What is Serious Games

Video games that can be used for learning skills competencies, as they have an educational setting.

Games that use its elements of motivation, engagement, and fun for teaching, learning, training, or positive behavior change.

The intention of such games is that they be used for more than entertainment. They are often used in education and semiformal educational settings.

Digital games, simulations, virtual environments and mixed reality/media that provide opportunities to educate or train through responsive narrative/story, gameplay or encounters.

Any system that is a game and whose primary purpose is not fun, although it should always be implied. They have been designed for a specific purpose and are designed specifically for that purpose.

These are games that have as main purpose one beyond entertainment, for example learning, training a user to change their habits, or health rehabilitation.

Game designed for an educational purpose, making allow the training of the decision-making and interventions of a real-life case, in such a way as to solve the problems found, so that its ending is not just to be entertainment.

Is built with pedagogical principles and education and training purposes, supported by gaming techniques and entertainment.

Initially, serious games where considered to be games with a purpose. The basic idea behind serious games is to hide important and time-consuming tasks behind a gaming veil. They can be applied in societal studies, in crowdsourcing projects and any setting under which the players are actually contributors to a cause that is hidden behind the game.

Also frequently called educational games or our preferred term, transformational games , games designed to change learner’s knowledge, understanding or behavior.

Games developed for purposes beyond mere entertainment. Serious games are considered useful to those who wish to use simulation for training and education e.g., flight simulations, exploit entertainment as motivation e.g. to perform physical and mental exercise (see exergaming).

Aa serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment.

Games created for a specific purpose of learning and teaching, often in the form or training simulators.

A classification referring to games that are specifically designed for a particular purpose. These games are often for education, training, and advertising, and are more often used in particular industries like health care and the military.

Video games that were designed to achieve certain learning results.

Serious Games are games whose primary objective is not related to entertainment. Typically, such games aim to foster the learning of concepts, skills, and attitudes in various disciplines. While Serious Games are not mainly focused on entertainment, they certainly do not exclude it.

Are games designed for educational purposes, not primarily based on entertainment, but based on dynamic and fun education.

Games designed for a primary goal other than pure entertainment.

Complex digital games whose entertainment quality is used for educational, training, and/or communication purposes.

Serious games are digital games aiming to improve players’ skills or to provide them with knowledge while also being entertaining.

A game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment, for example, for education.

Use gaming technology for purposes that go beyond pure entertainment.

An umbrella term referring to any game developed for a non-entertainment based purpose.

Games designed for purposes other than entertainment, according to Serious Games founder Ben Sawyer (personal communication, Serious Games ListServ). Distinguished from COTS because these are not purely for entertainment, and from edutainment because the learning is much more tightly integrated with the game environments than traditional edutainment titles.

Educational games that are created in the context of game-based learning aiming to support the learners’ achievement of specific learning outcomes.

A specific type of video games that are designed with a very specific purpose in mind, usually associated with academic or cultural lessons.

They are gaming whose purpose is to entertain and teach different disciplines.

They are games that have scope beyond recreation. They can be for training, teaching and propagating information, in fact games create uniquely customizable environments that excel in all of these areas.

- Serious Games are applications of interactive technology that extend far beyond the traditional videogame market, including: training, military exploration, analytics, visualization, simulation, education, health and therapy.

Electronic games that have entertainment only as an incidental objective. Usually refers to software and hardware solutions that utilize game design principles in order to motivate the user towards a productive real life activity.

A game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment.

A game-based environment where the primary intention is not the entertainment of the player, but the attainment of some other objective which may be related to investigation or players’ progress towards an objective of some real-world importance.

The idea of using games or game technologies for “serious”, e.g., educational purposes is as old as the idea of “learning games”, but is not limited to those forms. As opposed to games designed for entertainment, serious games can be defined as computer games aiming towards an underlying second “off-game” goal that differs from in-game goals such as finishing a level or gaining high scores. Beyond the surface of gaming actions—or embedded into those—, serious games try to evoke learning processes or even complex experiences (e.g., through taking the perspective of political refugees, trying to bring them out of a danger zone). Computer game art can be seen as a related form of serious games, aiming, for example, towards open aesthetical experiences rather than following didactic concepts and defined learning goals.

Are games designed for a primary purpose other than entertainment. They involve the use of electronic games technologies and methodologies and are meant to take on real-world problems. Entertainment and fun are usually used in such games to achieve the desired progress and/or learning by the player.

Games in which education is the primary goal, rather than entertainment (Michael & Chen, 2006).

Games designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The adjective “serious” refers to the products used in industry, education, scientific research, medicine, architecture, engineering, politics, etc.

A game designed for any purpose rather than entertainment.

Are simulations or virtual environments which are designed and processed for problem solving (e.g., military, flight, education, health and driving simulations).

Games designed for a primary goal different from pure entertainment, may be produced by the video game industry, with connection to the acquisition of knowledge.

A genre of digital games that have been designed specifically for the purpose of learning and teaching has arisen and such games are oftentimes referred to as ‘serious’ games. Serious games combine learning strategies, knowledge and structures, and game elements to teach specific skills, knowledge and attitudes important in a particular discipline.

Games which are considered “serious”, which can include both physical as well as digital games, of which the purpose is to educate and train rather than merely to entertain.

Games that engage the user and contribute to the achievement of a defined purpose other than pure entertainment (irrespective of if the user is consciously aware of this).

