Success stories compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults education

P4I - Playing for Interculturality
Ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP
Version 1 – reduced (2012)
INVESLAN (Coord.)
SUCCESS STORIES – COMPILATION
OF GAME-BASED LEARNING
INITIATIVES IN ADULTS’ EDUCATION

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the
views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of
the information contained thereinThis project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for
any use which may be made of the information contained therein
SUCCESS STORIES – COMPILATION OF GAME-BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES IN ADULTS’ EDUCATION
Work Package 2
ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME-BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES
DELIVERABLE 3
SUCCESS STORIES – COMPILATION OF GAME-BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES IN ADULTS’ EDUCATION
P4I - PLAYING FOR INTERCULTURALITY.
Ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES- GRUNDTVIG-GMP
www.p4i-project.eu
p4i@inveslan.com
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This
publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.......................................................................................................3
GLOSARY – KEY DEFINITIONS............................................................................................6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................9
GREEK ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES ............... 11
ITALIAN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES.............. 26
PORTUGUESE ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES.... 45
ROMANIAN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES ...... 66
SPANISH ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES ............ 82
UK ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES .................... 109
US ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES..................... 125
GOOD PRACTICES – SUCCESS STORIES ..................................................................... 148

“Success stories – compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults’ education”
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
P4I - Play for Interculturality is a Grundtvig Multilateral project, funded by the European
Commission, ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP. The project has been approved in
2011 and will be implemented within the 2 years.
While the latest tendencies point at a rather low level of adult population participation in lifelong
learning initiatives, despite the increasing efforts in promotions and diversity of programmes, the
project partners believe that the use of social games can positively influence the access of
European adults to lifelong learning experiences, increasing the access rates, offering innovative
and attractive means to develop key competences.
P4I – Play for Interculturality seeks to take step forward and create an innovative social game
that promotes apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating
them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and
media literacy in parallel.
The present report has been developed within the framework of work package 2 “Analysis on
the use of game-based learning initiatives”, which aims at analysing the pedagogical potential
of games (with a special focus on social games) applied to competences development,
identifying those variables that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning
initiatives, as well as gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international
levels that could be used as inspirational experiences for adults training practitioners. The
implementation of the work package has been coordinated by INVESLAN (ES).
As follows, the report introduces different national realities concerning the game based learning
initiatives: Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, UK, and US national reports will be
presented respectfully. The last section of the report presents a collection of 28 good practices –
success stories that were extracted from the national reports.
More information about the project: www.p4i-project.eu

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
4
It has to be added that all the national reports have been elaborated according to the
“Guidelines and working methodology for carrying out the analysis” that have been defined by
INVESLAN (ES). All the data and findings have been collected according the mix – based
methodology: a combination of desk research and qualitative research methods have been
applied.
In order to explore in detail the pedagogical potential of game based learning, as well as the
barriers to uptake of games in learning practices and skills supported by game based learning
approaches, a combination of 2 qualitative methods have been chosen: expert interviews and
group discussions with practitioners. The combination of the two chosen methods allowed us
investigate the game based initiatives from two different perspectives. Each partner has been
asked to involve minimum 6 experts on the use of innovative teaching and training
methodologies (especially those linked to games and video games), from different educational
sectors.
On the other hand, as far as group discussion, is concerned, it was organized in semi – structured
form, with the direct target group - adult training practitioners as a second method that
allowed us to explore the game based initiatives. Group discussion as a technique provided us
with significant insights from the adult training practitioners’ perspective and at the same time,
brought some added–value for the validation of the expert interview results. The participants of
the focus groups had been asked to test two games:
1. Facebook sample of story generation: http://apps.beeherd.gr/p4i-stories/
2. Irish example (3D game sample): http://neelb.arcaneindustries.co.uk/
As well as to fill in the SELF-CHECK INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
GLOSSARY – KEY DEFINITIONS

GLOSSARY
6
GLOSARY – KEY DEFINITIONS
Social game-based learning is an informal tool that allows the acquisition of competences in a
recreational environment. We move from “learning by doing” for the “learning by playing”,
where interpersonal learning is involved, while a social game can only be played by exchanging
information, knowledge and items with other players.
Social gaming commonly refers to playing games as a way of social interaction, as opposed to
playing games in solicitude.
We may refer to:
Educational games (Related or synonymous terms: Computer games; video games; serious
games; game-based learning; instructional games): Games in general can be defined in
surprisingly numerous ways, often changing the way games are used and perceived
(Wittgenstein, 1958). Games as a series of choices or as rule based play are popular definitions.
For the purposes of this report educational games for learning are defined as: applications using
the characteristics of video and computer games to create engaging and immersive learning
experiences for delivering specified learning goals, outcomes and experiences.
Serious games (Related or synonymous terms: Educational games; video games; game-based
learning; instructional games; sim games etc.): Michael and Chen (2006) give the following
definition: ‘A serious game is a game in which education (in its various forms) is the primary goal,
rather than entertainment’. It is worth noting that Huizinga defined games as a free activity
standing quite consciously outside ‘ordinary life’, as being ‘not serious’ (1980), following this
definition games cannot be serious. Callois similarly defined games as voluntary and therefore

GLOSSARY
7
also conflicts with the notion of serious games (1961: 10-11). This gives a good indication of the
kinds of contradictions found in comparisons of the available literature1.
Key competences: As established in “Key competences for lifelong learning: European
Reference Framework”, annex of a Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning that was published in
the Official Journal of the European Union on 30 December 2006/L394:
“Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfilment and
development, active citizenship, social inclusion and employment. The key competences are all
considered equally important, because each of them can contribute to a successful life in a
knowledge society” (Ibid., p.3).
1 Definitions of Educational games and Serious games are taken from: JICS, “Learning in immersive worlds:
a review of game based learning”, Prepared for the JISC e-Learning Programme by Sara de Freitas, 2006:
p.10

GLOSSARY
8
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
9
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This final report “Success stories – compilation of game-based learning initiatives in adults’
education” and its appendices contains the main conclusions of national and international
research on the design and implementation of game-based learning initiatives in adult
education and were developed within the framework of the Playing for Interculturality (P4I)
Project (Ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP), Work Package 2, “Analysis on the use of
game-based learning initiatives.” It aims at analysing the pedagogical potential of games
(especially social games) applied to competences development, identifying those variables
that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning initiatives, as well as
gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international levels to be used as
inspirations for adults training practitioners. The methodologies employed were to search for
relevant information, hold focus groups of members of the target group, and interviews with
specialists in the target group members.
In each of the countries studied (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Romania, the UK and the US) the
use of game-based learning is a rapidly growing trend that is pervading different areas of
knowledge. It has gained considerable traction and we can observe a significant qualitative
change, nevertheless there is still prevailing gap in usage, in part due to negative stereotypes of
gamers, limited expertise in ICT and in games among trainers, and a shortage of good
educational games. While there is often a lack of pedagogical design behind current social
games, the profile of social game players and gamers is increasingly broad, covering a wide
demographic across gender, age and social status that offers an opportunity for game-based
learning. Assuming the target audience to be adults, there is significant growth in their use of
social media such as Facebook and of social games at this time. The gap between access and
participation has closed significantly so that the platform on which the game would be made
available is critical to determining who would likely use it and whom else they might recruit to
participate. What drives such players to play are the desire to meet new people, to cooperate,
to try new games, find new forms of self-expression, to relieve stress, widen networks, experiment
with new identities, and the desire to compete and challenge the others. Players tend to feel
secure, respected, esteemed, empowered, in charge; they are likely to make an investment in
it.
A wide range of intercultural competences surfaced in the research on effective games. Those
that seemed most appropriate as learning objectives for a social game for adults were self-

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
10
awareness of prejudices and stereotypes, the diversity of communication styles, suspending
judgment and empathy. In addition, successfully engaging players will likely promote a number
of related competences, including digital competences, collaboration, lateral and strategic
thinking, and new forms of literacy, including problem solving, analysis and creative
reconstruction of content, multitasking, critical judgment, trans-media navigation, and social
interactions and negotiation.
The pedagogical potential of social games to achieve these objectives and promote these
competences derives from immersive and interactive engagement; self-paced, non-linear and
branching activities with multiple outcomes; collaboration and competition; contextual learning
that can simulate real life situations, such as solving problems socially; integrated precise
performance measurement and feedback. Fun and engaging games capture curiosity and
encourage players to work and play together for their mutual growth and success.
The successful implementation of a game-based learning initiative depends on a number of
variables, not all of which are under the control of the creators. Online gamers often suffer from
slow internet connections, glitches in the platform functioning, technical literacy, even finding
friends and foes with whom to play. Since the most important variable is engagement, that the
player suspends disbelief and becomes immersed in the activities of the game which, if well
designed, result in the change in attitude and behaviour that is sought the game design,
development and deployment needs to avoid as many obstacles to this engagement as
possible.
A wide range of success examples surfaced in the search and conversations. Each of the
national reports lists a select few that should be played for inspiration. From wildly popular
commercial games such as The Sims and Farmville, to effective transformational games such as
Darfur is Dying, Peacemaker, Global Conflicts – Palestine, and PING (Poverty is Not a Game), all
share designs that bring players back, encourage them to involve others, and promote
envisioning the real world in a different way. From them designers should learn to define very
specifically what they want to achieve, provide for a variety of contexts for play (including
traditional classrooms), and find both a compelling story and engaging activities to advance it.
Taken together, the national reports are a rich collection of experience and intelligence that
should be re-visited regularly in any design, development, and deployment process involving
games to promote adult competences.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
11
GREEK ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
GAME – BASED LEARNING INITIATIVES
Prepared by: SQLearn

NATIONAL REPORTS: GREEK NATIONAL REPORT
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GREEK NATIONAL REPORT
INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The survey was conducted during the elaboration of work package 2 related to the analysis of
the use of game-based learning initiatives in the partner countries. This report refers to the Greek
desktop survey conducted during the months March and April 2012.
The methodology used was to investigate on the internet for the relative information, to hold a
focus group with members of the target group and conduct interviews with specialised target
group members.
The main findings of the desktop research will be elaborated here. Attached one can find the
focus group report which was held on the 19th April 2012, in Athens, Greece. Furthermore, the
results from the interview will be a separate attachment to this report.
Methodology followed and experts contacted
The methodology followed is as stated in the WP2 guidelines, namely to begin the investigation
into the use of game-based initiatives with desktop research and analysis of results. The desktop
research lasted for approximately 2 weeks and all results were collected in order to be analysed.
Several types of sources were investigated such as websites, blogs, newspaper articles, white
papers and reports originating from European funded projects. The primary part of the research
returned a large volume of results which needed filtering and thorough overview.
The second part of the methodology was to conduct, in parallel interviews with experts in social
games (designers, developers, gamers, trainers using them etc.) but also to conduct a focus
group with practitioners (trainers) using social / serious games. We held the focus group on the
19th April 2012, with 12 participants coming both from the trainer’s community teaching
intercultural skills and competencies but also social/serious game experts (professors)
researching how games are used in education.

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During the focus group (separate report has been created), the interview questions were posed
and discussed. This report will provide a summary of the discussion. The focus group had the
following structure:
a) Presentation of the P4i project,
b) Presentation by social game expert on the use of social / serious games in education,
c) Presentation by intercultural trainer on skills and competencies of an intercultural trainer
for adult education,
d) Experiential games about intercultural skills and competencies,
e) Discussion and presentation on the 3D game and story generator,
f) Answering questionnaires / interview questions.
The experts invited to participate in the focus group are listed under the heading Participant
Matrix. The experts we discussed with during the interview stage were the following:
1. Mrs Maria Saridaki (trainer and researcher in social games),
2. Dr Eri Giannaka (researcher and professor at a HEI),
3. Dr Panagiotis Zaharias (researcher and professor at Cyprus Open University),
4. Dr Dimitris Gouscos (professor at Athens University teaching an MA course in how social
games can be used in education,
5. Mrs Viki Zouka (Trainer of Greek language to foreigners at University of Athens and social
game blogger),
6. Mr Andreas Derdemetzis founder of CowboyTV and game developer,
7. Mr. Argyris Stasinakis, chairman of WOW Group and designer/developer of the Knowledge
Game,
8. Mr Marios Bikos IEEE chapter of University of Patras and promoter of gaming in HEI settings.
Moreover, another activity conducted related to the research stage, was a second type of
focus group held with Master students of the Athens Kapodistrian University where the P4i project
was presented and the interview questions discussed.
Finally, the last activity conducted in order to finalise this report was to attend the 1st Gaming
Forum held in Athens, Greece on the 27th and 28th March 2012, where noted speakers of the
gaming and educational community held presentations, introduced games, held game
competitions etc.
The report will elaborate further on the findings from the above conducted activities.

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GREEK MAIN FINDINGS
An extensive research was conducted in Greece in order to investigate the game based
learning initiative in Greece.
The report is divided into the following sections:
Social games based learning initiatives
The majority of games used in an educational setting, identified during our research phase
pointed to serious games and not social games. Serious and educational games are used
extensively for educational purposes and range from primary to tertiary education promoting
cognitive skills and knowledge to more advanced, behaviour and personal values, change.
Primary education: serious games have been developed and had their educational value
acknowledged by the Ministry of Education for teaching young people. One such game is the
“Magic Filter/Potion”.
Other initiatives come from the private and public sector where the game objective range from
planning a city (like the game Aspis) addressing professional architects, planners , citizens but
also for introducing planning in school and university curricula. Private companies have started
in the last years to promote a social character to their games, namely creating a version for
Facebook. These social games have not been fully immersed into education yet, and are mostly
used for promotional and marketing purposes. There are games that are used as supplementary
educational material and they are:
a) “Informatist” for teaching management skills,
b) “Electrocity” for environmental issues where Young students manage their own cities,
c) “Gazillionaire” used in colleges for teaching business, maths and economics,
d) “Magi and the sleeping star”,
e) “Global warming interactive” teaching how global warming influence.
Finally, a conclusion can be that social games do not necessarily teach specific school topics
such as geography or psychology but make an effort to extend and support the thought
process by surpassing the stigma that whatever is of educational nature is also boring.

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The profile of social games player
From our interviews and research we received two types of information:
Research community:
a) 83% of Facebook users use it for online gaming,
b) More women than men play online,
c) Users wish to utilise their smart phones, the web and WEB2.0 tools and find a solutions to
access lifelong training material from there,
d) 97% of younger generations play computer and video games,
e) New devices facilitate gaming.
Educators’ community (adult training practitioners):
Social games are not widely used for training purposes since the actual trainers themselves, did
not use them during their training. Their description of the social gamer is that they are younger
people playing computer and video games.
Gamer community (game developers):
From the interview question posed to them, they have not made any specific analysis of the
gamer profile for their game design. They know the information from the gamers profile and from
the gaming competitions that are being conducted globally. They are aware that gamers
come from diverse backgrounds, geographical locations and age groups and that the average
age of a global gamer is 37 years.
Analytics are very important so that education is integrated with game design.
Sample testing
The sample testing of the two games presented returned the following comments:
a) Both games are very easy to use,
b) Interaction is medium to very much although not so engaging (story generator),
c) 3D game gave only the first person experience and asking questions between the game
make the user lose their game immersion,
d) Story generator needs more interaction.

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Analysis of pedagogical potential of the use of games (with a focus of social games) for adult
learning
Social games and serious games in an educative setting are still not widely use and we believe
that their potential is not fully utilised. Moreover, we found out that there is a lack of
pedagogical design behind the social games we have identified and they are used for
information awareness campaigns, promotion campaigns and gaming.
The new generation of trainees and pupils are ready for games in education but research
depicts that their teachers and trainers are not. We do not prepare our children for the
necessary change but for the world that we know and not the world they will get to know! This is
a major drawback and the research community is trying to change it, hence the organisation of
the 1st Gaming Forum 2012 aimed at discussing trends in game design and its application in
entertainment, education and marketing.
Another factor that might influence the Greek community and trainees to play more games and
become more efficient is the high unemployment rate among youth reaching 36.1% (Jan 2012
figure) forcing hence, the trainers community to increase their use (games) in education.
Identification of success elements of social games for education
The success elements or characteristics of what makes a social game useful for educational
purposes relate always to the pedagogical design and analysis of the target group for which it is
targeting.
According to Mr. Jacob Nielsen, member of the British Council in Copenhagen, Denmark, there
are certain steps one must follow in order to ensure a game as an efficient educational tool.
These are:
a) Prepare the game properly and allow time following the game end, to follow up with the
trainees.
b) Ensure that there is diversity in the teams that play the game, this diversity will bring
diverse experience and allow for enhanced exchange of know-how.
c) Bring in external advisors / experts to build strong case studies.
d) Ensure that there is real-world testing – this element is very important because the
trainees will see how real people react to their decisions. They game they designed was
about planning a city.
e) The fun factor is key.

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f) Have small prizes to act as motivator.
Other elements surfaced during our research were:
a) Careful interaction activities need to be designed allowing for individual as well as social
interaction.
b) Link learning objectives to gaming content.
c) Assessment and its structure / position in the game is very important as not to distract the
trainee from the game.
d) Ensuring that the trainees understand that this is part of the educational activity.
Learning identification and evaluation
If proper educational objectives have been set learning can be identified in the game.
Evaluation needs to be carefully positioned in order not to distract the user from the game.
Perhaps, evaluation can take place when ending the game and not within the actual game.
However, this always depends on the skills, knowledge or behaviour you wish to enhance.
Barriers to uptake of games in learning practice
The Greek research, trainers and game developers community agreed that one major barrier is
the mentality towards gaming in Greece. Gaming has a negative connotation which is different
to the rest of the world.
Another barrier of using games in the learning practice is the fact that the necessary
background is lacking by the actual trainers and it is not in their mentality. One example from a
school teacher: children on a school trip should experience nature (identify tree leaves) with
their hands and where not allowed to take pictures on their mobile phones and share with their
friends.
Other barriers are the lack of ICT infrastructure in schools and state universities. There is a contrast
between private training providers who usually have state-of-the-art equipment in their
classrooms and experiment with new technologies in training delivery.
The main conclusion is that serious and social games need to be introduced from a central
perspective into the national curricula.

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Skills supported by game-based learning approaches
Skills supported can be the following:
a) ICT basic skills since users learn how to use the Internet, a computer, social media.
b) Netiquette skills for online and group communication.
c) Critical thinking competencies since their actions/decisions influence the outcome of the
game.
d) Organising group activities and work as part of a group.
e) Share information and knowledge and also learn to learn (informally).
f) Role-playing skills.
g) Negotiation skills.
h) Communication skills.
Summary for the self-check intercultural sensitivity questionnaire
The main focus group was held on the 19th April where 13 people attended. At the end of the
focus group, a questionnaire was distributed among them related to the knowledge and skills of
the group on intercultural sensitivity issues. The results gathered are the following:
a) Q: History: the majority (more than 50%) stated that particular knowledge in history was
not necessary in order for them to conduct their work. Only 1 reply was given related to
this which thought that history knowledge facilitated their work,
b) Q: Social sciences: the majority (60%) answered that it is quite useful to have social
sciences background in order to teach a group in intercultural skills and competencies,
c) Q: Geography: the answers to this question were divided where 50% thought that
knowledge (and interest) in such an area is not so important, the other 50% though
differently. The conclusion is that it depends on the group of trainees each trainer has,
d) Q: Native language: 50% thought that good knowledge in the native language is
essential for trainers while the other 50% thought it as not so important,
e) Q: Language and society: the same replies as native language,
f) Q: Non-verbal language: although this was a good question for discussion and of
interest, the trainers agreed (60%) that it not so important to have such knowledge in
these topics,

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g) Q: Mathematics: the most important part was the ability of problem-solving, although
answers were divided. i.e. the majority 70% answered that they were neutral to
knowledge and importance,
h) Q: Relation human vs. Nature: the majority 50%, thought that this is of very low
importance and not specific knowledge is needed for their work,
i) Q: ICT: almost all agreed that this is of high importance and their knowledge should be
very high in this area,
j) Q: Level of use of ICT tools as a game: 80% answered that they use ICT tools as games,
k) Q: Use of ICT in education: again almost all use ICT tools for educational purpose (learn),
l) Q: Satisfaction with the research method: (was slightly changed by us to read: how
satisfied are in you the research that is being conducted in Greece related to the use of
ICT / games in education): the answers were: 40% satisfied, 30% not so satisfied, 30% not
satisfied at all.

