(3-minute read)
There are so many grounds I could cover, but at the very least I have unpacked how the concept of the Magic Circle engages and motivates player behaviour, as well as some of the potential use cases of a Serious Game. While it is true that one could design a game that relies on a quiz-styled format to engage participants, that simply motivates them by getting them to work for their points as a reward. Rather, I think that a properly designed Serious Game allows players to learn more meaningfully through experiential learning and introspection.
If I could suggest where to go from here, firstly I do know a host of different vendors that I would whole-heartedly recommend when it comes to helping and collaborating the building of a Serious Game for your problem statement. Obviously, I myself from AlterCulture Studios are happy to help with your Serious Games consultation and design needs.
I also teach a 3-day Serious Games and Gamification course, "GameLab", at Civil Service College alongside Xi-wei Yeo from Living Theories, so if you are from Public Service do keep a look out for that courses. Coincidentally, Living Theories also does Gamification consultation and design. In Singapore, we also have vendors that help with the production of the game, such as Lionfish Studios and The Doodle People, just to name a few.
For those that are from other countries, I have already mentioned Boho Interactive who created the modelling game for festivals, amongst others. You also have Press Start Academy from Hong Kong that focuses on using games with education (adult and children alike).
Finally, for something more casual - if you ever wanted to try making a game to tell a story but had no experience doing so, there's also the annual Heritage Game Jam, which I co-organise with my other friends from the Sagakaya Collective. It is a fully non-profit event, where we have a theme every year for anyone from any background to come together and for teams with other participants to create a narrative game in 10 days.
Some of my favorite experimental games came about from this very jam - so do take some time to play the games (they can be found in the linked website). This competition welcomes both entertainment and serious games (or whatever you wish to label it as), so it is the perfect platform to experience game development AND meet new people from different backgrounds with like-minded passions!
Thank you for taking the time to read my series of articles on Serious Games. Once again, do leave a comment or a DM if you have any questions or require any help to start your journey on Serious Games! If you have missed any of the previous articles, I will link them below:
Part 3: The History of Serious Games