A game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The ‘serious’ adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics.

Games that are not designed simply for entertainment or fun, but also for teaching, assessing, and modifying behaviors.

Related terms are game-based learning, edutainment, and eduventures.The “Indiana Jones” dilemma: popular media such as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider have popularized archaeology, but they are actually violent action films and do not promote careful and deferential approaches to archaeological relics and heritage sites. This raises a dilemma: how should archaeology best make use of this popularization while distancing themselves from the vandalism, sensationalism, violence, and shoddy scholarship?

Games used for training, advertising, simulation, or education that are designed to run on personal computers or video game consoles. These games are not only entertaining, but have some kind of learning value associated with them.

Serious games are defined as not having entertainment, enjoyment or fun as their primary purpose.

Games used for purposes other than mere entertainment.

Games that have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purposes and are not intended to be played primarily for amusement. However, this does not mean that serious games are not, or should not be, entertaining.

Games designed for a primary purpose other than entertainment.

Games designed for purposes other than fun and entertainment, with a specific aim to educate.

Games designed with a primary focus on education, training, or other serious purposes, while still incorporating game-like elements.

An initiative whereby video games are targeted outside of entertainment to include education, training, health, and public policy ( Serious Games Initiative, n.d. ).

Are games designed especially for clinical populations, and they promote comprehensive and professional therapeutic models as game therapies.

Games designed with a primary purpose other than pure entertainment, often used for educational, training, or awareness-raising purposes.

A game designed for any purpose rather than entertainment. Serious games are considered useful to those who wish to use simulation for training and education e.g., flight simulations. They also make use of games engines, a good platform for development and play.

Games where the primary objective is not the entertainment, but rather with the aim of creating important challenges for rehabilitation.

Games that are directly developed for the purpose of enhancing some aspect of educational, political, social, or workplace interaction. Serious games can serve to deepen the players’ understandings of some dimensions of the human experience, often providing the capability to experiment with and explore in depth different aspects of social and interpersonal interaction.

Games with another purposes besides entertainment, that can be used to promote learning or behavioral changes.

Games developed for purposes other than mere entertainment.

Are interactive and educational games designed for specific groups of individuals, for example, people with dementia, and aim to cognitively rehabilitate, train and stimulate the brain, improve behaviour, mood and social ability.

Games that are used in the school context for educational purposes.

Serious games refer to games that are used in industries like; education, health care, engineering, urban planning, politics and defense, among other areas. Such games are usually designed for training purpose other than pure entertainment.

A physical and mental contest, played with digital tools involving story, art and software, where goals go beyond fun. They serve to teach, train, inform, memorize, develop skills and all aspects of education.

An umbrella term referring to any game developed for a non-entertainment based purpose.

Specially designed digital (computer or internet-based) games which are used in educational, training, etc. settings.

Games played for educational reasons rather than entertainment ( Michael & Chen, 2006 ).

Games designed with a specific purpose beyond entertainment, often for educational, therapeutic, or specific population-based objectives.

Complete games-based experiences that aim at providing users with training and practice in simulated real-world situations and with the use of real-world objects.

Games that are developed using video game technologies for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment.

Games that are developed for a purpose beyond entertainment, such as training or education.

Games used for serious training or analysis as opposed to entertainment.

Games that serve a purpose beyond just entertainment, such as education or training.

Serious games are games designed with an educational purpose rather than for entertainment purposes.

Games that are designed with a specific learning objective in mind.

Games created with an objective different from pure entertainment.

Serious games are games in which their primary goal is to study or practice a skill rather than to have fun.

Games that are directly developed for the purpose of enhancing some aspect of educational, political, social, or workplace interaction. Serious games can serve to deepen the players’ understandings of some dimensions of the human experience, often providing the capability to experiment with and explore in depth different aspects of social and interpersonal interaction.

An initiative whereby video games are targeted outside of entertainment to include education, training, health, and public policy (Serious Games Initiative, 2006).

Computer games designed for a purpose beyond pure entertainment. They use the motivation levers of game design and game media to enhance the motivation of participants to engage in complex or boring tasks. Serious games are therefore used in a variety of professional situations such as education, training, and assessment.

Digital interactive applications with a primary purpose beyond mere entertainment. These games are designed to educate, train, or influence behavior by combining engaging gameplay with educational or training objectives.

Commercial and non commercial games and digital applications which utilise game design principles for educational and instructional purposes.

Full-fledged games that are used for a main purpose other than entertainment, such as educational learning or behaviour change.

Also known as “simulations”, they are edutainment applications that deploy interactive, 3D game technology to provide content that simulates real world scenarios and produces learning outcomes. Serious games allow learners to experience situations that are impossible in the real world for reasons of safety, cost, and time (physician surgical techniques and airline pilot maneuvers).

Games whose goal is not leisure.

Games which the main purpose is not the entertainment, but instead, promote learning and behavior changes in various areas, such business, industry, marketing, education and healthcare; they are designed to solve problems in several areas and involve challenges and rewards, using the entertainment and engagement components provided when user is playing games.

Serious games created for the purpose of non-entertainment, although they may be included.

Games that integrate gaming elements with learning or training objectives. The name also refers to a movement of researchers and developers who are working towards developing games specifically aimed at educational audiences.

A game that has a primary purpose other than entertainment, such as education.