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RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
The recommendations and conclusions reached following the two focus groups conducted are
the following: (they are being separated according to field)
For the intercultural trainer – skills and competences
• How can an intercultural trainer prepare for teaching such groups of trainees? Best is if
they have undergone experiential training so that they are aware of their own abilities, skills /
competences in the area.
• Is special knowledge required (i.e. history, geography etc) for the trainer to conduct their
work better? No, these are issues they should focus on before the training.
• Culture is of outmost importance i.e. using ICT should be a habit and a training tool for
the trainers already in their education.
• Trainers should be aware of their stereotypes and prejudices.
• How can a trainer remain neutral? By experiential experiences and training they realise
their potential, skills and way of teaching. Moreover, they learn to prepare their lesson plans
better.
For the use of social / serious games in education
• Veteran game users à get involved easier in an educational process where games are
involved.
• The Greek education / trainer community is not fully ready to use social games in adult
education.
• There are a growing community of Greek game developers.
• Controlled vs. free learning environment. Which is best suited for our target group?
Classroom vs. game
• When should we include interaction in the game? In order not to interfere with the game
immersion – interaction should be carefully planned.
• Shock experience in game – can be a useful method.

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• User interaction - careful planning on how interaction between users should be designed.
• Perhaps we can design based on gender in order to motivate users (scenarios).
• What peripheral advantages can be drawn from the game i.e. learn ICT, learn history,
learn about geography etc.
Greek results:
• Low ICT experience among trainers and educators.
• There are many differences between other EU countries and Greece – in particular how
and when they use ICT in education.
• There are big differences between the different age groups.
• Formal education is still more important and sought after than informal education /
training.
• When changes come from central government / i.e. initiatives and schemes, they are
better and more quickly integrated within the educational system.

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REFERENCES:
[1] Anagnostou K. Serious Games or simple games in Education?, accessed March 2012,
from http://thinkinggamer.wordpress.com/2010/ 01/28/serious-games-or-games/
[2] Blog Kiosterakis.gr Serious Games accessed April 2012, from
http://www.kiosterakis.gr/new/epikairothta/education/549-serious-games
[3] Derdemetzis A. presentation from the 1st Gaming Forum Athens, “Gaming is not a
Crime” Greece, 27th March 2012
[4] Gounari M. When serious games are introduced in education accessed April 2012, from
http://www.gameover.gr/Serious-Games.17821.html?article_page=1
[5] Initial Vocational Training Centre AKMI, accessed March 2012 from http://www.iek-
akmi.gr/paroxes/ekpaideytika-proterimata
[6] Karalis T, & Raikou N, Greek national report of EU Project Development of Innovative
Methods of training the trainers, Athens, Greece 2010
[7] Klopfer E., Osterweil S., Salen K. Moving learning games forward, MIT 2009
[8] Meimaris M. & Gouscos D., Minutes from the conference ECGBL 2011 (European
Conference on Game Based Learning) organised on the 20-21st October 2011, by University of
Athens
[9] Mourlas K. et all, Serious Games Showcase and Best Practices 2011, accessed April 2012
from http://old.media.uoa.gr/sgsbest2011/
[10] Mouzakis Ch. Training Adults – Using The New Technologies in Training Adults,
Athens, Greece 2006
[11] Nielsen J. British Council, presentation from 1st Gaming Forum Athens, “Future City
Game / Social Game as an educational tool”, Greece 27th March 2012
[12] Papanis E., Greek Social Research blog, Educational, Psychological and Sociological
Research, accessed March 2012 from http://penthileus.blogspot.com /
http://epapanis.blogspot.com/2011/02/e.html

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[13] Papastamos V. et all A proposition: Using electronic games (serious games) in
teaching History in secondary education, accessed March 2012 from
http://blogs.sch.gr/billbas/
[14] Pappa A, Video games in the classroom, Alibreto, accessed March 2012 from
http://alibreto.gr
[15] Pappas J. Dr, Who plays serious games – LUDUS Project, Conference 22 Feb 2010,
Ioannina, Greece

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ANNEX: Participant Matrix
Greek focus group held on the 19/4/2012 in Athens, Greece
Name and surname Age Gender Occupation Education
Social games player (games
played)
Mrs Maria Psaraki 25-35 F Trainer Tertiary No
Mrs Christina Karra 25-35 F
Instructional
designer Tertiary
Farmville, Restaurant,
Cafeworld, Amnesty game,
Empire, Smurfs, Knowledge
games, Greek games,
Treasure Island, Jems, online
quiz/ contests.
Mr Giorgos Simopoulos 36-45 M Trainer Tertiary No games
Mrs Biki Zouka 25-35 F Trainer Tertiary
Role playing games: Mass
Effect, Eve, World of Warcraft,
Diablo
Mrs Christina
Kanellopoulou 25-35 F
Instructional
designer Tertiary
BakeryStory, CityStory,
Farmville, BrainChallenge,
Smurfs
Mrs Eri Giannaka 25-35 F Researcher Tertiary
Who has the biggest brain
(playfish through Facebook)
Word Challenge (playfish
through Facebook)
Geo Challenge (playfish
through Facebook)
Mrs Maria Saridaki 25-35 F Trainer Tertiary
Mr Dimitris Mylonas 25-35 M Researcher Tertiary Farmville
Mrs Maria Lianou 25-35 F
Junior
Instructional
designer Secondary Sims, angry birds
Mrs Lia Tsiatsouli 25-35 F
Junior
Instructional
designer Tertiary
Mr Antonis Friggas M 25-35
Developer
social
games Doctoral 8ballBull, Sims, Angry Birds
Mrs Sofia Tsiortou F 36-45
Instructional
designer Tertiary
Angry Birds, SecondLife,
Backgammon
Mr Panagiotis Zaharias M 36-45
Professor /
researcher Tertiary EveOnline

25
2nd seminar / focus group held on the 24/4/2012 in Athens, Greece (University of Athens, MA
course)
Mrs Asteria Marantou 25-35 F Teacher Tertiary
Mrs Anastasia Kaltsoula 25-35 F Teacher Tertiary
Mrs Evjenia
Siampanopoulou 25-35 F Teacher
Tertiary
Mrs Menia Mavraki 25-35 F Teacher Tertiary
Mrs Antonia Seresly 25-35 F Teacher Tertiary
Mrs Katerina Fragkiskou 25-35 F Teacher Tertiary
Dr. Dimitris Gouscos 36-45 M Professor Tertiary

26
ITALIAN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: CNIPA PUGLIA

NATIONAL REPORTS: ITALIAN NATIONAL REPORT
27
ITALIAN NATIONAL REPORT
DESK RESEARCH
“What should we call these “new” students of today? Some refer to them as the N- [for Net]-
generation or D-[for digital] - generation. But the most useful designation I have found for them is
Digital Natives. Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of
computers, video games and the Internet.”
The “digital natives”, that means the young generations of boys and girls that, since 1990, were
born and grown up with Internet “love to play more than older generations”. Most of them had
access to games and virtual worlds all lifelong and so they take for granted the high
involvement and the active participation. They know what an extreme, positive activation
means and when they don’t experience it, they feel bored and frustrated. They don’t have any
reason to feel like that: it’s much more difficult to work well in less motivated environments with a
low feedback and few challenges when you grow up playing sophisticated games”.
When we study educational paths addressed to young people today we have to take into
consideration that they are the first generation of students that have been constantly in touch
with new information technology and communication tools: mobile phones, DVD players,
laptops, desktops and videogames are part of their lives since their births and are integrating
part of their everyday life. “Engage Me or Enrage Me”, this is the slogan of new generation.
This kind of debate is concerning the trainers of the 21st century, showing a greater and greater
interest towards the so-called “serious game” and they consider also the fact to show its
efficiency to the people who weren’t born in the digital era too and that were approaching the
digital world during the years, in different stages of their lives, being fascinated by this world. This
last kind of people is called, always by M. Prensky, Digital Immigrants.
“Today’s serious game is serious business” this is how Sawyer , well-known expert of this topic, that
has the quality of making the word serious game famous, explains that the first word “serious” is
referred to the aim of the game and the reason why it has been created, that is why he refers to
serious videogames as “information applications realized by researchers and industrials with the

28
aim of using those videogames and technologies for objectives that go beyond the simple
entertainment".
The serious game is used with many different purposes and to explain or simulate any situation
and topic, the fields that use this tool include from the medical ones to the military ones,
enterprises, politics, religion, and ethics and so on. For instance, the videogames used at school
with a didactic aim, reveal themselves as an efficient mean to explain to young people and
children topics that could have been too complex if covered in a different way.
Furthermore, always regarding the didactics, the serious game seems to be in line with the
digital language the young use nowadays and are perfect interpreters.
Michael and Chen, two experts in educational videogames, seem to agree with this kind of
observations about the serious games. In their book “Serious Games: Games that Educate,
Train and Inform” they describe videogames as: “ …a voluntary activity, obviously separate
from real life, creating an imaginary world that may or may not have any relation to real life
and that absorb the player’s full attention. Games are played out within a specific time and
place, are played according to established rules, and create social groups out of their players.”
So the primary objective of serious game is to teach something and do it in a pleasant and
enjoyable way.
The expression serious game became popular after the birth of the Serious Game Initiative in
2002, an association that dealt only with the research and development about serious
videogames. Thanks to the growth of this association, the term serious videogame was included
in common language and had the visibility it deserved, considering we are talking about a
market of millions dollar. In the website dedicated to the initiative, the association explains what
are its aims through its studies that are significant to understand the real extent of this:
“Serious Game Initiative is focused on the use of games to explore new challenges about
management and public sector. Part of its global features is to help creating a productive link
between electronic videogames and different projects that concern fields such as education,
health, training and public policy”.
The serious games represent only a part of the tools used for educational, learning and practical
purposes related to the use of computer. In fact, according to the aim they have we can talk e-
learning, edutainment, game-based learning and digital game-based learning.
The first concept, the one of e-learning, concerns the possibility to learn exploiting the Internet
and consequently the possibility to spread distance information.

29
E-learning is not limited to school education and university but it is used for company training
and organizations that have offices in different cities.
The Edutaiment is a form of entertainment with the aim of educating and enjoying. The purpose
is to socialize people in entertainment activities such as TV programmes, videogames, films and
websites. The term edutaiment is a neologism created by Bob Heyman. The expression was born
by the merging of two words: educational and entertainment. The term edutainment is also
used to refer to the sector of e-learning that tries to transfer key concepts in a funny way. This
method can also be used fruitfully to cover delicate issues such as ethics, diversity and sex
education.
As far as game-based learning, it is defines as a branch of serious games, that deals with the
results, concerning learning process, that are achieved using teaching games. The reasoning
that underlies the intuition to use game as a tool to learn is clearly expressed by the following
statement by Marc Prensky:
“There is no reason that a generation can memorize over 100 Pokemon characters with
all their characteristics, history and evolution can’t learn the names, population, capitals and
relationships of all the 101 nations in the world”.
The characteristics of GBL (game-based learning) are first of all to use competitive exercises
that stimulate the students to defy each other or against themselves in order to be motivated to
learn better, they often use elements of imagination that involve the players in learning activities
that follow the path of a story and furthermore, with the aim of creating a really instructive
game, the trainer has to be sure that learning the notions of the game are actually aimed at the
score and the win of the game itself.
Besides the fact that learning through a game is really attractive to young people, the GBLs, if
structured in a correct way, can motivate students to better know and encourage them to learn
from their mistakes.
The digital game-based learning (DGBL) are closely connected with the GBLs, the only
difference being that they refer only to games that are digital and therefore can be used only
with the support of a personal computer. The DGBLs are the most popular educational games
and the attention of studies is focusing on them, and it is not difficult to guess why, since it is not
strange to find children who can use technology better than an adult a computer.
The logic behind the processes of learning that we want to trigger with the use of serious game is
the one learning by doing. In recent years, this expression has become quite popular since it was
found to be in many respects, one of the best strategies to learn when it is not intended only as

30
a mean to memorize, but also to "understand". To understand and memorize, therefore, it seems
that the best strategy is to do it by practically experiencing, through work, through the actions
that are more stuck in memory. Since the objective, whatever the target we are addressing to, is
not mechanical actions or concepts randomly, to really understand we gave to activate
pathways that stimulate reflection and thought. The knowledge must be internalized; we must
reflect, think and be aware (learning by thinking).
The development of the serious games industry is becoming an object of interest and
investigation and this is also proved by the fact that in Europe there are many programs that
have it in Europe, one among all the LUDUS project.
Objective of the project LUDUS is the creation of a European network for the transfer of
knowledge and dissemination of good practices in the innovative field of serious games. In the
context of the project LUDUS, a part of the activities for promotion, transfer of knowledge and
creation of a network of experts, will take place in South East Europe. These activities aim to
promote training and skills development and the capacity of local firms and other actors
involved in the field of serious games. LUDUS activities include, among others, the analysis of the
state of the art of serious games, a survey on the availability and interest of the ICT companies in
the South East of Europe for the development of serious games, the organization of workshops,
conferences, training courses, competitions, open labs, creating an online database of experts
and other stakeholders, to build a website and a reference library, prepare promotional
activities and a guide of good practices.
The demographics show a constant increase of interest in the use of serious games. 31% of EU
citizens aged between 16 and 49 are active players and European players’ average age is 30
years. Statistics reveal that this type of game is now an essential part of everyday life for a
significant portion of the population, regardless of age, gender and social status, which can be
seen as an indicator of familiarity with this type of technology and at the same time, as
evidence of the importance of the game itself and, consequently, of serious games in general.
The study “Citizen As Partners Information Consultation and Public Participation in Policy Making”
by OECD (Organization for the Development of Cooperation and Development) has outlined
an important framework for participatory policies of EU members. The report emphasized the
need to strengthen the link between citizens and institutions, both national and European Union,
in particular, stressed the need to make citizens participate in decision-making, supporting the
traditional means of participation and consultation with the use of new ICT (Information and
Communication Technologies).

31
Projects such as E-VITA (project co-founded by the General Directorate of Education and
Culture of the European Commission within the Lifelong Learning Programme, Key Activity 3)
that integrate Game Based Learning with concepts of inter-generational learning or VoiceS ,
that has the aim of promoting the dialogue among European citizens and their regional
representatives of European parliament or local assemblies in order to build a mutual relation of
change and trust, confirm the importance, pertinence and functionality of serious games.
The “Videogamers in Europe 2010” study, realized by GameVision on behalf of the Interactive
Software Federation of Europe (ISFE), shows that in Italy, adults play less than those in EU
countries. Only 17% of adults are used to playing videogames. Italy is one of the EU countries
where the adult generation do not have a high rate of video-gamers.
Only 17% of people in Italy play videogames, while the European average is 25%. On the other
hand, 76% of players play online games, while the European average is 71%. According to the
statistics, 73% of people play free games and 22% play ‘pay per play games’. Italy shows the
highest proportion of playing games on a “pay to play” basis.
Italian players play mostly with games which are available on social networks and online, as
opposed to videogames. One out of five Italian players takes part in multiplayer online games.
The games which are most used are casual games such as puzzle, board, trivial and card
games (played by 55%).
According to the European average, Italian players play 59% for fun, 53% to relax and 39% to
pass time.
Particularly in Italy, there is a large rate of players; however they are not used to buying
videogames. This suggests that they have a low budget for gaming and there is a consequent
impact on the level of piracy.
Normally, artificial systems such as computers, robots and telecoms networks, collect information
about and interact with the environments they inhabit. This raises the question of how to build
artificial systems that adapt to their environment. The attempt to answer this question has
brought together researchers from a broad range of theoretical and technological disciplines.
Building an artefact that knows its environment requires on the one hand a Theory of
Knowledge, on the other a broad range of scientific and technical know-how. In other words, it
requires collaboration between psychologists, philosophers, biologists, engineers, computer
scientists, physicists and mathematicians. The collaboration between these researchers in these
different disciplines has already produced important theoretical and practical results. To further
promote this collaboration, the EU has created a Network of Excellence that brings together key

32
workers in the area. The staff of the NAC laboratory is part of this effort and it belongs to the
University of Naples Federico II. The focus of the lab's activity is to reproduce psychobiological
phenomena in artificial systems using Evolutionary Robotics and Artificial Life techniques. Several
of the key researchers come from the Laboratory for Adaptive Robotics and Artificial Life -
Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies National Research Council. They are involved
to extend this approach to create effective new technologies that support psychological
processes (learning, decision making, entertainment, etc.).
In according with learning process NAC Lab has developed many projects. One of these is the
pilot project LearnToLead, created to design, implement, and test a novel, online approach to
training in team leadership (see Good Practice section).
Moreover, related with the last tendencies, 2 young Italian developers are creating a different
platform of social game but all their project are recent and available in beta version. These
games are different because they pretend to make the users very active in the way of thinking,
cooperating and acting on the real life. The first game is called Edgeryders and has created by
an Italian developer Mr. Alberto Cottica (see Good Practice section), the second game is a
“social activity game“ called Piqueon, it has created by Mr. Daniele Portaluri. Both represent a
new way of gaming interaction.
NATIONAL RESEARCH
Following the guidelines of WP2, before the focus group, we selected the possible candidates,
and experts of serious and social game, to submit them the semi-structured face to face
interviews. The recruitment of experts was made through a research on Internet, followed by
Phone calls and mail Exchange to evaluate their competence related to the field covered.
From a list of 15 people we selected 6 experts and, during the month of April 2012, we submitted
them a semi-structured interview according to WP2. The interviews were carried on at home with
the interviewees, recorded with a digital recorder, and then listened to, analysed, protocoled
and filed.
The interviewees were:
1. Daniele Portaluri (Social game creator)
2. Carla Ruggeri (Journalist and researcher)
3. Livio Preite (Teacher and trainer)

33
4. Piero Petrelli (ITC developer)
5. Riccardo Rizzo (ITC teacher)
6. Francesco Baccaro (ITC developer/designer)
From the analysis of the answers, the results emerged were:
The last trends prove that we’re experiencing a greater and greater use of this kind of games,
above all for children. Learn enjoying it is easier and more motivating. The social game,
furthermore, trains to the confrontation, enables to involve a very high number of users, destroys
any architectural barrier. It’s becoming an easy and fast system. The most known social games
and most successful are, according to the interviewees: The Sims Social, available also on
Facebook, Cityville, Second Life, Foursquare, Peacemaker, Oilproject (with over 9000 students,
it’s the greatest school online in Italy), Piqueon, EdgeRyders, StreetMood, Learn to Lead and
Eutopia. Furthermore, the territorial potential of the application of serious game could be used
as a tool to promote every territory, the artistic and natural beauties, arts and crafts and the
typical features of the context of reference.
The experts have recommended the social games based learning initiatives below:
• Learn to Lead (pilot project);
• Oilproject;
• Edgeryders;
• Eutopia.
From the interviews carried out the typical adult player is between 30/40, interested in digital
technology, Internet and videogames (particularly console), curious and attentive to the news
in this field. The player tends to be diligent in the initial phase of approach and knowledge of the
game and becomes less and less fond of it, except if the system does not introduce such
innovations periodically to maintain a constant level of interest for the user. What pushes the
player to play is the desire to meet new people, try new games, the curiosity to test new
applications and the desire to compete and challenge the others.

