Branching Scenario Training Games, Scenario Based Training and Role Play Serious Games

We develop engaging, immersive scenarios using gaming technologies to assess and influence the behaviours of many different types of end-users. Within these branching scenarios, users’ decisions lead to effects, both immediate and simulation wide, altering the events, characters and situations encountered. Feedback is provided seamlessly as a natural progression throughout the experience.

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A large selection of authoring tools as well as as delivery/tracking platforms like course and learning management systems.

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Designing social games for multi-player engagement

We examine designing games for online social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter. Looking at how the design can be improved by embedding an interaction centric approach into the development process. Research into motivations and emotional dispositions of social media use, and analysing existing popular social games, help in identifying game mechanics that tap into user practices across social networks.

We attempt at developing a set of design principles and a design framework where interaction, social, service, and game design meet. The framework aims to support the inherent sociability, spontaneity, and playfulness that permeate online social networks.

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How Social Gaming is Improving Education

Educators have always looked for better ways to prepare students for the real world. The mildly apocalyptic government report from the US, A Nation at Risk,  warned that an outdated school system was unwittingly sabotaging America’s economic superiority. Year after year, major educational organizations would echo the report’s call with threats of dire consequences and pleas for sweeping reform, from the U.S. Department of Labor to the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.

Audits of the U.S. educational system have revealed that the highest hurdle to adopting skills-based teaching practices is the lack of an easily implementable curriculum.

The picture in the UK is a similar affair, with publications Future Labs publications on games and learning confirming much of what we know to be a fact – namely the better the engagement, the better the learning.

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Game Design Framework for Social Networks

The design framework is the result of analysing a number of social network games. Looking at the most popular multiplayer games such as Farmville, Lil’ Green Patch, Mafia Wars, Who Has the Biggest Brain?,  or interesting game designs such as Parking Wars, PackRat, PhotoGrab.

Translating the results into a framework that can; inform design decisions, be used as an inspiration, and a starting point when brainstorming social network game concepts.

A design framework for social network play mechanics

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A collection of 60 of the most inspiring Flash websites with ever-increasing innovations. Here at PlayGen, we love Flash3D and anything 3D with Flash, we’ve always loved 3D and as of version 9 we started loving Flash too.

There’s a lot of very creative folks out there and this post is nothing short of breath taking work from flash developers working in 3D from around the world.

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Online, social networks and blogs are now the 4th most popular kinds of online activities. 73% of the world online population are now visiting them and the time they’re spending on them is growing by three times the overall growth rate of the internet. Social networks are now visited more often than personal email is read. Some social networks have grown to such enormous proportions that they rival entire countries in terms of population—if Facebook, for example, was a country, it would be the fifth-most-populated in the world (right between Indonesia and Brazil).

There’s a lot of variety out there in the realm of social network design. Some sites keep a very professional approach (like LinkedIn) while others have a more organic, free-form look (like MySpace). Most sites fall somewhere in between, mixing professionalism with personalization (like Facebook). But what’s the best way to design a social network? What are the elements that make a social network more user-friendly and more attractive to users? Read on to find out.

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A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include geopolitical situations (involving the formation and execution of foreign policy), the creation of domestic political policies, or the simulation of political campaigns. They differ from the genre of classical wargames due to their discouragement or abstraction of military or action elements.

PlayGen has created a number of public policy games. Designed to educate the public on different aspect of policy, to help them better understand and fulfill their role as citizens in a democracy.

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Suddenly everywhere you look there is a buzz about social games. Dollar signs flashing before every developer’s eyes as everyone is amazed by the success of some of the first movers in this exploding market. But designing an engaging social games is not something everyone can do, just because the designer is ripping off the latest big hit on facebook it really doesn’t mean its going to be a success.

So having had a good look around the social game world & having made our 3rd social game this year,  here’s some nuggets of information that should help any budding social games designer to develop a better game.

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Influence through cyberspace encompasses the power to use the internet to our tactical advantage, spending bits rather than bullets. Using the power of social software and networks to foster trust in ones’ ideology is not too dissimilar with building trust in a brand online.

Agents of influence are those whose opinions online are trusted, but who are they and how do we get them to talk about what we do?

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