15

Story, characters and goals

Take-a-break games

16

Virtual role-play

Conclusion

17

Avatars and reward systems

Acknowledgements and further reading

18

Leaderboards, competition and

team games

10

Games.
Almost by definition they are nothing to do with work,
right? But when it comes to learning, games can be
powerful medicine.
Foreword by Charles Gould, CEO at Brightwave

What are some of the most common

with irrelevant gimmickry. What it does

problems people have with e-learning

mean is using competition, problem-solving,

- or any type of training for that matter?

story-telling, socialising and exploration to

Its boring. Its not challenging. People

stimulate and enhance learning. Now thats

lose interest quickly. Yet, it doesnt have

not as easy as it might sound. Your

to be like that. There are lots of tools

media-savvy audience will spot a naff

and techniques we use when we design

attempt to sex up something dull a mile off.

e-learning to make it relevant and effective.

Games are definitely among them.
That doesnt mean turning a serious subject

But, as this paper explores, in the right place

for the right reason, clever game design
can be a winner.

into one big game or peppering e-learning

2
2

Why use
gamebased
learning?
Alex Reeve, Blended Learning
Consultant at Brightwave
In recent years there has been an
explosion of interest in using video game
techniques (or gamification) to make nongame applications more fun and engaging.
Gaming strategies can now be seen in a
wide range of contexts including business
(gamified marketing campaigns and loyalty
programmes), health (the gamification of
fitness through programmes like Wii Fit
and Nike+), government (the application
of nudge tactics and behavioural
economics) and the military (war games
and simulations).

So whether you enjoy playing games or not, its

Throughout the paper well provide examples

important to understand how theyre shaping

of game-based learning that has made a

the world we live in.

positive, measurable impact. Some techniques

The concept of game-based learning is not

new. Effective teachers and instructors have
always understood the power of games to
motivate and inspire. From using chess to
develop strategic thinking; backgammon and

(such as immersive 3D virtual environments)

require substantial levels of investment,
while others can be produced quickly and
cost-effectively with just a little imagination,
planning and game-based thinking.

Monopoly for mental arithmetic; Scrabble for

If youre interested in gamifying the

spelling and vocabulary; to sophisticated driving

provision of learning in your organisation,

and flight simulators - games make learning fun.

this white paper will give

The buzz word of the moment -

you some useful food for thought.

gamification - has simply reactivated

interest in how games can increase learner
engagement and influence behaviours.
In this white paper well look at how
game-based techniques can energise
online learning programmes.

Fast
Facts

By 2014, more than 70% of Global 2000

Students recall just 10% of what they

organisations will have at least one

read and 20% of what they hear. If

gamified application (Gartner).

visuals accompany an oral presentation,

By 2015, more than 50% of organisations

retention rises to 30%.

that manage innovation processes will

But if they do the job themselves,

gamify those processes (Gartner).

even if only as a simulation, students

The average game player today is 37

years old, and 42% of game players are

can remember 90% (the Federation of

American Scientists, 2006).

women (The Entertainment Software

Association).

Story,
characters
and goals
Easy to understand and remember
In the same way that the novel defined
19th century culture, and cinema was the
dominant art form of the last century, video

Many online learning courses fail to

engage because they transmit too
much information in an uninvolving and
decontextualised way, i.e. screen after
screen of dense text, diagrams and bullet
points. So why not take a lesson from
game designers and reimagine your
training course using a compelling story?
As well as being more fun and engaging,
research shows that stories are much
easier to remember than text and bulleted
lists. Lets take a look at some examples.

games are the most influential medium of

our time. And what do all three media tap
into? The human fascination with stories,
characters and goals.

The Sky Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) programme shown above is based on a fairy tale
quest narrative. Learners must overcome a series of challenges in order to gain magic crystals and
free the princess. Who said that compliance training had to be boring?!