34
Sample testing
All the interviewees have tested the game 3D NEELB2. Everybody expressed a positive
judgement about the use of 3D environments and interactive avatar for the purposes of the
project. At the same time they suggested to improve the game speed of interaction and
graphic elements.
learning
In this case the different backgrounds and professional experiences of participants emerged. In
fact, those engaged in teaching activities and formal education prefer the use of serious games
like Second Life or Oilproject, where they regularly organize social cultural and educational
events. The ones who do not work in schools, would rather participate in less formal
environments and creative ones such as Piqueon and Edgeryders, where users have to
complete less structured missions and the solutions are not unique but depend on the
participant's intelligence.
Participants highlighted that the major pedagogical advantage of using social games, the
ability to have a customized experience of the technological means (computer). Even
socializing is an important aspect of social games. It also allows you to break down any barrier,
both physical and social, since it interacts in a "non place", not necessarily a mirror of a real
context. Furthermore, the same advantages, when considered in absolute terms that means
constantly compared with the experiences of real life, could become disadvantages in terms of
release from everyday life, representing the biggest disadvantage. Another disadvantage is the
low possibility to control the content uploaded. As for the skills that can be supported by games
(social games), it was determined that there are no limits to that effect. As regards the
approach to learning, everyone agreed that there is an objective approach, but it must always
be measured and studied in relation to the peculiar characteristics of the target group to which
the social game is addressed.
The experts have recommended the pedagogical potential of the use of games below:
• language skills;
• communication skills;
• technical skills;

35
• opening-mind;
• keeping in touch with many users;
• implementation of knowledge;
• sharing and comparing experiences from real life to digital environment;
• learning process based on non-formal education;
• keeping information about several interests;
• involving the player in the decision making process;
• increasing social skills and self-empowerment.
The elements of success of social games for education, from the interviews carried out, are the
result of the intrinsic nature of them as they are accessible to all and represent an element of
change and innovation. They also allow an easy learning and playing, they have in themselves
mechanisms that stimulate a better involvement of the player who does not feel at some point
the stress due to learn at any cost.
We list the elements of success that were identified:
- nice and suitable graphic environment (Mr. Daniele Portaluri is working on the new graphic
version of Piqueon);
- non formal environment (success elements of Edgeryders);
- active involvement of the user: make feel the player as an important person and bringing
“something new” (main success elements of Edgeryders);
- immediate gratitude and self-esteem;
- the success of the action depends above all to each individual (supported by the other
players);
- good competition and ability in problem solving;
- no mark or formal evaluation;

36
- clear and defined rules;
- tutorials for gaming (video-tutorial).
The interaction in interactive environments is easy and the learning as quick as the game is
interesting. From the experience of the participants results that there is often a greater inclination
to virtual rather than physical interaction. Learning can be measured by feedbacks with
compulsory access that is taken seriously only if the game is funny. If you are in a class the
encouragement could come from the teacher in the classroom, whether it is an informal
environment, it provides rewarding moments that stimulate to keep. Of course the ones who are
stimulated to learn and play above all for this rewarding mechanism, is of minor importance.
We should consider that in Italy all game learning based initiatives are quite recent and belong
to university research sector or private entrepreneurial attempts.
The barriers have been identified:
- from a technical point of view as the broad band, the cost of connection and the
multimedia tools.
- from a socio-pedagogical point of view, the trainers are few and few ones are really
able to manage the educational situations on the cutting edge.
- language barriers.
It's been difficult to identify areas universally valid for every kind of learner. However, you can
find common elements that lead to define some areas more appreciated than others. They
were foreign language, IT skills above all for the use of social networks, entrepreneurship and
cultural insights, and then in order of importance educational subjects such as mathematics and
social sciences.
The skills supported in LearnToLead game are:
- competition and cooperation;
- leadership skills;
- team working;

37
- effectiveness and efficiency;
- competencies in “people management”, resource management and organization.
The skills supported in Edgeryders game are:
- influence common future of Europe;
- share the social responsibility;
- build a positive cooperation between citizens;
- share information and good practice between citizens and institutional body.
The skills supported in Piqueon game are:
- technical skills through video, photos and media contents ;
- responsible competition;
- communication skills;
- creativity and social activism;
- learning through the actions of other users.
FOCUS GROUP
As has been explained, it should be considered that in Italy, all game learning based initiatives
are relatively recent and belong to university research sectors or small entrepreneurial attempts.
The participants of the focus group have been informed about these initiatives, however none
of them have experience with the social games which are recommended by the experts (only 4
participants have experience with Edgryders).
The focus group was held in Lecce on 27th April 2012 with the participants selected following the
guidelines of WP2. The group of participants is composed by eleven people selected among
teachers, trainers and people practising social game based learning.
The focus group was led by Doct. Maurizio Melito, supported by the sociologist Cosimo
Botrugno.
The participants selected are:

38
1. Mr. Salvatore Cappilli (Graphic designer, ITC teacher)
2. Mr. Daniele Martina (Psychologist and Trainer)
3. Mrs. Alessandra Alfarano (Public Body Employed/sociologist)
4. Mr. Pierpaolo Ingrosso (ITC Teacher, E-tutor)
5. Mr. Salvatore Logica (Video Maker/practitioner)
6. Msr. Irma Zabulionyte (graphic designer)
7. Mr. Giovanni Avantaggiato (Community developer)
8. Mrs. Mariangela Schito (Italian teacher)
9. Mrs. Cecilia Catanzariti (Informal trainer/project manager)
10. Mrs. Nunzia Delle Donne (Intercultural Trainer)
11. Paola De Pascali (Intercultural trainer)
In detail:
The activities began at 9.00 with a short presentation of the project P4I made by Doc. Maurizio
Melito, where the main aspects of the project have been presented and the general objectives.
Then every participant was given a SELF-CHECK INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY and, after 20
minutes, all the tests have been filled in and hand over.
The purpose of such questionnaire, as outlined in WP2, was to make the participants reflect on
their intercultural skills before proceeding with a debate on the use of social games of the
participants The questionnaires were developed in order to have an immediate feedback of
sensitivity of participants to the topic covered.
The debate was opened with a brief introduction by Mr. Melito on the use of social games,
which was followed by the activity "my avatar" that was carried out as follows: each participant
was asked to draw on a sheet the typical interface of their favourite social game, to give
motivations to the actions of their avatar and to explain why the avatar exists and to explain the
interaction of the avatar with the environment.

39
From the following analysis of the works we can see that:
a) The most popular games among participants are:
- Second Life (6 participants)
- Foursquare (6 participants)
- Cityville (6 participants)
- Sims Socials (4 participants)
- Edgeryders (4 participants)
- The World of Warcraft (3 participants)
- Farm Ville (3 participants)
- The Sims 3 (2 participants)
- The Peacemaker (1 participant)
b) The main common motivations of players are:
- Widen the contact network overcoming the territorial distances (7)
- Know the “different” through the virtual representation channels (5)
- To disguise yourself and have a new identity (5)
c) The main skills supported resulted to be
- Gratitude and satisfaction
- Learning a foreign language through the commands of the game and the interactions
with other users
- Giving value to the relational aspect
- Growth and personal enrichment
- Learning the use of technology
d) The main activities carried out during the game were:
- Cooking/eating

40
- Listening to music
- Smoking
- Talking on the phone
From 10 to 10:15 we had a coffee break followed by the test of the game 3D NEELB2. Every
participant had the opportunity to have access and complete the game to participate to the
following focus group. Furthermore, every participant was asked to take notes of the answers
given to every single question of the game.
At 11.30 the focus group was opened.
To start the discussion, we asked the participants to give their opinion about the game NEELB2,
from that some critical points emerged:
- Lack of personalization and characterization of the avatar
- Slow game dynamics
- Limited interaction with other characters
Of course the group had understood very well the aims of the sample game and expressed a
strong curiosity in knowing the following implementations of the game.
Then, starting from the academic definitions of the three terms, Mr. Maurizio Melito began the
focus group so that participants compared the answers given.
Shortly after the debate has been focused on how the use of social games can foster
intercultural attitudes at the expense of discrimination. A first critical aspect detected during the
debate was that, when a participant (Alessandra Alfarano) noted that although the social
games offer the opportunity to interact with an unlimited number of users, it happens that the
greatest number of interactions exchanged by players are made within a limited circle. This
phenomenon, according to Alessandra, does nothing but reinforce prejudices, stereotypes and
discriminatory acts of their group.
The answers of the group were many, but in the end it was agreed that it would be interesting to
create a game where everyone is led to be born, grow and live in different ethnic communities,
in order to make a virtual experience interacting with those communities most victims of
discrimination.

41
A second topic introduced by Mr. Melito concerned the use of social games as learning tool for
adults about interculturality.
The younger participants have immediately agreed about the need and the usefulness of this
type of games in schools, like civic education. A question asked by a participant (Mr. Giovanni
Avantaggiato) has suggested a number of critical points arguing that it is very difficult to
influence the behaviour of adults because they have stereotypes and prejudices deeply rooted
in their social actions. Some have supported the statement of Giovanni, others have argued that
the number of people that approaches social games also includes a significant number of
adults who, though attracted to these games, might be able to change their mental barriers in
a virtual environment.
Another topic emerged from these observations concerns the digital divide in Italy. Daniele
Martina in fact, states that it is a phenomenon that is still too relevant and which helps to move
away the adults from the world of technology, at least as concerns the field of learning. Peter
Petrelli, however, answered back by saying that the university reforms and the use of e-learning
platforms not necessarily academic has greatly reduced the digital gap, designing interfaces
more and more intuitive and standardized.
The focus group ended with greetings and the organizers thanking all participants for their
involvement.

42
CONCLUSION REMARKS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In conclusion few ones added some comments, but from the few comments we could extract
the following recommendations:
1. Present the social game in an appropriate way. This allows a positive approach. This can
happen in the classroom or, if it is an informal environment, via web.
2. The information and clarity avoid moments of default.
3. An appropriate system of tutoring helps to develop the path in a correct way as video, text
and picture, etc.).
4. Divide the game into steps and stop many times for clarifications and discussion in order to
consolidate the knowledge that can be a help.
5. Sometimes, repeating the game allows all the participants to be at the same level to go on
with another study.

43
REFERENCES:
(1) Jane McGonigal ( 2011), La realtà in gioco, Apogeo
(2) Mark Prensky (2001) Digital Natives, digital immigrants, from www.marcprensky.com
(3) Bryan Bergero (2006) Developing serious game, Thomson Delmar Learning
(4) Michael David, Chen Sande (2005) Serious Game, games that educate train and
inform, Thomson Course Technology
(5) Ben Sawyer (2010) from www.bensawyer.net
(6) Susi Tarja, Johannesson Mikael, Backlund Per (2007) Serious game - An Overview, from
www.autzones.net
(7) Castronova Edward (2007) Exodus to the Virtual World focus, Palgrave Macmillan
(8) OECD (2001) Citizen As Partners Information Consultation and Public Participation in
Policy Making
(9) Luciano Gallino (2004) Dizionario di sociología Report Focus, UTET
(10) Asi Burak, Eric Keylor, Tim Sweeney (2007) PeaceMaker: A Video Game to Teach Peace,
from http://www.etc.cmu.edu
(11) Marc Prensky (2005) Engage Me or Enrage Me, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 40
(12) S. Hall (1997) Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices Report
Focus, Sage in association with The Open University
(13) B. M. Mazzara (1997) Stereotipi e pregiudizi Report Focus, Il Mulino
(14) GameVision Europe (for ISFE) (2010) Video gamers in Europe 2010, from
http://gamevisionresearch.com

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Annex: Participants profile matrix
Social games
player (games
played)
Mr. Salvatore Cappilli 50 M
Graphic designer, ITC
teacher
Second life,
The World of
Warcraft
Mr. Daniele Martina 31 M
Pychologist and
Trainer
Degree in
psychology
Foursquare,
The Sims social
Mrs. Alessandra
Alfarano 35 F
Public Body
Employed/sociologist
Degree in
sociology
Second life,
The Sims
social,
Foursquare
Mr. Pierpaolo Ingrosso 52 M ITC Teacher, E-tutor
Degree in
Economy
and finance
Second life,
Farm Ville
Mr. Salvatore Logica 31 M
Video
Maker/practicioner
Degree in
environment
sciences
(bachelor)
Foursquare,
Edgeryders,
The World of
Warcraft
Mrs. Irma Zabulionyte 30 F Graphic designer
Degree in
business
technology
(bachelor)
Second life,
The Sims 3
Mr. Giovanni
Avantaggiato 46 M
Community
developer
Scientific
diploma
The Sims
social, The
peacemaker,
The World of
Warcraft
Mrs. Mariangela Schito 28 F Italian teacher
Degree in
litterature
Foursquare,
Edgeryders,
The Sims 3
Mrs. Cecilia Catanzariti 46 F
Informal
trainer/project
manager
Degree in
pedagogy
Second life,
The Sims
social, Farm
Ville
Mrs. Paola De Pascali 28 F Intercultural trainer
Degree in
social
sciences
(bachelor)
Foursquare,
Edgeryders,
Farm Ville
Mrs. Nunzia Delle Donne 52 F Intercultural Trainer
Degree in
sociology
Second life,
Foursquare,
Edgeryders

45
PORTUGUESE ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: SPI

NATIONAL REPORTS: PORTUGUESE NATIONAL REPORT
46
PORTUGUESE NATIONAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
P4I - Play for Interculturality is a Grundtvig Multilateral project, funded by the European
Commission. The project has been approved in 2011 and will be implemented within the 2 years.
P4I – Play for Interculturality seeks to take a step forward and create an innovative social game
that promotes apprenticeship of intercultural competences of European adults, motivating
them to take an active role and interact with other users, boosting digital socialization and
media literacy in parallel.
The present report comprises Portuguese contribution to WP2, pertaining the preparation of
national research on the use of innovative teaching methodologies (especially those linked to
games and video games), from different educational sectors.
The main objectives of this report are:
• To analyse the pedagogical potentials of games and social games applied to
competences development.
• To identify those variables influencing the successful implementation of game-based
learning initiatives.
• To detect good practices in the EU or international level.
• To gather success examples that could be used as inspirational experiences for adults
training practitioners.
Followed methodology and contacted experts
National research comprised two sources of information. On the one hand, desk research
regarding case studies on social games based approach to education and training. On the
other hand, qualitative research involving adult training practitioners and experts on the use of

47
innovative teaching methodologies (preferably linked to games and video games) from
different educational sectors.
Desk research was designed to collect main references and reports on the investigation object:
social games based learning initiatives. A summary was prepared on the findings, including the
extensive list of reports and references consulted. Desk research was based on internet search of
investigation object keywords, in English and Portuguese: social games, learning, education,
adults. It was also limited to Portuguese based initiatives.
Qualitative methodology comprised expert interviews and focus groups. Expert interviews aimed
at collecting in-depth information and provide spontaneous feedback on game based learning
initiatives and their pedagogical potential.
A total of six experts from different areas of expertise were contacted and interviewed. The
names and occupation are presented in the following table:
Table 1. Experts interviewed.
Group discussions provided insights from an adult training practitioner’s point of view. They could
also bring added-value for expert interviews results validation. A total of four trainers were
present in the Focus Group session organised on April 23rd 2012. As a result of low turnout a
second focus group was scheduled for May 4th. For this meeting there were six trainers on
attendance.
Name and
surname
Occupation Institution Area of expertise
Maria João
Spilker
eLearning expert
Business manager
Personal eLearning
business
Education and Distance
Learning
Personal Learning
Environments
Filipe
Penicheiro
Game-based learning
expert
University of Coimbra –
Interdisciplinary institute
History and digital games
Educational technology
ICT applications for cultural
heritage
Teresa Pessoa Professor
Psychology Faculty
Teacher training
Reflexive pedagogy
ICT
Teresa Pinto Business Manager
Take the Wind (business
enterprise)
3D Environments for
education
Ana Amélia
Carvalho
Professor
Psychology Faculty
mLearning
Digital games
Content structure
Licinio Roque Professor
Informatics Engineering
Department
Content engineering
Interaction experience design
Software engineering
Information Systems

48
MAIN FINDINGS
Social games based learning initiatives have always been present. However, only in recent years
its full potential has been realised and as a result, according to interviewed experts, it is a fast
growing trend.
Promoting social skills through initiative games is one of the most relevant educational methods
with a strong impact on a student motivation and learning process. Cognitive classroom
management integrates different teaching techniques, where games adopt an important
place. Those game based initiatives help teachers and trainers to deliver many different types of
contents and at the same time they can create a rich, dynamic and inclusive educational
context, where learners are the main part of the learning process. However, these games should
be combined with formal educational methods, giving students a more solid background.
Thus, the process of “gamification” of learning is rapidly pervading different areas of knowledge.
Albeit still in its infancy, it has been successfully integrated in educational environments, the main
reason being its perceived positive effects on learning.
Whilst there has been some research into potential uses of digital games in the classroom, only a
few evaluation methodologies have been made public, already suggesting relevant impact on
student and trainee knowledge attainment and motivation.
Regarding its use, there are two main theoretical approaches:
• A behavioural approach, which views education as knowledge transmission. Game
based learning approaches are therefore better carried over through quizzing, and as such
there is no exploration, no stimulus, and not every area of knowledge can be taught through
gaming.
• A student-centred approach, where active apprenticeship is encouraged. Aligned with
this view, games are more complex and exploratory, demanding new pedagogical strategies
and methodologies. The teacher is key and classroom delivery is more important than the
game itself.
In both frameworks a wide variety of games typology is allowed.
Serious games are a very successful trend. Albeit the ludic quality of the game is still present, the
adjective “serious” does invite immediate perspective and reflexion. There are a number of
games referenced:

49
• “PING” (Poverty Is Not a Game) used to promote poverty awareness in classrooms;
• “Third world farmer”, where the player is responsible for a small area of land in central
Africa, and has to “endure the hardships of 3rd world farming”, including natural and human-
made disasters;
• “Façade”, a relationship centred game, where couple friction needs to be managed by
the player.
• “Global conflicts – Palestine, an adventure game that addresses issues like tolerance.
The last game is related to the “SIMS” franchise, and has been used for pedagogical purposes in
Portugal. The commercial version is laden with stereotype so it is pretty useful. It also allows a
number of interculturality issues to be explored, namely offering the chance of solving personal
dilemmas.
There is a complementary trend regarding the exploration of “alternate reality games” (or ARG)
for education. These games have a more pervasive quality about them, and use “ubiquitous
communication technologies to immerse gamers in fictional adventures which digitally augment
everyday reality”. A traditional ARG is “Scavenger Hunt”, but it can adopt more complex and
technology intensive forms. “Ludocity” webpage has a host of varied games destined to such
contexts.
“Second Life” virtual world has also been used in learning environments, namely roleplaying.
These environments have a powerful effect of immersion that enables a person to take on
another perspective, something unfeasible in real life. As such, moving beyond simulation, such
platforms are helpful in varied sociological contexts. They have also been used in psychological
contexts; albeit a deep level of specialised accompaniment is required.
The usual procedure is to immerse the player with an “avatar”, gifted with a given personality
and situation. Goals in these learning environments may vary between reaching a physical
objective related to a subject, i.e., having a successful conversation with a number of people, or
skilfully performing tasks. It has also been used to give the opportunity of playing the role of a
minority group member or a victim of abuse, i.e., bullying or cyber bullying.
History teaching in Portugal has received a considerable enhancement with the development
of a number of games adapted for education. One example is Soure 1111, further discussed in
this report (see case studies). Game integration in the classroom increased attainment of
complex subject matters, such as political context of the era, social roles and inequalities,

50
currency and defence structures. Other commercial games like Civilization and Europa
Universalis have also been used in history teaching.
Examples of successful game approach in other areas of knowledge are numerous, namely the
well-known game “Simcity” – which has been used to train people in urban management issues.
“First person shooters” have been similarly used for war trauma recovery (psychology) or even as
a warm up tool for surgeons or even a means to increase accuracy prior to surgery.
Mobile learning, particularly among young students, is also a pervasive trend. Games are being
adapted to mobile outlets as taking a computer to class is increasingly undervalued while
powerful computer-like mobile phones have been developed. These audiences view learning as
increasingly visual. For them images are fundamental elements of education.
There is also a trend to make games related to daily issues. This is particularly evident in fields like
maths. As a strongly theoretical discipline (and rightly so) it can benefit from analogies, i.e.,
performing simple arithmetic in a grocery store, which in turn are easily carried over through
games.
Games player profile depends entirely on context and game typology. As different people
react differently to the same game it is only possible to typify player behaviour by his game
actions (the way he plays) but not beforehand.
This happens in part because game response depends on a high number of variables that need
to be taken into account regarding gamer profiling. Some of those variables are:
• Learning capabilities are distinct from person to person – there are visual, tactile,
explorers or competitive persons.
• Grown-up keenness and predisposition to play a game is very varied, and may depend
on game content and context.
• Some people are naturally drawn to gaming, to certain themes or simply enjoy the
challenge it entails. This is independent of age or background.
• Social norms influence a person’s stance on playing.
There is also a view that older individuals relate less to gaming and have developed a certain
resistance, primarily viewing it as less serious and childish. This view is though controversial as
game-based learning in adults has been shown to produce results, albeit in face of initial strong

51
resistance. This is evident across the board as no suggestion has been made by the experts
regarding group exclusion.
It is nonetheless possible to differentiate between social group’s responses to particular games.
Thus, globally, there is a sense that men play more often than women and that they play
different games. Men frequently play to compete and excel. They favour struggle and strategy.
In contrast, women by and large prefer socially oriented games. There have been however
examples of juxtaposition between genders that contradict those generalisations.
There is a sense that shy pupils function better socially in virtual worlds than in real world. Regular
players have (or gain) certain computers skills and have a certain ease interacting with the
computer and other game players. They are frequently extroverts virtually, but not necessarily in
real life.
Some personality traits also influence one’s approach to gaming. Rational people tend to
distance themselves from the game while emotional individuals tend to get very much involved.
Finally one can typify addicted players, subject to harmful competitiveness.
Sample testing
Facebook game:
Experts viewed it as marginally interesting, and some labelled it “humorous”. There was also the
opinion that it did not amount to a game, but a mere quiz. Other areas of improvement were
also pointed out as necessary to meet Project’s objectives in an effective manner. These
pointers were:
Broad difficulty in understanding game’s objectives, namely concerning the promotion of
intercultural competences. Regarding this, a number of suggestions were readily made:
o Adding an introduction to the game so as to make its concept clearer.
o Value its strictly ludic content where people select alternatives and then see the story enfold.
This would make people interested. On top of this a subtext would be added – i.e. playing with
stereotyped beliefs and ideas, starting with the introduction of a person from a different culture
that does not fit with preconceived ideas, etc. After the game there would be a joint reflexion.
o A broader game narrative is required. The game immediately jumps into quizzing. An
emotional narrative was specifically proposed to get into the game story and world.

