Lab Excels at ‘Serious Game’ Development
Games in education are a new trend and prove that it is very possible to make learning fun. Games can help the player learn and retain important information. While there are many examples of educational games, here is a college which specializes in the development of innovative and unique research-based games.
The University of Southern California’s Game Innovation Lab is currently developing research-based games that can both engage students in terms of education and promote social awareness for players of all ages.
This lab is one of the first to investigate different types of games such as ‘serious games’. The definition of these ‘serious games’ or ‘games for change’ is that the games serve as a method for learning new information and discovering new experiences. This does not mean the games fail to be a fun experience, but that the user walks away learning something.
This lab has developed many great games based on real life events, both historical and modern day.
Examples of ‘Serious Games’:
- Darfur is Dying – a simulation game putting the players in the role of a refugee from this African country.
- Walden, A Game – any Thoreau fan will have fun following in his footsteps around Walden Pond, learning self reliance.
- New New Deal – experience the American economy in this simulation.
To browse other games developed by USC’s Game Innovation lab, check out their Interactive Games and Media website. They have links to many of the games produced by students in the past few years along with detailed information about each one.
What makes this lab so great is that they are teaching and developing the types of thinkers the world needs to revolutionize gaming for educational purpose.