Value your friends (developed for Belgian NGO Iles de Paix) is designed to raise awareness about the
plight of people living in impoverished regions around the world. The game allows players to make aid
allocation decisions and then see the human and environmental consequences of their choices.

Virtual
role-play
Practising skills in authentic situations

These were:

So does game-based learning actually

20% higher confidence levels

14% higher skill-based knowledge

11% higher factual knowledge levels

9% higher retention levels

work? Recent research evidence suggests

it can be highly effective.
In a major study, researchers at the
University of Colorado (Sitzmann T: A
Meta-Analytic Examination Of The
Instructional Effectiveness Of
Computer-Based Simulation Games,
Personnel Psychology 2011) found that
trainees who used simulation games
gained performance improvements over a
comparison group who were trained with
traditional forms of instruction.

The beauty of simulations and virtual roleplay activities is that they allow learners
to practise skills in situations that feel
authentic, without fear of failure or public
embarrassment if they get things wrong.
This means that learners can take risks
and see the consequences of their actions
quickly, thereby accelerating the learning
process and time-to-competence.

The Perfect Match is a video-based simulation which allows new starters at Sky to interact
with five fictional customers. Learners must select the right responses to customer questions to
complete these virtual calls successfully.

Inside the Haiti Earthquake (produced by PTV Productions Inc.) is a first-person simulation based
on documentary footage from Haiti. It allows you to experience the earthquake as a survivor,
journalist or aid worker and features compelling content, high quality videos and branching
scenarios which make you an active participant in the story.

Avatars and
reward systems
In this section well look at how game mechanics can be used to motivate learners to complete online
learning programmes and achieve high scores in assessments.

Avatars

Reward systems

Learners sometimes complain that online

Drop-out rates from online learning

learning courses can feel cold and impersonal

programmes are notoriously high, so simple

- they miss the presence of an instructor or

reward systems can be a great incentive to keep

buddy to support them through the instruction

going. When the learner completes a topic in

process. One way to overcome this problem

Financial Essentials, virtual money accrues in

is by using avatars or learning agents to

the piggy bank at the top of the screen. To hit

personalise the experience. For example, in

the top score of 500/500 the learner must

Co-op Financial Essentials a virtual guide leads

visit every screen. This game-based device not

you through each part of the programme, role

only shows progress in an interesting way but

models best practice, and provides instructive

also ties in nicely with the overall theme of the

feedback.

programme, which is about the importance of

financial planning and saving for the future.

10

Competition
and team
games
Game mechanics can help satisfy our
desire for achievement, recognition and
status.
For example, Leaderboards offer the
opportunity to celebrate success and
encourage friendly competition. And as a
further incentive, why not award prizes to
your top scoring learners or teams?

11

HEINEKEN Capability Academy is a blended learning solution which features the following
game-based strategies to equip new starters with core knowledge and skills:

A board game, which has over 700 questions on categories including product knowledge,
brand awareness and sales skills. This game is designed to encourage collaboration,
discussion and competition between regional sales teams.

An online quiz where players earn Leaderboard points by answering questions correctly.

12

A visually rich learning portal, which hosts a wealth of online learning resources, including the
online quiz and a Leaderboard with real-time player scores.

Sky Get Up To Speed is a pre-joiner learning portal which also features a Leaderboard. Learners
are rewarded with points for completing courses before their first day at work. This means they
are up to speed and more effective in their role from day one. An evaluation of the course showed
that staff were achieving customer-related targets one week earlier (a 25% acceleration in time to
target performance) and an 11% increase in sales conversions in week one for new starters.

13

Gamification techniques are increasingly visible in the latest generation of Learning Management
Systems where positive behaviours - like contributing to discussion forums, rating and reviewing
content, collaborating on projects, as well as working through courses and assessments - are
rewarded with points and badges.
By taking advantage of the social aspect of games which many players enjoy (see FarmVille, the
hugely successful Facebook game where players work together to build virtual farms), we can
develop team-building and cooperation skills that have practical applications in the workplace.
Total immersion

14

Exploring
virtual
environments
One of the great benefits of video games is
the ability to explore environments (e.g. war
zones, alien worlds, magical kingdoms) that
would be difficult, dangerous or impossible
to experience in real life. Immersive virtual
environments also have a number of
practical applications for work-based
learning, including orientation and
emergency skills training.