52
o Adding the possibility of choosing physical features of the person. Those features should be
present in the final narrative.
Other technical pointers were mentioned:
• The final narrative is not in tune with the choices made. There was a concrete case of
choosing and artist and that feature was not perceptible in the final story.
• The arrow should command “page turning”.
• The final text is tiresome. Spacing, font should be adjusted so that the text appears
lighter.
In Focus Group discussion, the educational value was not apparent, although there was a clear
entertainment value.
“This game is full of clichés and it’s difficult to adapt its structure to another subject: it would
need a long list of questions and answers/options and its management would be complex.
The game interface was considered very poor and romantic-like. Pushing the bottom is not the
easiest way to play either; it should validated by pushing the option (sentence or word).
The need for an explanatory introduction and objective clarification at the outset were also
prevalent.
“Considering this is a female oriented game, it should have a preliminary question about the
player gender“.
The game was viewed as “comical, but we don’t do much” and “pedagogical interest in
training with foreign languages is foreseeable”. There were several ideas for improvement:
“The game was very interesting to work on some story making skills. It enables trainees to
understand how some random words transform itself in a story. The final text could be laden with
errors, so the player could correct them. Game immersion would help make the task less
dreary.”
“The game would be interesting as a means of enabling discussion about perceptions. We
could solicit each trainee to build a story. Then we would confront each other’s story and talk
about differences in culture and history, and illustrate how a common ground can lead to
different outcomes”.
“An immigrant could write a letter to home reporting on felt discrimination”.

53
Ireland game:
The game was regarded as useful, the playability easy and the scenery appealing. Similarly the
experts considered it “with potential” as it allows the player to identify himself with the avatar. As
such it would be possible to make the target group deal with statements usually said in everyday
life and to have cultural experiences outside their own environment.
Furthermore, it was suggested that, if maximization of such experiences is the goal, the player
would play the oppressed and/or victim of abuse. I such a case the avatar should not be
viewed as a 3rd person (i.e. the body is always within view which makes identification more
difficult) but as 1st person. This could also be enhanced by choosing specific features of the
avatar – including gender and nationality.
Improving the human qualities of bystanders was also mentioned as these actually behave like
automatons. Instead they should look directly at the avatar, react to his presence, or even deny
conversation altogether.
Similarly concepts need better clarification. For instance, some experts weren’t able to
understand the difference between prejudice and stereotyping. This should be made clear right
from the outset. Accordingly, this game would need an introduction, comprising a brief context
of place and situation, rules explanation and a small glossary of used concepts.
It was deemed important that discussion on the responses and concepts should be present
during the game and not after game completion, as some statements need instant
contextualization.
In contrast, some dullness was referred and game interaction was considered very limited:
“There is nothing else to do – which is boring. People should be in context, instead of doing
nothing in the middle of the streets. I find that lacking. These aspects of game dynamics need
improvement”.
As far as technical issues are concerned, the following pointers were mentioned:
• Bystanders should repeat sentences.
• There should be a street map. That would improve playability.
• The sky should be a bit clearer. It looks a bit dreary.
Regarding Focus Groups, game reception was mixed. In the next paragraphs some opinions
and ideas are presented.

54
The 1st focus group regarded the game in a positive light. Trainers mentioned the usefulness of
playing a character in a testing environment, or a stepping stone for debate.
“It could be used in a preliminary part of a class as it makes theoretical and complex concepts
easier to discuss in classroom”.
“The game is useful to confront target group with some discriminatory statements. I teach in a
difficult environment and this game would be very interesting to make people aware of the
contours of what is said”.
“It would be interesting if bystanders physically react to the player. In real life we confront
people we really don’t get along or don’t know how to behave. It would be interesting if some
kind of awkward interactivity would develop”.
There were some doubts regarding the game’s “rhythm” and usage on adult education:
“I can see interesting applications like this. Anyway the duller parts need to be taken care of”.
“…a waste of time for adults, it doesn’t seem interesting. Only children would find it the least
interesting because they have patience to begin with”.
Meanwhile the 2nd focus group viewed the game as generally poor, although its potential
should be considered.
The game was exceedingly focused on the concepts in a semantic point of view (stereotyping,
discrimination, prejudice) without exploring their definitions. Some sentences were quite
ambiguous as the answers weren’t always clear for players. A multi answer option must be
considered as well as a scale to rate the answers, according to the concept relevance. The lack
of objectivity of examples was pointed out as an obstacle to create a clear idea of the topic
addressed and to reflect about interculturality. The players found that the game wasn’t
reflecting the purpose of developing self-consciousness for interculturality.
Some ideas for amelioration were proposed:
“Instead of trying to define concepts and theories, this game should regard people’s own
attitudes. For example, the game could test whether the avatar is demonstrating discriminatory
attitudes in specific environments/scenario (e.g. To help or not to help a Muslim/old
person/protestant with its shopping bag).
“The game should include dialogues with a more subtle language where the player could
identify himself in those words. Dialogs revealing good practices in intercultural topics, some

55
questions about different cultures and some videos related to the theme should improve the
game. Some other types of discriminatory/stereotype/prejudice should be also included.
“Educating for difference is the main key for this project where adults should learn the
importance of interculturality and be aware of their discriminatory behaviours.”
The playability was quite easy but the dynamic was regarded as slow. The scenery was
considered appealing but the interactivity between the characters and the environment should
take a step further (cars and people moving, etc.).
“The lack of sound makes the game poorer; it should be included sounds from the environment
and people’s voice and tone as they talk to the avatar.
“The game could be improved to a level where the player could play and gather some points
according to their answers and actions during the game.”
Finally, group members were unanimous on the fact that the game should reach a satisfying
conclusion.
learning
Overall, several beneficial effects were attributed to game based learning, notwithstanding the
fact that different games have different benefits.
Firstly, it allows carrying over complex issues in an accessible manner to most people, frequently
making it possible to materialize abstract thought. This quality needs however careful
consideration as abstract, non-linear notions are not easily translated to games.
Simulation of reality is in itself important, but not enough. There are areas where this is
paramount. Learning to fly with the help of a flight simulator is appropriate and satisfactory.
However, to convey complex thoughts and notions, simulation is as sufficient as reality. This is
most true when dealing with human related capabilities, like critical thought and intercultural
issues.
Soure 1111 was given as an example of the challenging aspect of conveying complex issues. In
this case concepts were stripped to the indispensable so as to make gamers reflect on the
Reconquista subject and retain some demanding ideas. Gameplay was afterwards discussed in
an open discussion to ensure concepts were discussed and made clear.

56
Secondly, the gamer learns without knowing, making it possible to learn about an issue, which
would otherwise take several classes, in an entirely ludic context. Roleplaying for example
enables subconscient training of decision making skills, or action on the face of uncertainty.
For such a result to be accomplished balance must be apparent between playability and
scientific accuracy. Constant feedback is also believed essential to understand what the gamer
is taking in from the game. This information is relevant either prior to playing, during playing or
afterwards. Consequently, a proper learning environment is critical.
Thirdly, gaming enables first-hand experience of an environment that is not present or possible in
real life. Interaction technologies, in particular, enable experience immersion with a sense of
control. It’s a player driven experience. Decision making increases motivation and stimulates
sense of control. When you overlap this possibility with learning you are able to suggest learning,
not “preach” learning.
However some risks should also be regarded:
• There is a chance the game will only serve as entertainment, failing to fulfil its
pedagogical role.
• In quiz games, the alumni or trainees may not be responding the way one would expect.
For instance there could be guessing involved, which is not recommended.
• There is also the risk of perception. Trainees need to realize that the game really
improved their skills and knowledge.
• A simulation game is very effective in immersing the player in a given environment, but
there is also the risk of not being able to transpose those skills onto the real world. This is to say
there are skills that cannot be learned in a particular set of games like simulation and RPG.
These possibilities need to be transposed into game design. It is strongly recommended that
game delivery should balance game playing with traditional class as one is able to complement
the other’s shortcomings. Every effort should also be made to make the trainee realize it is not a
game solely destined to entertain.

57
A number of necessary characteristic for a successful game were identified.
Primarily the game should have an element of simplicity; specifically it should be intuitive to the
player. It is also important that there are no barriers to play regarding to the game’s platform
(i.e. browser).
Graphics are similarly paramount. A beautiful scenery or set is halfway the struggle.
The game should pose an interesting challenge. For instance, there ought to be exploration
capabilities. A single and clear purpose to the game is only helpful if complemented with
mystery, choice and unpredictability. Furthermore there should be a good story behind
gameplay, as a good underlying narrative is always a powerful mean to garner attention and
long term interest. Ideally, the player should feel like he’s the author or at least a strong
determinant of the unfolding story.
Skill apprehension should not be apparent and rather hidden in a ludic subtext.
Conveying the basic aspects and philosophy of a game is very important. Normally a tutorial
should appear. This element should be minimal or optional. Game design should take this
element into account. If necessary, a tutorial would only appear to inexperienced players or to
the ones that have some difficulties managing it. In any case it is important that this feature
comes up when needed, having the concern of evading information overload.
Specifically regarding the promotion of intercultural skills, the presence of avatars is very useful.
However, these should talk and interact. In this context video is less interesting than avatars.
Finally, there is a number of psychology tricks referred to as being in use in social games
development (i.e. Facebook), for instance:
• Player also brings other players (friends).
• A system of rewards.
• Communicate a sense of inevitability and pressure to play.
Although such language and delivery tools are nowadays widely used, these tricks should be
carefully considered in game-based learning as pernicious effects can also be expected.

58
Game design must take into account all aforementioned success elements, but the most
important feature should be constant feedback from target groups, namely test pilots prior to full
release of the game, so as to fine tune the final aspects of the game.
According to expert review there were some attempts to develop evaluation metrics on game
based learning initiatives.
Unquestionably, as previously mentioned, classification depends heavily on game type.
Anything mechanical is easier to repeat and categorize. When complex games are concerned,
and when notions like negotiation and compromise (essential concepts in interculturality) enter
the frame, categorisation is very difficult.
It places considerable importance on the qualitative methodologies which categorize discourse
before and after game play.
Such methodology was used in a scientific context in Soure 1111, in itself developed to enhance
students’ knowledge of history. As exploration games are very complex, metrics and evaluation
were difficult issues. So, it was analysed how students explored and passed knowledge on,
namely game play related questions (and its evolution) and history knowledge attainment (true
aim).
Soure 1111 experience led to the conclusion that a useful methodology would be based on
social interaction instead of solely depending on knowledge as a result of the gaming
experience. This approach regarded game exploration as a foundation for joint debate and
thinking, in a structured manner, leading to comprehension of historical phenomena and
sharing of a common language.
Generally, the Kirkpatrick model has been used to evaluate satisfaction. This is a commonly
applied model of learning evaluation, but can also be employed specifically to evaluate game
based learning. This test can be complemented with in-class discussion, namely using
conceptual mapping and a glossary of terms.
Capability Tests are used as well. These are psychological tests developed to measure skill,
awareness, perception and problem-solving capabilities. They attempt to understand how the
adult uses the game, and what has been gained in the process. A target group sample is
interviewed and opinions are collected so as to understand how the concepts were
apprehended.

59
There is also a possibility of direct evaluation in group learning. The followed methodology is to
identify outliers and try to justify differences in learning. This is mostly combined with auto-
evaluation or questionnaire-based evaluation. In the latter case the questionnaire must be short
and simple as a long and complex questionnaire makes its delivery impossible in classroom. The
teacher or trainer would need to dedicate a substantial amount of time to its analysis,
something that is not desirable
Some other forms of evaluation have been used like measuring response time (in eLearning).
Barriers were generally linked to ease of access and the “fun” quality of games.
In fact, one of the most important barriers is info-exclusion, as game base learning has its own set
of challenges regarding software manipulation and other computer skills. This can be apparent
even in case of teachers and trainers. Proper training of both groups - teacher and student, is
therefore important.
In addition, even though Portugal has experienced a solid investment in digital access (to
computer and/or the internet), it remains as an important barrier to game based learning. Even
today, small traditional classrooms are unprepared for novel methodologies of teaching and
training, and gaming is made more difficult.
Gaming, even serious gaming, is often perceived as ‘fun’ (and rightly so). However this view can
undermine efforts to learning, i.e., student or trainee may disregard this game based learning
and not take it seriously enough.
Another issue is exposure time to the game. When played in class context there is limited time to
understand and play the game. Game selection and pedagogical strategy must take this into
account. Some games that need a lot of exposure time to produce required effects are not
recommendable if a discussion prior or after game exploration is also included.
Although benefits of game uptake in learning practices are recognized, teachers need
substantial preliminary preparation, especially if some sort of dedicated evaluation is required.
Of course early preparation is offset with fewer long term workloads, but Teacher and trainer
available time for game preparation and exploration need also to be considered.

60
There are contrasting views regarding the scope of skills supported by a games approach.
On one hand, there is a perspective that all skills can be promoted with the help of games, and
mostly depend on imagination and games design. There are a whole range of games, and
supported skills are merely dependent on the nature and extent of challenges posed by such
games.
On the other hand, some experts say that some areas of knowledge seem to benefit differently
from a game based approach. Human-based skills, i.e., writing, the ability to think critically,
negotiation and consensus building seem to benefit less. This can be explained by the
difference between real-world and virtual world skills. Not only there is a strong obstacle to
convey knowledge in these areas, but also there are no easily identifiable metrics to measure
attainment. Additionally, some areas simply do not use as much game-based approaches. This
is the case of hands-on disciplines, like computers or mechanics, or more practical, exercise
based, like maths. In specific cases like these, games need a whole new approach. Virtual
environments only serve as testing grounds.
Conversely, some skills benefit greatly from games approach, namely everything that is
reproducible and mechanical: learning languages, medicine/anatomy are given examples. In
these cases there is clear evidence that students feel more motivated, content is presented in
an unusual way and there is an added sense of creativity.
In any case, it is a general opinion that a games approach is always beneficial in any setting, for
the least as an ice breaker.

61
Research revealed no identifiable top-down national or regional level public bodies or
programmes specifically supporting said initiatives. This leads to the existence of individual
research initiatives in a broad range of areas as opposed to a set of integrated initiatives in
certain areas. As such, wide-ranging reports regarding these issues were not detected, either at
national or regional level.
A number of relevant initiatives and research can nonetheless be identified in Portugal in a
broad scope of areas. There were initiatives destined to promote citizens awareness and social
participation, entrepreneurship, management and knowledge in history and medicine. This
suggests that a games approach to education is not only widely applicable and effective but
also already pervasive. A focus on history-themed initiatives was also found. According to
research, games are primarily directed at children and young students, as only a few initiatives
were specifically targeted at adults and even less so as far as adult education is concerned. The
platforms used were also diverse. There are initiatives using established interfaces or virtual worlds
like Facebook and Second Life, but also windows based, either autonomously or in specific
platforms (flash, e.g.).
“Gamification” is in fact a growing trend in learning and is rapidly pervading different areas of
knowledge, in part because of a widespread view that has very positive effects on learning.
Gaming enables a student-centred approach, where new pedagogical strategies and
methodologies can take benefit of games exploration and immersion capabilities. There is
however the clear notion that a proper learning environment is critical, hence the paramount
significance of classroom delivery and accompaniment.
Benefits involve the ability to carry over complex issues in an accessible manner to the trainee,
namely making it possible to turn abstract thought in concrete terms. The gamer also learns
without knowing. Thus, learning can be accessible to a wider range of trainees as it makes
possible to learn about an issue in an entirely ludic manner.
In this context, balance between playability and scientific accuracy cannot be overstated. If
the game only serves as entertainment, it will fail to fulfil its pedagogical role. If, otherwise, the
learning over imposes the ludic aspect of the game, the learner may lose interest in the game.

62
Other elements of success have also been made clear:
• The game should pose an interesting challenge. For instance, there ought to be
exploration capabilities.
• There should be a good underlying narrative.
• Conveying beforehand basic aspects and philosophy of a game is very important.
Normally a tutorial is used in a careful and not overbearing manner.
• The use of an avatar was deemed very effective as it enables the identification of the
player with the avatar’s actions.
To ensure game design takes into account said success elements, there should be constant
feedback from target groups, namely test pilots prior to full release of the game.
A wide scope of game genres have been used for educational purposes: role playing games,
alternate reality games, Second life based games, SIMS like games, Turn-based games, SIMCITY
like games, 3D educational tools (e.g. in use in medicine). These have been specifically made
for education or, for added impact, are a ready adaptation of very successful commercial
games.
Player profiling depends entirely on context and game typology. Different people react
differently to the same game hence only being possible to typify player behaviour after playing
the game.
The view that older individuals relate less to gaming is not evidence-based. Game-based
learning in adults has in fact also shown positive results, albeit in face of initial strong resistance.
Regarding game impact evaluation, a mix of individual analysis (e.g. questionnaires) and group
debate and opinion sharing is essential.

63
REFERENCES:
[1] My Village – Educação para a Cidadania (n.d.) Currículo e Programas Educação para a
Cidadania, URL: http://dgidc.min-
edu.pt/educacaocidadania/index.php?s=noticias&id=36# (consulted in 30/03/2012)
[2] EUROCID (2010),
URL:http://www.eurocid.pt/pls/wsd/wsdwcot0.detalhe?p_cot_id=6336&p_est_id=13158
(consulted in 30/03/2012)
[3] Baptista, R. J. (2008), Role Playing Game – Uma Estratégia no Contexto Educacional,
master dissertation, Porto, FEUP, 211 pg. URL:
www.citma.pt/Uploads/Ricardo%20José%20Vieira%20Baptista[1].pdf (consuled in
30/03/2012)
[4] Campos, P. And Campos, A. (2009), “SimCompany: An Educational Game Created
through a Human-Work Interaction Design Approach”. Proceedings of the 12th IFIP TC 13
International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Part I, 2009. URL:
http://wowsystems.pt/papers/Campos-HumanWork-Interact09-V2.pdf (consulted in
30/03/2012)
[5] CITEVE (ed.) (2010) Game4Manager: Energy, Environment, Quality and Safety, URL:
http://www.game4manager.com/G4M/site/theGame (consulted in 30/03/2012).
[6] Correia, T., Ribeiro, H. (2010), Multimedia Educational Contents to Enhance Knowledge,
Porto, University of Porto, 8 pg., URL: http://repositorio-
aberto.up.pt/bitstream/10216/23820/2/1182.pdf (consulted in 30/03/2012)
[7] Bettencourt, T., Abade, A. (2007), “Reflexões sobre ensinar e aprender na Second Life – um
estudo preliminar”, in ced^SL - workshop on Communication, Education and Training in
Second Life, Aveiro, May 2007, URL:
http://cleobekkers.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/apresenta_1workshop_aveiro24maio07.pdf
[8] Esteves, M. et al, (2009), “Using Second Life for Problem based learning in Computer
Science Programming”, in Jarmon, L., Lim, K. Y. T.; Carpenter, B. S.; (Eds.), Journal of Virtual
Worlds Research, vol. 2, No. 1, Austin, Texas, April 2009, URL:
http://journals.tdl.org/jvwr/article/download/419/462, consulted in 30/03/2012

64
[9] Esteves, M. et al, (2009), Using Second Life in Programming's Communities of Practice, Vila
Real, UTAD, 8 pp., URL: http://home.utad.pt/~leonelm/papers/CRIWG/MicaelaCRIWG.pdf
[10] Morgado, L. C.; Sousa, A.; Barbosa, L.; (2008), Ensaio de utilização do mundo virtual
Second Life no ensino de programação de computadores, Vila Real, UTAD
[11] Carvalho, J. R., Roque, L., Penicheiro, F., (2010) “Um estudo das dinâmicas de
apropriação do jogo Portugal 1111 – a conquista de Soure em contexto escolar”.
Proceeedings of the IX SBGAMES conference, Florianópolis, 8 a 10 de novembro 2010. URL:
http://coimbra.academia.edu/FilipePenicheiro/Papers/429494/Um_estudo_das_dinamicas
_de_apropriacao_do_jogo_Portugal_1111_-_A_Conquista_de_Soure_em_contexto_escolar.
[12] Carvalho, J. R., Penicheiro, F., (2009), “Computer Games in History Teaching”.
Proceedings from Conferência Videojogos 2009, Aveiro, Portugal, 2009. URL:
http://coimbra.academia.edu/FilipePenicheiro/Papers/363751/_Jogos_de_Computador_n
o_Ensino_da_Historia (consulted in 30/03/2012)
[13] Gomes, T. and Carvalho, A. A., (2008), “Jogos como Ferramenta Educativa: de que
forma os jogos online podem trazer importantes contribuições para a aprendizagem”.
Proceedings from Conferência Zon | Digital Games 2008, Minho, Universidade do Minho,
2008. URL:
http://www.lasics.uminho.pt/ojs/index.php/zondgames08/article/download/351/327
[14] Neves, P.; Zagalo, N.; Morgado, L. (2010) “Expressive Productivity in Videogames: Benefits
from Applied Research in Normative Studies”. In Videojogos 2010. N.l.: UTAD, 2010. URL:
http://gaips.inesc-id.pt/videojogos2010/actas/Actas_Videojogos2010_files/VJ2010-FP_P_99-
108.pdf (consulted in 29/04/2012)
[15] Pereira, L. L.; Roque, L. (2009). “Design Guidelines for Learning Games: the Living Forest
Game Design Case”. In Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and
Theory. Proceedings of DiGRA 2009. Coimbra: UC. URL:
www.digra.org/dl/db/09287.16436.pdf (consulted in 29/04/2012)

65
Annex. Focus group participants profile matrix
1st Focus Group (April 27h 2012)
2nd Focus Group (May 4th 2012)
Name and
surname
Gender Education Occupation Area Social games
Ana Rita
Mineiro
Female
Classical
languages and
literature
 Trainer  Portuguese None
Ana Rita
Domingues
Female
Modern
languages and
literature
 Trainer  English None
Silvia Rocco Female Psychology  Trainer
 Trainer
training
Behavioural
sciences
Italian
Behavioural
sciences
games
Nuno
Simões
Male
Computer based
education
 professor  Computers
“Virtual
School” game
Name and
surname
Gender Education Occupation Area
Social
games
Duarte Freitas Male History
 Trainer
 Researcher
 History
“Soure
1111”
Tiago Maia Male
Modern languages
and literature
 Trainer
 Portuguese
English
None
João Cunha Male
Multimedia and
audiovisual
 Trainer
 Technical/C
onsulter
 Multimedia
 Audiovisual
None
Dora Ferreira Female Geography
 Trainer
 Researcher
 Urban
Planning
 Mobility
None
Cátia Furtado Female Geography
 Trainer
 Consulter
 Local
developme
nt
None
Miguel
Carnide
Male
Environmental
Engineering
 Trainer
 Consulter
 Innovation None

66
ROMANIAN ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: INSCMPS

NATIONAL REPORTS: ROMANIAN NATIONAL REPORT
67
ROMANIAN NATIONAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
The present analysis was elaborated in frame of work package 2 - Analysis on the use of game-
based learning initiatives and respecting the Guidelines and working methodology elaborated
by the coordinator INVESLAN, the leader of WP2 of which main objectives were:
- To analyse the pedagogical potentials of games and social games applied to
competences development.
- To identify those variables that influences the successful implementation of game-based
learning initiatives.
- To detect good practices in the EU or international level.
- To gather success example that could be used as inspirational experiences for adults
training practitioners.
It includes all information related with game-based learning initiatives, especially in Romania,
collected during a desk research undertaken in the period February – April 2012 and main
findings collected in frame of interviews with experts and group discussions with practitioners,
undertaken in the same period.
Objectives
o Social games based learning initiatives in Romania
o Analysis of pedagogical potential of the use of games (with a focus of social games) for
adult learning
o Identification of success elements of social games for education
o Barriers to uptake of games in learning practice
o Skills supported by game-based learning approaches

68
Target group
The direct target groups: adult training practitioners and experts on the use of innovative
teaching methodologies (especially those linked to games and video games), from different
educational sectors that will be actively involved during the research stage.
The data were gathered following the defined mix – based methodology: desk research and
qualitative research methods, such expert interviews and group discussion.
Desk research aims at collecting the main references and reports regarding the investigation
object: social games based learning initiatives in Romania.
Qualitative methodology:
In order to explore in detail the pedagogical potential of game based learning, as well as the
barriers to uptake of games in learning practices and skills supported by game based learning
approaches, a combination of 2 qualitative methods were used: expert interviews and group
discussions with practitioners.
The expert interviews helped us to collect the in-depth information about the topic and on the
other hand, can provide with spontaneous feedback. The main objective was to provide in –
depth know –how on game based learning initiatives and their pedagogical potential from the
experts point of view.
Requirements and criteria for expert interviews:
Six qualitative face-to-face interviews with Romanian experts were organized.
The experts interviewed are specialist from companies specialized on design of educational
software and specialist on the use of innovative teaching and training, from schools, universities
and training centres.
During the interviews we follow the interview guidelines provided by the WP2 leader exploring
the following topic: testing a game sample, social games based learning initiatives in the partner
countries: tendencies; profile of social game player (factors Influencing Social Game Selection
and networking – where?); analysis of pedagogical potential (educational benefits) of of the
use of games (with a focus of social games) for adult learning; identification of success elements
of social games for education ; barriers to uptake of games in learning practice; skills supported
by social game-based learning approaches; how learning may take place (learning
evaluation); good practices-examples.

69
Group discussion was organized with the direct target group - adult training practitioners in
order to help us to explore the game based initiatives.
Group discussion was organized involving 13 adult training practitioners. The profile of
participants is in Annex.
MAIN FINDINGS
The main findings that can give an overal imagin about social networks and social games
learning initiatives in Romania were collected during the desk research via internet or
bibliografic research.
Social games based learning (GBL) initiatives
During the interviwes with the expers and group discutions were identified some GBL initiatives
which are avaible in Romanian language:
- A WEBSITE FOR LEARNING 60 LANGUAGES: Digital Dialects website2 features free to use
online games for learning languages. Language resources include games for learning phrases,
numbers, useful words, spelling, verb conjugation and alphabets. Games use Macromedia Flash
Player.
- SOME WEBSITEs THAT PRESENT LEARNING SOFTWARE PROGRAMS WHICH RUN IN ROMANIAN
LANGUAGE3, for example www.educational-freewer.com that prezents high-quality free
educational software and websites - mostly for kids, but also for grown-by different categories
and also by language.
There are presented the following educational softwers:
Celestia - Free Space Simulation4 is a free real-time space simulation that lets you experience
our universe in three dimensions. Navigate through space and visit Saturn, Mars and the Sun!
Games For The Brain - Exercises For Mental Sharpness5 On this website, you will find several small
but quite difficult Java games and puzzles that gives your brain a bit of exercise - memorizing
images, solving anagrams and answering trivia questions.
2 http://www.digitaldialects.com/Romanian.htm
3 http://www.educational-freeware.com/language/Romanian.aspx
4 http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
5 http://www.gamesforthebrain.com/romanian/

70
Gcompris - Educational Games For Linux and Windows6 GCompris is an educational software
package which offers different activities to kids from 2 to 10 years old. Gcompris is part of the
GNU project. It is available for both Windows and Linux.
GeoGebra - Geometry, Algebra and Calculus Freeware7 GeoGebra is a free and multi-platform
dynamic mathematics software for schools that joins geometry, algebra and calculus.
GeoGebra is written in Java.
Google Earth - View The Earth From Space8 Google Earth is an amazing piece of software
displaying maps, 3D buildings and satellite images of the entire world. Highly recommended.
Mingoville.com - ESL (English As A Second Language) For Kids9 In the flamingo city of Mingoville,
kids can learn English as a second language for free the fun way in an instant immersion
environment. Missions include body parts, numbers and letters, colours, nature and seasons and
much more.
Ptable.com - Dynamic Periodic Table Of Elements10 On the website ptable.com, you find a
feature-rich interactive periodic table of elements created in XHTML. Each element links directly
to a Wikpedia page that describes it in detail, including density, melting point, appearance,
occurrence and much more.
Scratch.mit.edu - Let Kids Program Their Own Games and Animations11 Scratch is a
programming environment for beginners, where kids can use a simple programming syntax to
create their own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art, and share their creations
on the web
Sebran's ABC12 is a freeware collection of 12 different activities for kids 4-9 years old. It includes
counting games, a Hangman game, Memory games, typing games and much more. This free
software offers a variety of fun activities and games that are tailored to help young children
learn letters and the alphabet. Some of the games even introduce some fundamental reading
skills as well.
Test Geography Knowledge with the Seterra Geography Tutor Software13 Seterra is an interesting
Windows-based application that makes geography more interesting for students, and presents
geographic facts to students in a format that is easier to remember. It is offered as a free map
quiz game, but it actually serves as a useful educational tool for both the classroom and the
home.
6 http://gcompris.net
7 http://www.geogebra.org/cms/ro
8 http://www.google.com/intl/ro/earth/index.html
9 http://www.mingoville.com/ro.html
10 http://www.ptable.com/?lang=ro
11 http://scratch.mit.edu
12 http://www.wartoft.nu/software/sebran/romanian.aspx
13 http://www.seterra.net

71
Wikipedia.org - The Greatest Free Online Encyclopedia14 is an excellent multilingual, online
encyclopaedia compiled by a distributed network of volunteers from all around the world.
www.tuxpaint.org - Free Drawing Software for Kids15 can run both in full-screen mode and in a
window. It has a configuration section with many options, and supports a variety of different
languages.
- A PROJECT ABOUT GAMES IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING, financed by European
Commission - LLP ProActive:Fostering Teachers’ Creativity through Game Based Learning16,
coordinated by University of Madrid and involving partners from Spain, Italy, Romania, UK. The
project aims to stimulate the creativity of trainers working in LLP sub-programmes, developing a
conceptual framework for integrating different learning metaphors; to introduce innovative ICT-
based experiences in teaching and training practice, adapting and enhancing the game
editors, integrating five learning metaphors; to implement co-design creativity sessions and pilot
sites for addressing school, university and vocational education scenarios and to validate the
proposed approach as a means of learning and evaluate its impact on teachers’ creativity and
students’ outcomes.
The profil of social games players
It is very difficul to make a profil of social games players because the diversity of games and also
the increasing rate of number of social networks users. We can only give a general overviwe
regarding the Facebook in Romania as most used social network as follows:
According with Facebrands.ro17, the number of Romanian users of Facebook is: 4.719.000. The
evolution of social networks in Romania show that in one and a half years the number of
Facebook users increased by 5 times, Romania is on 6th position in world as growth rate and 47th
as number of users.
In the figure 1 there are some data regarding the Facebook in Romania published on 29th of
November 2011 at Social Netorks Conference, Bucharest, Romania.
14 http://ro.wikipedia.org/
15 http://www.tuxpaint.org/
16 http://www2.ub.edu/euelearning/proactive/joomla/index.php
17 http://www.facebrands.ro/map.html

72
Figure 1.
Sample testing
Were tested by the experts during the interviews:
 Sample of STORY GENERATION: http://apps.beeherd.gr/p4i-stories/
 Irish example - NEELB2 (3D game sample): http://neelb.arcaneindustries.co.uk/
The experts considered that the most important is that the games are simply to use, likes the
idea of story and also to create an virtual environment and an avatar in 3D that makes the
game more attractive. To be attractive and motivational for learners/trainees is the most
important characteristic that was recommended by experts.
For the project purpose – games for intercultural competencies, the most adequate seems to
be, in the experts’ opinion, Story generation, but taking into account the need to be attractive,
The evolution of social networks in Romania
In Bucharest Facebook users are 32%, 4% are
in Iasi, 5%Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara 5%, 4%
Constant and Brasov 3%.
Romanian users spend 23 days in a month on
Facebook, and each user has in average 115
friends.
In gender perspective 50% are men and 50%
female and aged between 13-65 years.
40% of Romanian access social networks from
work and 34% by phone.

73
motivational, allowing active participation most of them agreed that a combination between
the two samples tested is better.
Some of experts underlined the need of creating a virtual environment that connects the
information with its applicability in real life.
The intercultural competencies are strongly related with communication and interaction in order
to understand and have a proper behaviour in real cultural environment that differs from your
own.
Analysis of pedagogical potential of the use of games (with a focus of social games for adult
learning)
Games can actually play a crucial role in the educational process. They get learners engaged
and interested in the material, and they can serve as a catalyst to the learning process.
Creative teaching refers to teachers who use imaginative ways to make learning process more
interesting, exciting and effective18. GBL is an ideal candidate to stimulate creative teaching
methods. Games provide challenging experiences that promote intrinsic satisfaction and
opportunities for learning authentic19 20.
Increasing the pedagogical potential of using GBL is provided by the possibility of combining the
five basic types of pedagogical process: acquisition, imitation, experimentation, discovery and
participation and intuitive nature, stimulating and creative games in general and digital in
particular.
GBL enhances the teacher's role: The teacher's role evolves from the classroom instructor or tutor
to guide the flexible, one that offers students a feedback right when they need.
GBL is a way to come close to the students: The experience of teaching allows teachers to enter
students' culture and reality environment using tools that integrates all day. In addition, students
usually have difficulty in maintaining attention during a lesson less traditional face this problem
where the activity GBL.
18 NACCCE (1999). All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education, Report to the Secretary of State for Education and
Employment the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, UK
19 GEE, J. P. (2007). Good videogames and good learning: collected essays on video games. New York: Peter Lang
Publishing;
20 MIMS, C. (2003). Authentic Learning: A Practical Introduction & Guide for Implementation. Meridian: A Middle School
Computer Technologies Journal, 6(1)

74
GBL is a way to come close to the students: The experience of teaching allows teachers to enter
students' culture and reality environment using tools that integrates all day. In addition, students
usually have difficulty in maintaining attention during a lesson less traditional face this problem
where the activity GBL.
GBL enhances learning achievements: GBL practices appear to contribute to good learning
outcomes.
For students, it is easy to learn through play. They seem to learn the information included in the
game, and to remember the better as the activity was more attractive.
GBL points: Students feel more attracted to a GBL activity than a lecture and define games as a
new and enjoyable learning.
GBL stimulate self-learning and learning by doing: Students become independent during the
session and fail to GBL perfectly handle interaction with computers and game interface.
GBL encourages collaboration between students: Typically, students work together to help one
another or to reach agreement before deciding how to act in the game space.
GBL helps improve visibility schools: design and implementation of GBL visibility contributes to
teaching in schools participating in the eyes of public administration, education policy makers in
local and community.
- Conflict, Objectives and Rules: To attract users, games introduce an element of conflict
usually very well described and defined and require the involvement of the player. Action and
background stories are built around this conflict, setting goals and objectives that the player will
have to meet to complete the game. To reach these targets, the player must act according to
rules of the game, those that define what can and can’t be done in the game universe.
- Short feedback cycles: Games implements usually short response cycles (feedback). In
this way players perceive the immediate impact and their actions in the game space (eg. In an
action game if you fail to solve a puzzle you will be killed). This mechanism shows how well the
player is doing.
- Involvement and virtual reality: This feature comes from the fact that games are
designed to provide entertainment user. In games, this is achieved by applying different
techniques: stories attractive foray into 3D virtual world, increasing the difficulty, etc.

75
- Challenge: An appropriate and balanced level of challenge is one reason games are so
appealing. Good games are neither too easy nor too difficult for players.
- Adaptability: An almost unique feature of the game - that runs in a system determines
gaming experiences ranging from one player to another and from one release to another.
Adaptability is usually used in commercial games to determine the challenge level changes
depending on player skills and the knowledge of the game, as well as to ensure a balanced
experience in online games. A interesting example of adaptability is playing Left4Dead ™, a
target very good game. In this game, an artificial intelligence system, "Director", controls the
level of stimulation, and positioning of elements, creating a dynamic experience of the game
replay value.
- Resume: The best you can play more than once. However, this feature is not present in all
games and requires a good design, and an appropriate balance of play features such as
adaptability (presenting different challenges each time) and virtual reality (a good game can
be resumed as long as the story can be reread).
- Other features are closely related to the context of the game, such as where it is used as
distributed players, etc.. Some of the most interesting features in terms of education are: Reward
systems: a rule, games player rewards results as a mechanism to increase its involvement. One
of these methods, for instance, giving players points based on the time they solve a problem,
accurate way of solving the problem or decision they take at a time. Reward is a combination
of experience points, items, money and new skills and abilities requirements after each game.rds
players receive are public and visible during the game as a social recognition.
- Competition: Some games stimulates competition "good" not only among colleagues /
other competitors but the player himself (self-competition) by noting its score or rankings
available online. Although some games seem to rely on complex technologies (such as 3D
graphics) to motivate players, others, such as BrainTraining ™ have demonstrated that
encouraging competition can be achieved by the elements described above, is very important
motivating factors for a player.
- Collaboration: Some games, especially MMOGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Games -
Free Online multiplayer) promote collaboration among competitors. In some cases these games
are designed as a collaborative experience in other games, cooperation is a decision each
player.
Studies in GBL show a clear relationship between digital games and learning. There are several
arguments in favour of digital games as learning tools. It supports more than ever that they can

76
increase student motivation for learning the nature of their engagement, as discussed in Section
2.1. Indeed, digital games can provide challenging experiences that promote the intrinsic
satisfaction of the player, keeping them involved and motivated.
In addition, players have fun while playing a game because you have to learn to play. Indeed,
the games, the challenge increases as the game advances. This leads players to improve their
skills and learn new strategies to end the game.
Another feature of digital games that aligns perfectly with the requirements of learning is that
the game provides short response cycles (feedback). This allows players to freely explore the
game environment and checking their own hypotheses, learning by trial-and-error, receiving
immediate information you can use to correct the wrong assumptions in a risk-free. This feature is
well aligned with educational needs, taking into account that most methods require educators
to provide students educational response (feedback) from their actions. However, the
traditional approach where the instructor must record the student using conventional means
(eg. Manual) to produce a gap until students will receive feedback. Digital games minimize
such differences to zero.
Because digital games place the player in a world where free exploration without requiring the
intervention of an instructor, video games are ideal environments to promote learning authentic
"learning by doing" (learning by doing), making your experience of the student leader learning.
In this digital games can provide meaningful learning experiences simulating scenarios with a
high degree of interactivity that we normally only find in the real world where they encounter
real problems.
Consequently, digital games is an environment to promote active learning and improve
problem solving skills not necessarily memory. Can increase their personal fulfilment and lead to
high performance, as demonstrated in specific target groups (schools).
 GBL design requires training and support: game editors that provide a large selection of
features can be difficult to use. This means that teachers will need training and support time to
practice enough to know the publisher so that they can create a functional game and resolve
any doubts or problems.
 Design GBL is a big investment of time: The development and use of games in the
classroom requires more time than other methodologies and sometimes is difficult to combine
with other teaching activities.

77
 Technical Challenges: Managing the real-time sessions of game requires a good quality
Internet connection that may not exist in schools. Other technical problems may occur
suddenly, such as Editor’s incompatibilities with operating systems.
Social Games is an easy and relaxing way to harmonize the relations of a group, favouring inter-
knowledge, communication and cooperation. With these games you create an informal
relationship with the facilitator encourages the spontaneity and freedom of expression of the
participants.
- Psycho-education values transmitted through social games:
- Develop pro-social behaviour, pro-group by giving importance to the proper identity of game
partners;
- Develop the ability to anticipate the reaction partners by recognizing the right of the emotions;
- The foundations of assertive communication, negotiation and cooperation, behaviours
conducive to good adjustment group;
- To an increased self-esteem participants in the communication about realistic and personal
potential;
- Adequacy favours those children with behaviour or grades opponents of self-isolation;
- The foundations taking behaviours and roles according to each job;
- Promotes fitness behaviours in social activities: the restaurant, store, theatre, etc.;
- Encourage manifestation skills, cooperation, resource exploration and discovery, problem
solving in the group with the negotiation, communication and networking positive.

78
National analysis of social games based learning show that is a significant number of social
networks users and many of them usually play games that enhances their social competencies
but not only.
In Romania the number of Facebook users increased by 5 times in one and a half years,
Romania is on 6th position in world as growth rate and 47th as number of users that proves the
possible sustainability of final product of project; Romanian market is open for innovative tools
for learning.
There are also games develop by Romanian specialist, companies specialized in educational
software that can be a good example and there are projects that support and encourage the
development of games based learning with high impact on educational process.
The high interest showed by Romanian users of games and GBL prevue the utility of our project.
The main barriers in the development and implementing the GBL identified by analysis must be
taken into account in our project in order to assure that our final product will have a good
impact on the Romanian market of GBL.