15

Lives at War is an online virtual reality learning resource (produced by Corporation Pop using
the Unity 3D game engine) which allows players to experience what it was like to live in Britain
during World War II. Aimed at KS3/4 pupils, this is a truly immersive learning experience which also
features fascinating archive footage and first-person oral histories.

Virtual environments can also be used to immerse learners in an organisations brand. HEINEKEN
Is Our World is an interactive and visually engaging programme demonstrating HEINEKENs vision
of a brand-led business. As well as providing a detailed understanding of the range of brands within
HEINEKEN, the course aims to help staff live the HEINEKEN brand in and out of work. Moving through
different interactive worlds, the course shows examples of what living the brand means in practice.

16

In the Fire Safety game shown below, learners have just 20 seconds to follow the correct
procedures and escape the office safely. If they fail to take the right course of action, the results
can be explosive.

IKEA, The Missing Stock Mysteries begins with a customer who cant find the item theyre
looking for. The learner takes the role of inspector and investigates the problem within a simulated
store, interrogating people and investigating evidence. Other scenarios follow, exploring different
aspects of stock loss and the implications for colleagues, customers and IKEA. Learners are given
clear guidance on how to recover lost items and prevent further losses.

17

Mobile
games
Learning on the move
70-80% of all mobile downloads are now
games and the mobile gaming industry
is predicted to reach $54 billion by 2015
(Digital Buzz). So if you really want to
engage learners, why not gamify your
m-learning applications?
The mobile quiz shown here tells a story,
Monday to Friday. Each day becomes
a good day or a bad day based on
questions that are answered correctly and
incorrectly. Learners are allocated three
lives with a life lost for each wrong answer.

18

To increase engagement, a Leaderboard records top scores and learners are given the opportunity
to repeat the quiz as often as they like to earn bonus points.

Bupas pre-joiner portal also features a range of fun and informative games and quizzes which can
be played on tablets and smartphones, as shown here.

19

Take-abreak
games
Spaced Learning
Spaced Learning is a learning method
underpinned by neuro-scientific research,
which emphasises the importance of
repetition and short breaks at regular
intervals.

20

The basic structure of a Spaced Learning activity comprises:

Presentation of key facts

10-minute break

Learner recall of key facts

10-minute break

Learner application of key facts

During each break, its important that the learner completes a distractor activity which uses parts
of the brain that are not being used during the formal instruction. For example, take-a-break
games like Whack-A-Cone can be used to let off steam and stimulate different parts of the brain
during lengthy online learning courses.
Research shows that by scheduling distractor activities like this into the learning experience, the
chance of embedding information into long-term memory is greatly improved.

21

When used appropriately, game-based

techniques can greatly enhance online learning

techniques including:

Stories, characters and goals

challenge for L&D professionals is how to

Virtual role-play

commission effective game-based learning at a

Avatars

time when training budgets are under pressure.

Reward systems

While immersive 3D games and simulations

Leaderboards

often require significant levels of investment

Board games

Online quizzes

year-on-year, with technologies like Unity,

Mobile games

WebGL and the 4G mobile network making

Take-a-break games

courses and delight learners of all ages. The

and production time, the cost barriers for

game-based learning as a whole are falling

rich interactions possible on a wide range of

platforms.

The application of game-based strategies

promises to increase engagement, improve

And as weve shown in this white paper,

assessment scores and reduce drop-out rates.

corporate training interventions can be gamified

By thinking more like game designers, we can

very cost effectively using simple but effective

create more compelling learning experiences

that help support lasting behavioural change.

www.brightwave.co.uk

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