79
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(11) Simons, R.J. (2004) Metaphors of learning at work and the role of ICT, Workshop
Learning and Technology at Work: London
(12) Fondul pedagogic din spatele ProActive In L. Mason, S. Andreuzza, B. Arfè & L. Del
Favero (Eds.), Improving learning, fostering the will to learn. Proceedings Biennial Conference
EARLI (pp. 31). Padua, Italy: Cooperativa Libraria Editrice Università di Padova
(13) Simons, R.J., Ruijters, M.P.C (2008) Varieties of work-related learning, International
Journal of Educational Research, 47, 241-251
(14) Moreno-Ger, P., Torrente J., Bustamante, J., Fernández-Galaz, C., Fernández-Manjón, B.,
Comas-Rengifo, M. D.2010 Application of a low-cost web-based
(15) e-Adventure Int. J. Med. Inform. Vol 79, pp. 459-467, (2010),
doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2010.01.017. Available online at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2010.01.017. 2010
(16) Moreno-Ger, P., Burgos, D., Martínez-Ortiz, I., Sierra, J.L., Fernández-Manjón, B. (2008)
Educational Game Design for Online Education
(17) e-Adventure, Computers in Human Behavior 24(6), 2530–2540
(18) Miglino, O., Di Ferdinando, A., Rega, A., Ponticorvo, M. 2007 Le nuove macchine
per apprendere: simulazioni al computer, robot e videogiochi multi-utente, EUTOPIA
Alcuni Prototipi. Sistemi Intelligenti, 19 (1), 113-136, ISSN: 1120-9550
(19) Miglino, O., Delli Veneri, A., Di Ferdinando, A., Benincasa, B. (2008) EUTOPIA-MT: La
Formazione alla Mediazione attraverso un Gioco di Ruolo, On-line. In Proceedings XIV edition of
AIPñ sezione sperimentale, Padova
(20) Miglino, O., Venditti, A., Delli Veneri, A. Di Ferdinando, A. (2010) EUTOPIA. Teaching
mediation skills using multiplayer online role-playing games, World Conference on Educational
Sciences, Istanbul 4-8/2/2010
(21) Delli Veneri, A., Miglino, O. EUTOPIA-MT: conflict management through digital worlds, E-
book: " (download version At www.fridericiana.it/schedanew.asp?isbn=9788883380884)

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Name and surname
Ag
e
Gend
er Occupation Education
Social games player
(games played)
Mitu Diana 42 F Trainer MBA ConQUIZtador
Alexandrescu
Valentina 47 F Trainer University Story Generator
Stanciu Alina 32 F Engineer University Farmville, NEELB Games
Cretu Marian 36 M Engineer University Farmville
Predonu Maria 52 F Statistician University ConQUIZtador, Farmville
Militaru Dan 28 M Electrician
High
school Airport Demo
Paraschiv Ioana 33 F Accountant University Story Generator
Pascu Dorin 37 M Architect University Farmville, ConQUIZtador
Palade Cristina 23 F Hairdresser
High
school ConQUIZtador
Lazar Andreea 28 F Baker
High
school Story Generator
Stoica Ioana 26 F Dentist University Farmville
Sava Claudiu 39 M
Commercial
Worker
High
school Airport Demo, Farmville
Cristescu Mihai 29 M Engineer University Farmville
Popa Adrian 42 M
Commercial
Manager
University
Airport Demo
Danciu Razvan 27 M
Agricultural
Engineer
University
ConQUIZtador
Petre Vasile 35 M Project Manager University Story Generator
Frentescu Adrian 32 M Teacher University Air Travel, Farmville
Mugurel Andrei 43 M Teacher University Air Travel
Bunduc Madalina 29 F Teacher University Arabian World

82
SPANISH ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: INVESLAN in collaboration with IEGD

NATIONAL REPORTS: SPANISH NATIONAL REPORT
83
SPANISH NATIONAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
The present report has been developed with the framework of Playing for Interculturality Project
(Ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-GRUNDTVIG-GMP), work package 2 “Analysis on the use of game-
based learning initiatives”, which aims at analysing the pedagogical potential of games (with a
special focus on social games) applied to competences development, identifying those
variables that influence the successful implementation of game-based learning initiatives, as
well as gathering success examples and good practices on EU and international levels that
could be used as inspirational experiences for adults training practitioners.
Two Spanish partners: IEGD and INVESLAN has closely worked together to optimize the expertise
and present the adequate and valid research results.
The present report has been elaborated following “Guidelines and working methodology for
carrying out the analysis” that have been defined by INVESLAN (ES). The data has been
gathered following mix – based methodology: desk research and qualitative research methods,
such as expert interviews and group discussion. The qualitative research was implemented
during the months of March – April, 2012.
The group discussion has been organized by IEGD, which took place on the 2nd of April, 2012, in
Barcelona, aiming to test two game samples and collecting a feedback and recommendations
as well as identifying intercultural competences to be included in the social game that will be
developed within the framework of Playing for Interculturality project. As a result, 11 participants
attended and contributed to the group discussion. The Profile Matrix can be consulted in
ANNEX.
The references and desk research bibliography have been selected according to the following

84
criteria: reference authors in games and technology enhanced teaching and learning in Spain;
actual and current references offering valid information on the investigation topic.
At the same time, 6 expert interviews have been conducted, aiming to explore the game based
initiatives in Spain and identify the success elements of games for education. The following
experts in innovating and training methodologies, as well as game based learning, have been
contacted and interviewed1:
Julio Hidalgo, Design Manager of Social Games at Digital Chocolate (Barcelona)
Esther Hierro, Communication Manager at Marinva: juego y educación (Barcelona)
Carlos González Tardón, Founder of Online Consultancy of Video Games (Asesoría On-line sobre
Videojuegos) (Madrid)
Pablo Moreno Ger, Associate Professor in the Department of Software Engineering and Artificial
Intelligence and Member of the e-Learning Research Group at UCM (Madrid)
Baltasar Fernandez Manjón, Associate Professor in the Department of Software Engineering and
Artificial Intelligence (DISIA) and Vice Dean , Foreign Relationships at the Computer Science
School and co-leader of e-Learning research group at UCM (Madrid)
Jazno Francoeur, Art department director – Eurosia at DigiPen Insitute of Technology (Bilbao)
Paula Paunero, Coordinator of Alternativa 13 initiative, ANESVAD (Bilbao)
Carme Romero, Game designer and consultant for the Alternativa 13 initiative, El bicho games,
(Bilbao/Barcelona)
It has to be noted that to analyse and study the trends and development of social
games/online gaming is not an easy exercise indeed, as from the sociological point of view, in
order to understand the phenomenon, we have to consider the key crucial issues to our
understanding of online gaming and associated social relations, including: patterns of play,
legal and copyright issues, players production, identity construction, gamer communities,
communication, patterns of social exclusion and inclusion around gender, race and disability
and future directions in gaming etc. The scope of the present report and main aspiration is to
shed some light on the game based learning initiatives in Spain, aiming to describe the latest
tendencies and collecting the good practices of game based learning initiatives2.

85
MAIN FINDINGS
Games (social games) based initiatives
As reflected in the Horizon Report 2011 K-12 Edition, which identifies and describes emerging
technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative
expression within education around the global3: “Game based learning has gained
considerable traction since 2003, when James Gee began to describe the impact of game play
on cognitive development. Since then, research and interest in the potential in gaming on
learning has exploded, as has the diversity of games themselves, which the emergence of
serious games as a genre, the proliferation of gaming platforms, and the evolution of games on
mobile devices. Developers and researchers are working together in every area of game –
based learning, including games that are goal – oriented; social game environments; non-digital
games that are easy to construct and play; games developed expressly for education; and
commercial games that lend themselves to refining team and group skills”.
Within the context of the above described global trends, if we turn to study the Spanish context
in particular, although we find an emerging number of initiatives and certain developments and
can observe a significant qualitative change around the games, game based learning is a field
with still much to do. As follows, we identified and would like to highlight certain implemented
initiatives on different levels: state level (or national initiatives) as well as join collaboration
projects among the universities and private companies.
First of all, we would like to highlight two particular initiatives in the field that are aimed at digital
competences promotion, that were launched by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and
Sports in order to bridge the first gap of resistance (as pointed by the majority of the interviewed
experts) of usage and application of the digital games in the classroom:

86
RECURSOS EDUCATIVOS: http://ntic.educacion.es/v5/web/profesores/
A website, containing a number of interactive multimedia educational resources (educational
games included), organized by subject and level, oriented to the professorship and educational
community. The website has been initiated by the National Institute of Educational technologies
and training of teaching staff (Instituto Nacional de Tecnologías Educativas y de Formación del
Profesorado).
FORMACIÓN EN RED: http://formacionprofesorado.educacion.es/
A training web, launched by the National Institute of Educational technologies and training of
teaching staff, providing a list of in situ and online courses for the professors, including
agreements, licences etc., coming from both public and private sectors. The training web is
offering a number of training courses, including “Application of didactical games in the
classroom”.
Furthermore, we would like to highlight a few initiatives in the field of university – game
company/provider collaboration that are still very few though, however it can be considered as
an important advancement and step forward in promotion and application of game based
learning:
PROFESIONES DIGITALES: http://www.profesionalesdigitales.es
A national online portal oriented to the universities, companies, students and all professionals,
who are interested in the field of Digital Contents in any of its modalities: video games,
animations, virtual reality, graphic design, audio-visual edition and post-production etc. has
been launched in 2008, co-funded by the FEDER within the framework of PEOC. Within the
framework of the programme, since 2008, more than 4200 students from 24 universities around
Spain, could take part in a number of training actions in the field of audio-visual production, 3D
animation etc., as well as more than 150 university – company collaboration agreements have
been signed.
As an example of the latter, we could take the renewed agreement of Electronics Arts España
and University of Alcalá. The joint project that aims to continue the investigation on how the
virtual communities of certain video games facilitate the learning processes related with
curricula contents and civic education. The project aims to continue integrating the video
games as an educational tool, motivating the students. The project aims at providing the
professors sufficient resources, so they would be able to contribute and convert the information

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about the particular videogames, available in the internet, in an accessible material, used in the
classrooms. A special portal has been designed to the professors in order to make the most
advantage of the video games and use them in the classroom:
http://www.aprendeyjuegaconea.com/index.php. Furthermore, as a fruit of collaboration
between the Electronics Arts España and the Univeristy of Alcalá, the educational guide has
been developed “Learning with video games” (Aprendiendo con video juegos)4.
Another example that is worth mentioning, that aims at bringing together the world of
academia and a number of leading companies: eMadrid - http://www.emadridnet.org/. The
network eMadrid – is a project, financed by the Community of Madrid, which aims at promoting
the investigation and development of technology enhanced learning, coordinated by the
University of Carlos III (Madrid) and counts on participation of the following partners: Universidad
Autonoma (Madrid), Universidad Politécnica (Madrid), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (Madrid)
and UNED, as well as other universities and leading companies.
Last, but not the least, we also would like to share the e-Adventure5 project we learnt about
during our investigation stage that called our attention as a good practice in the promotion of
educational games and game like simulations in educational processes. The e-Adventure
platform is a research project aiming to facilitate the integration of educational games and
game-like simulations in educational processes in general and Virtual Learning Environments
(VLE) in particular. It is being developed by the <e-UCM> e-learning research group at
Universidad Complutense de Madrid, with three main objectives: reduction of the development
costs for educational games; incorporation of education-specific features in game
development tools and integration of the resulting games with existing courseware in Virtual
Learning Environments. The core of the e-Adventure project is the e-Adventure educational
game engine, that runs games defined using the e-Adventure language. Authors can use the
graphical editor to create the games or directly access the human-readable source documents
that describe the adventures using XML markup. With e-Adventure, any person can write an
educational point & click adventure game.
Slow progress and obstacles
Nevertheless “the acceptance of potential benefits of educational gaming has increased
gradually within the research community” (Moreno – Ger et al: 2009)6 as well as we can observe
an increasing number of initiatives of game based learning application, the majority of the
interviewed experts agreed that the development concerning the game based learning
initiatives are quite limited in Spain, as “the majority of initiatives have been developed in
collaboration of big partnerships” (ex. 4), comparing to the European level. As Moreno-Ger et al.

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(2009) puts it, “Some major obstacles also hinder the application of games in education, such as
teachers rejecting games out of a fear that technology may replace them or teachers who do
not want to find out that know less about the topic than their students. The reluctance of
teacher to use video games is also related to one of the most intangible and difficult-to-resolve
issues, which is the social perception of game. Although the games are being embraced by
players in all age ranges and genders, games are still perceived by a large sector of society as
mindless toys for young male kinds” (Ibid.).
In terms of major obstacles, the following ideas have been shared by the interviewed experts:
“Traditionally, the problem is in the infrastructure. But there are problems on all levels. Too big
rejection on behalf of professorship or college culture that is the first barrier. A lack of training of
the professors, to take the most advantage of the computers. Furthermore, social image do not
correspond, the problem in media as well as resistance on behalf of the parents. In terms of
more technical aspects, the costs of development are very elevated, as well as we have a
technical problem: how to reduce the cost” (ex.4)
“The initiatives of game based learning are quite limited and we are talking about small scale
games, such as casual games. The infrastructure is one of the main barriers I could say, as well as
the inclusion of games in the school curricula” (ex.5)
“There is not much of a game industry here, game sector is developing. It takes at least 5 years
to grow; it takes skills long time to grow. Furthermore, you have to bring other players together.
The government is not fully embraced in the game industry. They don’t take them seriously as
business (ex.6)”.
Game industry and active gamers in Spain
A significant qualitative change around the video games in particular has become clear in the
recent years, reaching even governments. As Checa (2009) observes, video games tend to be
viewed as a cultural creation of huge potential7. According to the data of Spanish Association
of Entertainment Software Distributors and Editors8, in 2011 the video game industry was the main
entertainment industry in Spain, referring to the turnover that reached 980 million of euros.
Nevertheless, the latest turnover shows the decrease of 15%, comparing the data of 2010.
Despite the latter decrease, we can observe an increasing social acceptance9, while 62% of
teenagers and 24% of elderly people identify themselves as habitual users.
The report, developed by the GfK Consultancy (2010) “The Future of Video games”10 (El Futuro
del Videojuego) points at the increasing popularity of online games. 16% of the video gamers,

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believe that online games allow to meet interesting people, 25% of them believe that video
games allow to compete with the best around the world, while 26% of video gamers think that
the online game allows to save and avoid displacement in order to be able to play with friends
and 33% of them think that online game allows a constant development of “digital”
competences. At the same time, the report reveals some interesting insights on the future of
video games: it is estimated that the future of video games will have a strong social character
as well as a strong social acceptance (Ibid.).
According to the Newzoo Games Market Report 201111, in Spain we have 15.000.000 active
gamers, 40% of them – spend money on games. It is estimated that in 2001 it was spent around
1.600.000.000 EUR on games12 (for more details see Figure 1):
Figure 1. Money spend on games in 2011
Source: Newzoo, the business of games, 2011
Referring to the above mentioned report, in terms of time spent on games, we see that 26% of
active gamers spend the time on console games, followed by 16% of active gamers spending
time in social networks. The report also provides some interesting insights, so-called “fun factors”,
such as: 13% of game time is spent on mobile games, 72% of Nintendo DS gamers also play
games on their mobile phones or iPod/iPad, 430.000 paying MMO gamers use an online
payment system, 30.000 paying female mobile gamers like gardening etc.

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The profile of (social) player/gamer
The “gamer” concept is widely used and is commonly understood to represent a person who
plays games and contains aspects of gaming behaviour (e.g. types of games, amount of play),
motivation to play (e.g. profit, enjoyment, social interaction), generational, as well as cultural
dimension (Alklind et al.: 2009)13. “An established distinction is made between hardcore gamers,
who are dedicated and spend much of their time playing and casual gamers who enjoy
gaming, but are less concerned with the type of game and may not be willing to sacrifice too
much time on it, at the expense of other activities” (Alklind et al.: 2009). In addition to that, we
can identify other type of gamers, such as: power games, social gamers, leisure gamer, dormant
gamers, cyber athletes, incidental gamers, as well as occasional gamers.
Trying to define a profile of (social games) player is not an easy exercise. Avoiding certain
stereotyping, we can identify two types of players: players who play for pleasure and the ones
who play for training purposes. The second type of the player, as highlighted by one of the
experts “has other kind of predisposition” (ex.2): “Playing for pleasure we receive a type of
pleasure that is hardly possible to obtain any other way. When you realize that your efforts have
the result - its enormous enjoying. It gives you reward and security” (ex.2).
A typical adult player (to be more precise, video player) could be associated with the following
characteristics: 25 years old, 60% male and 40 % female.
In terms of the profile of video gamers, referring to the above mentioned report “The Future of
Video games”, we can distinguish three different profiles: Hardcore player, Casual player and
“Cani-casual/gramer”. The hardcore player is distinguished by the following characteristics:
intensive (plays many hours), expert (has been playing for the last years), demanding (in terms of
brands and games), and informed (is familiar with the market and shares information in the
network), while casual player is described by the following characteristics: sporadic (plays few
hours), and recent player. In between those two profiles, we have a profile of “cani –
casual/gramer”. The report shows that hardcore players are habitual online players, with a
strong tendency to play with friends. Online gaming with friends feeds the wish to compete and
allows the cooperative gaming. In a meanwhile the “gramers” have outlined certain obstacles
regarding the online gaming: slow internet connection, failures on the platforms, which as a rule
on weekends are overcrowded; language and communication difficulties; distance feeling and
lack of knowledge about the opponent; difficulties in choosing the type of opponent (level of
game, language etc.); even finding a connected player with whom to play; no playing habit

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(many friends do not play online). Interestingly enough, casual gamers do not tend to play video
games online, but they do play Facebook games, such as Farm Ville, Causes, Mafia Wars etc.
Last but not the least, it has to be highlighted that no significant gender differences have been
observed, rather more cultural topics, although in terms of video games we can notice a male
public dominance. Interestingly enough, as it was shared by majority of the experts, in terms of
social games - a female dominance can be observed: “social games attract a more female
population” (ex.4). On the other hand, as stated by one the experts: “Looking on
rapprochement on personal level – we have no gender differences; rather I would say that it’s
unisex, while motivations are similar (ex.2)”. Moreover, it was also observed a demographic
change, 14“in fact, nowadays more and more women are playing” (ex. 6). Control situation,
knowing what is going to happen, the feeling of well-being are most common factors that
motivate and encourage playing.
In terms of game selection, two main ideas have been shared: due to individual interests
(interests and knowledge defines the game preferences) and social facilitation – if you know
someone who plays.
Defining the key motivations for playing games, Burn and Carr (2006) distinguish three main
motivations: ludic, representation and communal, that are suggested as a way of categorizing
types of gamers´ motivation (Crawford et al)15.
Sample testing and self-assessment of intercultural sensitivity
As stated above, on the 2nd of April, 2012, a group discussion has been organized by IEGD,
aiming to test two game samples and collecting a feedback and recommendations as well as
identifying intercultural competences to be included in the social game that will be developed
within the framework of Playing for Interculturality project. As follows, we would like to present a
summary and main outcomes of the group discussion.
Introduction to the focus group development in Barcelona
After explaining the project to the participants and the objective of the focus group,
participants introduced each other and then filled out the self-assessments on cultural sensitivity
individually. Then we tested the two sample games, the participants worked in groups and had
the opportunity to play both games. After each game was played, there was a discussion on
the impressions, opinions, feedback, participants had about each game. The last part of the

92
focus group was an open discussion on the different questions on the guidelines, and other
related topics that came up. The focus group finished with a brainstorming and discussion on the
key intercultural skills the participants thought would be interesting to take into consideration for
the development of the project’s social game.
Participants’ self-assessment on intercultural sensitivity
The majority of participants evaluate themselves as being quite interculturally competent. This
might be due to the fact that most of them work in the intercultural field, directly or indirectly,
are from diverse origins, and have international experience. Participants with less experience
with interculturality evaluated themselves differently, in general less competent and with more
limitations. It is interesting to see the contrasts.
However, it could also be that participants have evaluated themselves in general more
competent that they actually are. This happens sometimes with this type of self-assessments
where people only have to judge themselves without being given specific situations or actual
conflicts to be solved.
In general participants are very curious about other cultures, don’t avoid intercultural
interactions, and are interested in working with and in other cultures. They also say that they are
able to see things from different angles and are knowledgeable of cultural differences.
However, they evaluate themselves as having some difficulties in coming up with creative ideas
and flexible solutions that take into considerations the beliefs or ways of doing of others. In
addition they are less capable of predicting the effects of their behaviour on others.
From the last paragraph, it can be concluded that there is still a need of developing flexibility
and knowledge of other ways of thinking and doing. Participants might have the knowledge
about and the experience with diversity through practice, but there is still place for improvement
for the ability of switching mind-sets. Using Bennetts’s DMIS model, participants might be on the
adaptation stage, but not yet on the integration stage, where people is able to use multiple
cultural frames of references in evaluating intercultural situations.
In conclusion, from the self-assessments filled out by this focus group’s participants the main
intercultural competences that need to be developed are:
o Knowledge about cultural differences in communication styles, verbal and non-verbal.
Especially related to directness-indirectness and face issues.
o Communication skills to be able to use effectively and appropriately those different
communication styles depending on the intercultural interactions and situations.

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o Flexibility and adaptation skills
o Ability to switch mind-sets or between worldviews, which implies knowledge about
cultural differences
o Ability to deal with ambiguity and complex intercultural interactions
At the end of the focus group session the participants developed a list of the intercultural
competences they thought would be interesting to include in the social game. Since it was a
group with experience in the intercultural field, we think the list will be of great help. The list is
added at the end of this section.
Testing the sample games
All the participants were asked to test two game samples: STORY GENERATOR and NEELB2.
Particular feedback and recommendations were collected, see Table 1 below.
Table 1. Participants’ feedback – testing the sample games
Game sample Comments Recommendations and
suggestions
1st game sample:
Story Generator
Too simple with only eight
questions;
It needs more information, the
results don’t reflect what was
answered on the questions;
Visually weak, needs more work
on the design, it’s not very
appealing;
Boring and badly written;
The objective is not clear: is it a
game? To generate a story is not
a goal in itself, something should
happen;
Could be labelled as sexist;
Needs more elaboration, it
seems incomplete.
It would be good to be able to choose
aspects related to diversity which can
lead to intercultural conflicts (ethnic
origins, gender, age, religions, etc.);
It could be useful if you could create
your own profile and identity as well as
the other party’s identity. Also to be
able to alter or change your identity
while playing. The more options to
create your own and the others
identities, the best. At the same, there
is a risk or stereotyping from the
beginning;
It would be interesting to have more
questions to follow up: “what would
you do next?”, etc.;
It would be more interesting to have
interaction instead of just generating a
story.

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Game sample Comments Recommendations and
suggestions
2nd game sample:
NEELB2
More interactive than the first
one, at least you can participate
and do something;
The context is good;
More educational objective
than the first one;
It doesn’t add too much to do it
online, you could do the same
on paper;
The design is basic and tedious;
It’s too slow;
The objectives are not explained,
not clear;
The objective is limited if you just
have to answer the questions,
and it’s just a right or wrong
answer;
The results should be shown and
explained;
There is no self-reflection, the
player judges another person’s
perceptions;
Is it a social game? There is no
interaction with other players.
Explain the objectives better and more
explicitly at the beginning;
Define, explain, and give examples of
each concept before starting to play;
Start with a mini-quiz on the concepts,
then play, then explain the concepts
and its implications;
The design needs more possibilities of
action and sound;
Needs to show what are the
consequences of those perceptions
and actions;
Players need to be questioned,
interrogated, in order to make them
reflect on the answers (“how would I
react?” “Has this happened to me?”);
Needs more complexity and
challenge, it’s too simple;
People don’t want to play to be
judged or graded, but for
entertainment or learning purposes.
Gaming experience: types of games usually played, motivation behind playing and learning
outcomes
After testing the two game samples, the participants of the group discussion, have been invited
to share their personal gaming experiences. As follows, we will present the main insights and

95
comments on the type of games usually played, motivation behind playing and learning
outcomes.
Types of games usually played
The participants who play social games do mostly through Facebook or on their phones. The
most popular games amongst those participants are: Draw Something, Words with Friends,
Scramble with Friends, and City Ville. Those games are mostly entertaining and fun, have a
competitive aspect on them, as well as a socializing piece.
Draw Something: by OMGPOP U.S. American firm. The game takes its inspiration from the
Pictionary game. Players are given words (Elvis, football, etc.) and have to draw them on-screen
for Facebook friends to guess. It’s one of the most popular social games of the moment.
Words with Friends: by Zynga. Based on Scrabble, it challenges players to create words in order
to score the highest, while playing against other people.
Scramble with Friends: by Zynga. Players compete against other players to find as many words
as possible on the game board. Each match consists of three rounds of two-minutes, and the
player with the most points at the end wins. Besides Facebook and Ipod, Ipad, etc. it can also
be played on Google Play.
City Ville: by Zynga. The goal is to develop a city by farming, constructing, and collecting rent
using energy points. There I no cost to play but players can purchase content. The player can
also visit his/her neighbors’ cities and perform different jobs there. Players can also send other
players gifts and help them complete goals.
Other online games played
Some participants don’t play social games; however they play videogames on their electronic
devices (computer, phone, Ipod, Ipad etc.):
1. Traditional games like: Chess, Backgammon, or Tetris.
2. More recent video games like: Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Harbor Master, Runaway, Sam & Max,
Monsters Hollywood. They mostly play against the machine, although sometimes play against
other players online.
Some participants play neither social games nor other video games, do not know a lot about
them, or are not interested. They shared they prefer face-to-face games or to socialize with

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people face-to-face, instead of doing it online or alone. Other reasons given are lack of time,
find them boring, or don’t see the benefit or meaning of playing.
Table 2. Motivation behind the playing and motivation for not playing
Motivation behind the playing Motivation for not playing
Mostly fun and excitement Preference for face-to-face games
As a way to relieve stress Preference for socializing on a face-to-face
manner, instead of online
To compete Lack of time
It’s a mental workout Find them boring
To connect with other people:
o as a way to maintain relationships and
stay in touch with distant friends and
relatives
o to meet new people
o with some games the more people you
have in your network, the faster is your
advancement
Don’t see any meaning on it, just play for
playing
Learning outcomes
Participants of the focus group stated that they don’t use social games or other online games
with the objective of learning but for entertainment and relax. It’s also a way for them to
exercise the brain, but not exactly to learn.
However, most participants declared that it’s a great idea to develop a game with an
educational goal. They insisted, though, that it should fundamentally be fun and exciting. They
also stressed the need for a competitive aspect on it.
Some participants affirmed they take online courses or participate on webinars on a regular
basis. So they use the Internet with learning objectives, although they differentiate learning from
playing. Nevertheless they stated that a game which incorporates the two goals, learn and
play, could be an excellent tool.
The social networking carried out while playing has the objective of:
o having fun with friends

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o maintaining relationships and staying in touch with distant friends and relatives
o meeting new people
o competition and winning objectives: for some games the more people you have in your
network, the more points you get and the faster is your advancement
learning
As concluded by participants of focus group, the educational game has a lot of potential.
Participation, motivation, flow status, strategic decision taking, active participation engagement
and concentration – were the most frequently mentioned elements/factors of games potential
in adult learning by the interviewed experts.
As follows we would like to share some particular insights that were collected:
“There is no a better way of learning something than playing, if you enjoy something, you will
learn playing. While playing a lot pressure disappears. You are more focused on playing than
doing wrong or bad. Your motivation will make you do better” (ex.1)
“A game– is a platform with a lot of potential, that allows transmitting values, competences,
related to the creativity, which is possible to transmit through the ludic dynamics” (ex.2)
“Playing you are not afraid to make mistakes, you can be more creative, you can experiment”
(ex.3)
“A game awakens the necessity to share, to feel part of something bigger”
“Some people learn visually, some people learn inactively, drawing etc. We process information
in a different way and games allow that all” (ex. 6)
“A game allows us to develop a very particular physiological space where everything is possible.
A space of tranquillity (peace) and security“(ex.2)
“We like to have challenges, clear objectives. The game represents a way/mode of escaping
from the reality. The game allows us to do things that we are unable to day to day, like an
exodus” (ex.2)
“You can play the same game over and over, because it’s interactive, because there is
architecture of the story and as a developing you are creating this architecture as system of
rules. It’s a player that creates his story within the story” (ex. 6)

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Our desk research findings confirm the experts´ insights. As Prensky (2001)16 puts it: “Digital
Game-Based Learning is precisely about fun and engagement, and the coming together of
and serious learning and interactive entertainment into a newly emerging and highly exciting
medium — Digital Learning Games”
Looking for an answer what makes games enjoyable; Alklind (2009) refers to the Sweetser &
Wyeth theory and defines a GameFlow model that contains eight elements: concentration,
challenge, skills control, clear goals, feedback, immersion and social interaction. Concentration
means that a game should capture the player´s attention and hold it throughout the whole
game; challenge means that a game should have tasks that match the players´ skills level;
players´ skills capture aspects related to how players should learn, develop and master game
skills; control covers aspects that players should a sense of control over the game shell, the
characters and actions they take; clear goal means that the game as well as sections of the
game, i.e. levels, should have goals that are made clear to the player; feedback means that
the player should get immediate response to their actions and they should be informed on their
progress towards the goal; immersion relates to the players involvement in the game and social
interaction means the game should support social interactions through the game, such as
competitions, collaboration, as well as social communities (Ibid.).
Identification of success elements of games (social games) for education
Analysing the success elements of games application in education, or very particular elements
that make a game as a successful experience, the following elements can be identified: clear
objectives, systems of feedback, and graphically attractive (mechanics of the game), sharing
functionality and certainly – fun factor, as it has been already highlighted in the previous section.
“I would say there one thing and one thing alone – fun factor. Game has to do with repetitive
mechanic, something you have to repeat over and over. So for instance - Mario. What does
Mario do? He jumps. Ultimately that character for the last 20 years is all he does - he jumps…Why
are angry birds so fun? Is one mechanic – shoot the bird, hit the pig. That is so mechanically
entire game. But there has to be reward. Because if you think about it, at the end of day, what
did you really get of the game. You could say you are wasting your time. Because what you are
doing - is giving a chance to achieve something, giving a reward (ex.6)”
Talking about social games in particular, social interaction and social dimension are one of key
success elements, as “human being nature like to socialize, we are worried about the around”
(ex. 2): “We are social animals, social games allow us to stay in contact in a ludic way with the
persons with who we like to share, compete etc., as we need to be compared, to be a part of
the other” (ex. 2).

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Self – expression, challenge, reflexion, friends representing something in common, interesting,
cooperation and competition, intrinsic motivation – could be added to the success elements list.
In addition to that, Marchiori et al. (2012)17 argues that educational games allows the educators
to take advantage of their learning-by-doing, problem solving, narrative features and their
ability to generate and keep flow states. The ability of games to keep students engaged and
motivated throughout a lesson – is identified a key aspect in the educational success of the
games application.
To put in a nutshell, we would like to summarize this section with 10 reasons that were identified
by ConnectED18 why game based learning works in education:
1. Familiarity: students are already familiar with many of the devices, regularly using iPads, iPhones,
PSPs etc.
2. Engagement: engages the disengaged, teachers report regularly on how using digital resources in
class captures student imagination.
3. Blended learning has a real place: blending traditional printed media with interactive multimedia
gives you the best of both worlds, technology no longer needs to play a supporting role.
4. A cost effective option: handheld multimedia devices can be cost effective and versatile additions
to the classroom with teachers now using iPads, PS3, Wiis and shortly no doubt the new PS Vita.
5. Content galore! Educational apps abound and it’s now really easy to create your own multimedia
educational content for use on everything from language labs to Macs, Pcs and iPads. The internet
is stuffed full of free resources to help bring content to life.
6. On a mssion! Game based learning also refers to the use of ‘mission’ and ‘quest’ based learning.
7. Flexibility: game based learning techniques are not just restricted to inside the classroom. Robust
and durable these new technologies mean educational content can still be accessed on the
move.
8. Stay ahead: getting stuck in and embracing new technologies helps brings teacher multimedia
skills up to date, equally an understanding of game based learning helps to support schools and
teachers to make the most of the technologies they already have.
9. 21st century workplace skills. More and more organisations require different skills from the old
Industrial model. Game based learning encourages these 21st century requirements of
independent thinking, mission and quest based tasking, communication and collaboration skills
10. The students love it. On a recent game based learning project designed to engage Y5 pupils in
literacy at Foxhill Primary School when asked “Who likes writing?” at the start of the project, only 13
hands out of 23 went up. When asked “Who has enjoyed writing about our eye pet?” all 23 hands
in the class went up!

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Learning identification and evaluation, as observed by the experts, is a controversial subject
matter as there is still an on-going discussion in academia world regarding the topic.
As far as evaluation of the gaming experience and learning outcomes is concerned, the
following suggestions were collection from the interviewers:
“By trial, by experience, by testing at the end” (ex.1).
“Establishing parameters for each activity, punctuation which would mean something” (ex.2).
“There is no magic receipt – taking advantage of the richness of the game, avoiding an
“exam”, observing how the player is interacting and playing, looking at how he/she shares,
compares and compete etc.” (ex.4)
“Evaluation should be part of the game, inside the game, integrated” (ex.5).
As proposed by Serrano et al. (2012)19, evaluation could be improved by taking advantage of
in-game interaction, such as the user behaviour during the game the type and number
interactions performed by the user while playing. As a result: “The processing and logic involved
in Learning Analytics can be used for other purposes different than education. The proposed LAS
can help games in tasks like debugging in the game design (statistics could show game points
with no return), and testing (the LAS could spot if the user is playing the game as it was specified
in the design)” (Ibid.).
Barriers to update of games in learning practice
In terms of barriers on user level, it was acknowledged by the experts that the barriers are
minimal. On the other hand, the major barriers stressed instead were related to the prevailing
negative connotations of the playing the games: “when you play, people don´t take it serous”
(ex.1).
On the other hand, as already mentioned in the introduction of the section, resistance by the
professorship was indicated as one the main barriers to update of games in learning practice.
Furthermore, we have not to dismiss the economic barriers (technological costs of game
development), as well as the privacy issue, particularly, in social games: “one of the
disadvantages of social games – you feel no intimacy” (ex.1).
It can be argued that one of the barriers of games in learning practice application lies also in
the design process, while the design of effective educational game implies taking into account
a balance between the entertainment and educational value. “For this reason, involving

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domain experts in game creation (from inception to design and from initial development to
testing) becomes crucial. Achieving this effective integration can be very complicated as
different problems arise, such as the use of different vocabularies and differing short and long-
term goals for the game” (Marchiori et at.: 2012).
Moreover, Begoña Gros (2008)20 in her book “Video juegos y aprendizaje” (Video games and
learning) argues that despite the evolution of the video game in terms of contents, genres and
platforms has been enormous, the technology for learning/teaching has followed one line and
presents a rather conservative model. The educational software presents an imitation of the text
books, while the educational games make an emphasis on the contents rather than usability,
motivation and immersion. The developments of pedagogical design seem rather poor and
anchored in the less innovated concepts of learning: the contents are the most important and
have to be transmitted in the lineal way, the feedback is limited to the basic information details
about the final answers. Gros (2008) stresses the importance of designing the environments that
would facilitate the learning and not only the instruction. The techniques of video game design
require accumulated knowledge on graphic design, perception and psychology, motivation
etc. To overcome the above described barrier, Gros (2008), referring Malone (1981)21, defines
three fundamental aspects that appear in almost all the computer games and guarantee its
success: challenge (the player is challenged to reach for objectives, that in reality they are
unable or don’t know how to reach), curiosity (the game offers multiple alternatives, new
characters etc. and encourages curiosity in way that the player maintains its motivation to
continue improving) and fantasy (the games seem to provoke not immediate mental images for
the senses and have a capacity to generate unreal ideas). Those three elements are of key
importance for the development of the game and are used as element of motivation in the
majority of the educational programmes (Ibid.).
Skills supported by game – based learning
Obviously, the strongest advantage of the usage of the digital games implies the obtaining of
digital competences (Gros: 2009)22. On the other hand, referring to Prensky (2005), gaming
allows obtaining a number of the competences, such as: collaboration, decision taking under
pressure, persistence and ethical behaviour, calculation of risks, lateral and strategic thinking
(Ibid.).
Lacasa (2011)23 refers to the new forms of literacy24 and applies the model Henry Jenkins. Today
the society implies using the new forms of expression that can be learnt in fact through video
games. As a result, she provides a list of key abilities related to the new forms of literacy:

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problem solving, new forms of manipulation and information presentation, assumption of new
identities, analysis and creative reconstruction of the contents, multitasking, allocated
knowledge, collective intelligence, critical judgment, trans-media navigation, social interactions,
negotiation (Ibid: p. 118-119).
It was agreed by the experts that a wide range of skills in fact can be supported by the game –
based learning:
“Any skills: the concept of game is very wide – any area can be supported, but above all – soft
skills” (ex.4).
“All the abilities related to coordination, physical capacity, anticipation, capacity to take
decisions, create strategies” (ex.2).
“On cognitive level, gaming allows to improve mental affectivity, understanding, perceiving
different players etc.” (ex. 3)
“It is proved, that peoples multitasking skills are better “(ex.6).

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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PLAYING FOR INTERCULTURALITY SOCIAL GAME
All the interviewed experts were kindly asked to share their recommendations for our social
games. The following suggestions were collected:
“Taking into account certain constraints, such as: accessibility – zoom – people that can see
blue etc.” (ex.1)
“Unlimited gaming and continuous challenge. Structures well designed and prepared” (ex.2 ).
“If we travel more… A game allowing running around the world and looking for uniting aspects
or a trip around the world looking for common things – improvising – could be an interesting
approach for the game. In fact, we have more things in common, than the things that separate
us” (ex.2).
“The game should entertaining, not only teaching above all” (ex.3).
“The game should expose a lot of context in cultural differences topics, not only the facts”
(ex.4).
“The game should be simple and easy and obviously should be fun, people should enjoy it. The
games should be easy if not - they provoke stress. They (players) want something to relax, but
something that has a challenge, the players are conscious. People want this kind of
transcendence”(ex.1).

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CONCLUSION REMARKS
Although we could find an emerging number of initiatives and certain developments and can
observe a significant qualitative change around the games, game based learning is a field with
still much to do in Spain. As we could learn during our investigation stage, research and interest
in gaming on learning has increased considerably, nevertheless a list of obstacles is significative,
social perception and acceptance above all.
Despite prevailing conservative trends by applying the educational software that presents an
imitation of the texts books and with a main focus on the contents, the potential itself of games
for education is promising, as confirmed by the interviewed experts and participants of the focus
group: participation, motivation, flow status, strategic decision taking, active participation,
engagement and concentration – can be identified as key aspects in the educational success
of the games application.

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REFERENCES AND NOTES:
1 We would like to express our special gratitude for all the experts for their kind collaboration and
contributions.
2 It has to be noted that the majority of the studies and reports made in Spain, focuses on video
games, therefore as a result, the present report might reflect this tendency.
3 The NMC Horizon Project identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large
impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within education around the
global. Retrieved from: http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/HR2011.pdf
4 More information: http://aprendeyjuegaconea.com/files/guia_UAH_2007.pdf
5 More information about e-Adventure project: http://e-adventure.e-ucm.es/ (e-Adventure is
currently undergoing the development of 2.0 version, therefore the new features are being
added).
6 Moreno-Ger et al. (2009) “Digital Games in eLearning Environments: Current Uses and Emerging
Trends”, Simulation & Gaming, SAGE Publications
7 Checa Godoy, A. (2009) “Hacia una industria española del video juego”, Comunicación, Nº 7,
PP. 177-188, ISSN 1989-600X
8 Spanish Associations of Entertainment Software Distributors and Editors: http://www.adese.es/
9 It is worth mentioning the Gamer Inside project, which can be considered as the first audio-
visual documentary project about the historic memory of the first generations of gamers. The
project aims to show the global impact of video games in the different societies around the
word. To achieve, it the project is analysing the influence of gaming in sectors as diverse as
education, culture and industry. Nowadays, the project counts with more than 185 testimonies,
which come from persons belonging to more than 15 different nationalities, most of them
located in Spain. More information about the project: http://thegamerinside.com/
10 “El futuro de videojuego”, GfK Emer Ad Hoc Research, Nº estudio: 9259, Junio 2010, retrieved
from: http://www.adese.es/pdf/fcuantitativa.pdf

106
11 The data in the 2011 Newzoo Games Market Report is based on analysis of our proprietary
consumer data combined with extensive industry benchmarking. Retrieved from:
http://www.newzoo.com/ENG/1591-2011_Revenue_Report.html
12 Casual websites: these are games played on or downloaded from casual game websites
including playing Premium versions of games, downloaded from such sites (but not social
networks such as Facebook); Social networks: international and local networks such as
Facebook, Hi5, Vkontakte, Orkut etc.; PC/Mac boxed: These are games on a CD or DVD (boxed
product) that you install on your PC, laptop or Mac before playing; PC/Mac download: These
are games that you download and install on your PC, laptop or Mac before playing (excluding
MMO game downloads and premium “casual” games from casual game websites); Mobile
devices: This includes all mobile (smart) phones, iPod, Touch, iPad or tablet (but not handheld
consoles); MMO games: Massive Multiplayer Online (Role Playi
ng) games, often referred to as MMOs or MMORPGs (e.g. World of Warcraft, Aion, Seafight,
Lords of the Rings Online) and Virtual Worlds; Console games: This includes Xbox, Xbox360,
PlayStation 3, PSP as well as older consoles.
13 Alklind et al (2009) “Gamers againts all odds”, in Learning by Playing. Game – based
education system design and development, 4th International conference on e-learning and
games, edutainment 2009, eds. Chang et al, Springer
15 Crawford et al (eds.) Oline Gaming in the context: the social and cultural significance of
online games, Routledge advances in sociology
16 Prensky M., “The Digital Game-Based Learning Revolution”, retrieved from:
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-%20ch1-digital%20game-
based%20learning.pdf
17 Eugenio J. Marchiori, Ángel Serrano, Ángel del Blanco, Iván Martínez-Ortiz, Baltasar Fernández-
Manjón (2012). Integrating domain experts in educational game authoring: a case study. In
proceedings of the 2012 Fourth IEEE International Conference On Digital Game And Intelligent
Toy Enhanced Learning (DIGITEL 2012), pp. 72-76, Takamatsu (Japan). March 27-30 2012. (doi:
10.1109/DIGITEL.2012.20)

107
18 ConnectED is a sell technology & advice focused around the delivery of rich interactive
media to enhance teaching and learning. Retrieved from:
http://www.connectededucation.com/2012/02/ten-reasons-why-game-based-learning-works-
in-education/
19 Ángel Serrano, Eugenio J. Marchiori, Ángel del Blanco, Javier Torrente, Baltasar Fernández-
Manjón (2012). A framework to improve evaluation in educational games. In Proceedings of the
IEEE Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), Marrakesh, Morocco, April.
20 Gros Salvat, B. (2008) Video juegos y aprendizaje, Graó: Barcelona
21 According to Gros (2008), Malone was the first author to present for the first time the value of
video games in education through a series of intrinsic characteristics of video games that has an
important impact on learning.
22 Gros Salvat, B. “Certezas e interrogantes acerca del uso de los videojuegos para el
aprendizaje”, Comunicación, Nº7, Vol.1, año 2009, PP.251-264. ISSN 1989-600X.
23 Lacasa, P. (2011) Los videojuegos. Aprender en mundos reales y virtuales, Ediciones Morata:
Madrid
24 Literacy is understood as an ability to know and control consciously the rules and elements of
a determined language.

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Social games
player (games
played)
Jacobo Ocharan 42 M
Humanitarian
Aid manager
MA in
Journalism
Yes: Draw
something, Words
with friends
Other video games:
Chess, Angry birds,
Cut the rope,
Harbour Master,
Slice it
Clara Vergés 39 F Biologist PhD in Biology
Yes: Draw
something, City
Ville, Scramble with
Friends
Other games:
Scrabble
Jordi Mont 30 M
Marketing on-
line, web
designer
Electronic
Engineering
Plays online games:
Runaway 1 & 2,
Sam & Max,
Monsters Hollywood
Rodrigo Prieto 38 M
Journalist-
Researcher
PhD in Social
Psychology No
Jessica Gonzalez 23 F
Media
education
Political
Sciences No
Greg Proulx 61 M
Professor of
English
language and
global
competence BA in Linguistics No
Connie Capdevila 47 F Psychologist
MA in
Psychology No
Rob Giardina 40 M
Intercultural
trainer
MA in Conflict
resolution
No, but plays
games: Angry birds,
Chess
Georgina Dalmau 28 F
Marketing on-
line
BA in Sociology
and Market
Research,
Postgraduate
in Social
Research No
Eva de Andres 33 F
Administrative
Assistant
Administration
grade,
computer
management No
Javier Barguño 39 M
General
Manager of
Innovation
Theoretical
Physics, MBA by
IESE
No, but plays
Backgammon
online

109
UK ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: Learnit3D

NATIONAL REPORTS: UK NATIONAL REPORT
110
UK NATIONAL REPORT
INTRODUCTION
In conducting interviews and focus groups and reviewing available publications, research,
opinion and examples it is evident that the area of social games specifically for learning is at a
relatively early stage of development and uptake. There are examples of successful social
games and successful games based learning. There is evidence of huge uptake of social
networking and social gaming, mass uptake of games technologies and increasing
receptiveness and uptake of games for learning in all phases of education. However there
appears to have been limited attempts to marry all of these areas together to create bespoke
social games for learning in the way that P4i proposes.
This suggests that P4i is a timely, relevant worthwhile undertaking!
However for the purposes of this research, it is therefore necessary in part to consider the
separate pertinent elements of social games, games technologies and serious games based
learning initiatives to determine the potential for capitalising on their combined potential and
how that might best be achieved.
Methodology Followed
Expert Interviews:
Qualitative, approximately 1 hour, face-to-face interviews with experts in the use of innovative
teaching and training methodologies.
Topics explored:
 Testing a game sample
 Social games based learning initiatives in the partner countries: tendencies
 Profile of social game player
 Analysis of pedagogical potential (educational benefits) of the use of games for adult
learning

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 Identification of success elements of social games for education
 Barriers to uptake of games in learning practice
 Skills supported by social game-based learning approaches
 How learning may take place (learning evaluation)
 Good practices-examples
Experts Interviewed:
Mr Brian Bishop
Brian has 15 years of learning and development experience and academic work in business and
human performance technology, he typically works with e-learning companies and L&D
departments to speed development, improve learning transfer, and improve customer
satisfaction. He has worked on award-winning 3D immersive learning simulations. As the owner of
Efficacy Experts (www.efficacyexperts.com), Brian has consulted with a variety of e-learning
companies and L&D departments to improve internal and customer performance. He
completed his PhD, publishing research titled Systemic Performance Analysis of an Industry:
Immersive Learning Simulations. He has previously led Instructional design teams for Caspian
Learning, OnCommand, Evolving Systems, Industrial Multimedia and TeleTech@home where he
worked on virtual blended training programs using a virtual classrooms, asynchronous e-learning
courses, simulations, videos, and self-guided discovery.
Mr Peter Stephenson
Peter Stephenson has 12 years experience in senior production roles in the digital games and
learning industry. He has produced over 40 serious games titles and recently worked at Ubisoft
on the AAA title Driver San Francisco. He has extensive production and client management
experience in the UK, Europe and USA, winning national awards in 2008, 2009 and 2011 for his
roles in production. He has held roles from producer to studio director and has experience
across all aspects of the development lifecycle. He has held P&L level responsibility for medium
and large scale projects. Peter is currently working as a Programme Manager (EMEA) for SAI
Global, managing learning developments for clients such as Airbus, Allied Irish Bank, Total and
Sony
Mr Robert Hill
Robert is an experienced professional in education and public outreach. He is the Director of
the Northern Ireland Space Office and was formerly Business Manager at the Armagh
Planetarium. Robert has also worked extensively with government agencies, education

112
authorities and industry on global STEM and skills related initiatives. He has enthusiastically
embraced games based learning in his work with schools, universities, education authorities and
science outreach activities.
Mr Robert Deighton
Robert is an experienced e-learning professional having created applications and software for
schools, businesses and military clients. His knowledge of the development cycle of these 3D
and 2D applications spans all disciplines, design, art, programming and QA. He now works for
Playdemic (www.playdemic.com), a casual and social games company, in the role of Creative
Producer. He is directly responsible for all mobile and digital platform delivery, content and
quality assurance.
Mr Chris Brannigan
Chris Brannigan is Chief Executive Officer and one of the two co-founders of Caspian Learning
(www.caspianlearning.co.uk) a leading provider of games based learning and simulations. Chris
leads the R&D of the technology and drives the commercial activities of the business. He leads a
research team to develop tools that integrate learning and memory research methods with
interactive computer games technologies. These tools are being deployed in government,
corporations and schools around Europe.
Mr Mike Carter
An experienced classroom teacher, subject leader and Education Authority Advisory Teacher
for ICT he has also worked as an independent Educational ICT Consultant, as Professional
Development Officer for Anglia Television on the development of educational resources and as
Deputy Manager of Gateshead City Learning Centre, a centre of innovation and excellence for
educational ICT. He now owns and manages Tyncan Ltd (www.tyncan.com). Providing training
and consultancy to schools and businesses and operating a learning and conference centre.
Group discussion:
Group discussion with 10 adult training practitioners to explore game based initiatives.
Held: 11/05/12
Tyncan Training Ltd
Newcastle upon Tyne
www.tyncan.com

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Facilitator of group discussion: Mr Mike Carter
An experienced classroom teacher, subject leader and Education Authority Advisory Teacher
for ICT he has also worked as an independent Educational ICT Consultant, as Professional
Development Officer for Anglia Television on the development of educational resources and as
Deputy Manager of Gateshead City Learning Centre, a centre of innovation and excellence for
educational ICT. He now owns and manages Tyncan Ltd. Providing training and consultancy to
schools and businesses and operating a learning and conference centre.
Focus of Group Discussion:
1. Intercultural competences
2. Testing a game sample,
3. Gaming experiences
The profile of social games players in the UK
The profile of social game players and gamers in general is increasingly broad covering a wide
demographic across gender, age and social status. This suggests that there is good potential,
from the point of view of receptiveness to the medium of social games, given well crafted
contextual content and instructional design, for positive levels of engagement with a social
game addressing intercultural competences across the demographic of the target group.
“The stereotype of the young gamer is no longer accurate” and “the overall trend is for the
mean age of a gamer to match that of the general population.” (Journal of Computer-
Mediated Communication Who plays, how much, and why? Debunking the stereotypical
gamer profile http://129.105.161.80/drupal/sites/default/files/Whoplaysfinal.pdf)
A study of adult social game players (over 18) carried out by Information Solutions Group in 2010
for PopCap (www.popcap.com) reported the following findings in respect of UK social gamers:
Gender: In the UK 58% of social game players are female.
Age: In the UK social gamers average 38 years old.
20% are less than 30 years old
21% are 30 – 39 years old

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20% are 40 – 49 years old
38% are at least 50 years old.
Living Situation
Social game players are broken into three primary categories:
Single with no children (28%),
Married with children living at home (28%)
Married with children not living at home (17%)
Others (27%)
Employment Status
In the UK, 47% of social gamers work full-time
8% are retired.
11% are homemakers
10% work part-time
7% are not currently working.
Educational Attainment
A total of 37% in the UK who play social games have received an undergraduate degree or
higher
29% received an A levels/AS levels/Scottish Highers/NVQ levels 3 or 4
13% received more than 5 grade GCSEs or equivalent.
Income
22% of the UK social gamers earn less than £15,000

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19% earn between £15,000 and £25,000
20% earn between £25,000 and £38,000
23% earn £38,000 or more.
Other findings of note:
Women are more likely to play with people they know (68% vs. 56% for males)
Men are more likely to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%) than women are.
83% of respondents said they have played games on Facebook which is the most popular
platform
28% have purchased in-game currency with real-world money.
The average gamer has played six social games. More than 50% of gamers started playing a
game because a friend recommended it or because they saw a friend playing it in a news feed
or other social stream.
Sample testing
Sample testing during both expert interviews and the focus group suggest that there is value in
and receptiveness to both of the examples used. This is in keeping with conclusions drawn from
the wider research and points to the benefits of a blended approach utilising both formats
alongside a range of social networking tools and mechanisms as part of a holistic proposition.
No significant resistance to, or difficulty in engaging with, either sample was encountered.
Analysis of pedagogical potential use of games (with a focus of social games) for adult learning
Research suggests that the pedagogical potential of games for adult learning is high. Well
designed games inherently possess qualities, skills and challenges which are also features of
good learning generally.
These include:
Immersive and interactive rather than passive
Non-linear and branching with multiple outcomes or consequences

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Self paced learning
Learning by doing
Collaborative learning
Applied learning
Contextual learning which can simulate real life
Replay / Practice
Opportunities for learning from safe failure
Social
Fun and engaging
Motivation through competition, targets and rewards
Precise performance measurement and feedback
Embedded mentoring
Above all games are experiential and immerse the player in challenges aimed at achieving
goals. Essentially learning by doing.
“Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I learn” (Confucius)
“Game spaces are often highly immersive and can be collaborative.” and “Using immersive
spaces, learners may share learning experiences and rehearse skills for the ‘real-world’.”
(http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearninginnovation/gamingreport_v3.p
df)
The social potential of games to involve learners in interaction, competition and collaboration
with others has potentially huge benefits.
“Technology-based learning need no longer be a solitary experience; indeed the relative
anonymity has been shown to encourage shy students to participate more than they would in a
classroom environment.” “Technology-based learning need not be about accessing
information. It can take the form of a complex, multi-faceted, scenario-driven experience where
other ‘people’ form part of the mix.” Kevin Corti, Pixel Learning,
(http://www.pixelearning.com/docs/game_based_learning_discussion_paper.pdf)

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“Synchronous learning technologies connect people from all over the world to share ideas. It
promotes social skills with technology as a bridge” (Brian Bishop).
Games technologies and approaches offer opportunities for rich simulation of real life
experience which would be otherwise difficult or impossible to experience. Games technology
can provide rich environments and experiences for learners to experience and interact in.
“By creating games as metaphors, children and adults can utilize role play and narrative forms
to imagine and empathize with other people, events from history or with potential scenarios from
the future and to experiment and rehearse skills in safe, protected environments.” (Turkle 1994)
“Virtual worlds afford the potential to examine issues of fluid identity and the slippage between
persona and self affords a reflective process that can serve to encourage self awareness,
examination and growth. In addition, we understand the ability to experiment with one’s own
identity can increase tolerance for the identity of others who might be different” (Turkle 1994).
“I never try to teach my students anything. I only try to create an environment in which they can
learn” (Albert Einstein).
Games offer active rather than passive experiences.
“Games provide a platform for active learning, that is, they are learning by doing rather than
listening or reading, they can be customised to the learner, they provide immediate feedback,
allow active discovery and develop new kinds of comprehension, there is also evidence of a
higher level of retention of material.”
(http://media.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/lit_reviews/Serious-Games_Review.pdf)
Many of the skills required for and developed by games based learning are pertinent to real life
skills development.
“Games based learning skills are aligned with 21st century skills frameworks. A good learning
game demands particular skills and attributes and offers game based pedagogy insights.”
(http://www.wlv.ac.uk/PDF/sed-cedare-royle-gamingsummary.pdf)

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“Game-based learning is often experience-based or exploratory, and therefore relies upon
experiential, problem-based or exploratory learning approaches.”
df)
“The best learning takes place when motivation to learn comes from a source inside the learner,
not outside such as “it's a fun new way to learn” (Brian Bishop).
“Games are motivational, in part, due to their uncertain outcome and the focus on a goal or
challenge that the user needs to accomplish… Multiple game goals or different levels of goals
provide incentives and challenges for players once an initial goal is accomplished. Game
players, therefore, must develop skills and strategies in order to win or achieve a goal... Unlike
most formal training or education, in games there are multiple paths into success” (Bonk and
Dennen, 2005).
In response to the question “What are four words that are the keys to successful social games?”
(Flash Games Summit, March 8, 2010) Dan Fiden of Playfish, producers of “The Sims Social”
(www.playfish.com) responded:
 Social - provide a context for meaningful interaction
 Relatable - pick themes and mechanics that are understandable and aspirational
 Rewarding - emotionally rewarding and socially, reinforcement schedules to keep
players engaged
 Emergent gameplay - easy to pick up but emergent complexity and depth
(http://freetoplay.biz/2010/03/08/4-keys-to-a-successful-social-game-that-every-developer-
should-know/)
Dorman Woodall, Director of SkillSoft Learning, (www.skillsoft.com) identifies key motivating
elements in the design of learning for adults:
“Key elements can make a dramatic difference in the effective design and delivery of
instruction to adult learners.”
 “Humanistic psychologists tell us that the way people feel about an endeavour
influences their commitment to it. That is to say that if the ‘student’ feels “secure,
respected, esteemed, empowered, in charge, they are likely to make an
investment in it”.

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 “Information is more likely to be acquired, retained, and retrieved for future use if
it is learner-constructed, meaningful, relevant, builds on prior knowledge, is
logically organised in learnable chunks, and has built-in or learner generated
memory devices to assist in retention and use of the information for the future”
 “Behavioural psychologists tell us that behaviour change is brought about by
learning experiences that include the following elements:
 Observation and imitation of role models
 Guided, spaced practice with specific feedback on the student’s
performance
 Positive reinforcements for the student’s efforts
 Practice in applying and using the new learning in a variety of situations
(www.skillsoft.com/infocenter/whitepapers/documents/blended_learning_strategies_wp.pdf)
Kevin Corti of Pixel Learning (www.pixelearning.com), suggests principles for the development of
good learning games as follows:
 Relevance to the learner NOT generic products
 Adaptive programmes NOT off-the-shelf products
 Byte-size-chunks NOT six hour lumps
 Parallel NOT linear
 Open-ended NOT closed loop
 Just-in-time NOT when scheduled
 Connected NOT standalone
 Engage NOT switch off
 Active participation NOT passive dissemination
 Fun NOT boredom
 Learning by doing NOT learning by telling
 Learn by failing NOT fail but trying
 Peer-to-peer NOT one-to-many
 Simulation NOT assimilation
 Role-play NOT no-play
(http://www.pixelearning.com/docs/game_based_learning_discussion_paper.pdf)
“Within an effective game-based learning environment, we work toward a goal, choosing
actions and experiencing the consequences of those actions along the way. We make mistakes
in a risk-free setting, and through experimentation, we actively learn and practice the right way
to do things. This keeps us highly engaged in practicing behaviours and thought processes that
we can easily transfer from the simulated environment to real life.” New Media Institute

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(http://www.newmedia.org/game-based-learning--what-it-is-why-it-works-and-where-its-
going.html)
In relationship to serious games (however these elements are useful and worth consideration in
the development of any learning game) the RETAIN model sets out required aspects:
Relevance
 presenting materials in a way relevant to learners, their needs, and their learning styles
 ensuring the instructional units are relevant to one another so that the elements link
together and build upon previous work
Embedding
 assessing how closely the academic content is coupled with the fantasy/story content
where fantasy refers to the narrative structure, storylines, player experience, dramatic
structure, fictive elements, etc
Transfer
 how the player can use previous knowledge in other areas
Adaption
 a change in behaviour as a consequence of transfer
Immersion
 the player intellectually investing in the context of the game
Naturalisation
 the development of habitual and spontaneous use of information
derived within the game
(http://media.futurelab.org.uk/resources/documents/lit_reviews/Serious-Games_Review.pdf)
Barriers to adoption include:
 “Access to technology
 Technical literacy
 Negative perception in some traditional education quarters.”
(Robert Deighton)

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“Fear that games ‘dumb down’ educational content. The perception that they are not
adhering to the traditional learning experience” (Robert Hill).
“Perceived high cost and complexity are major barriers. In many instances, learning practice is
focused mainly on quick knowledge acquisition and not the acquisition of skills and expert
performance” (Chris Brannigan).
Sara de Freitas states:
“There are significant barriers to uptake of games in educational practice. These include:
 access to the correct hardware including PCs with high end graphics video cards;
 effective technical support or access to suitable technical support;
 familiarity with games-based software;
 community of practice within which to seek guidance and support;
 enough time to prepare effective game-based learning;
 learner groups who would like to learn using effective game-based approaches;
 cost of educational games software or licenses.”
df)
In relation to P4i, access to appropriate hardware and familiarity with the technology used
within the target audience will be key considerations if barriers to uptake are to be avoided.
At the same time the development and provision of appropriate support mechanisms and tools,
in various forms, and a community of practice will be crucial in ensuring that learners exposed to
the social game are engaged and enabled to continue to make continued best use of it.
Bonk and Dennen (2005) found that:
‘in addition to using post-game reflection, another way to build conceptual knowledge is to
engage in dialogue with peers or experts about the game during game play. Specific cognitive
tools such as discussion forums, bulletin boards, debate tools, concept mapping tools, surveys
and polling tools, might be used to support [Massively Multiplayer Online games] MMOG by
mediating social interaction and fostering depth of discussion’ (2005:29). They found that groups
with cognitive support tools outperformed those without the tools. Strategic planning scores
were also found to be higher with teams that had access to ‘cognitive tools’.
df)

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In relation to the use of games based learning in schools Learning and Teaching Scotland
suggests that games based learning approaches can provide a number of benefits:
 motivating learners to succeed and to continually improve
 fostering self-esteem, self-determination and enhancing self-image
 facilitating collaborative learning
 implicitly developing learners ability to observe, question, hypothesise and test
 facilitating metacognitive reflection
 developing complex problem-solving skills
(http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/usingglowandict/gamesbasedlearning/about/understa
nding.asp)
“The social interactive dimension of game play has potential for supporting learner cohorts,
even those who are geographically distributed, and also has potential for developing team-
based skills, not least leadership, coordination and communications skills” (Sara de Freitas).
“The shared goals of the player-community provide many opportunities for team skills and inter-
working” (Sara de Freitas).
df)
In relation to Role Playing Games (RPG’s) Cradwell comments:
“There are several language and non-language based learning skills developed directly when
students become involved with RPGs.” “These include but are not limited to Following Directions,
Vocabulary, Research, Independent/Self-Directed Study, Planning, Choice/Decision Making,
Mental Exercise, Evaluation, Cooperation/Interaction, Creativity/Imagination, Leadership,
Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Predicting Consequences, Figural/Spatial Reasoning, Taking
Other Points of View, Asking Questions, Ethics, Prioritizing, Interrelated Learning, and Continuity of
Learning”. (P Cardwell (1995) "Role-Playing Games and the Gifted Student).
(http://www.interactivedramas.info/papers/phillipsrpgclass.pdf)

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The skills required by and developed in games mirror those generally accepted to be required in
modern life.
“Games based learning skills are aligned with 21st century skills frameworks. A good learning
game demands particular skills and attributes and offers game based pedagogy insights.”
(http://www.wlv.ac.uk/PDF/sed-cedare-royle-gamingsummary.pdf)

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Learning through games and social interaction can offer significant benefits to learners in the
development of intercultural competences.
Games offer mechanisms for skill development, engagement and motivation and opportunities
to simulate real life scenarios and facilitate safe rehearsal and reflection.
Social interaction offers additional motivation through interaction with peers and mentors as well
as opportunities to share experiences and develop collaborative and communication skills.
The potential for a social game in this area is great. Its’ success will depend on several key
factors:
 Carefully selected and constructed subject matter which is appropriate in level,
engaging and presents a challenge to the learner.
 Sound instructional design which creates self paced, branching and unfolding
learning and engaging gameplay experiences.
 Effective mechanisms for social interaction, sharing and collaboration.
 Effective mechanisms for feedback and reflection.
The conclusion of this report is that P4i should pursue a blended approach, which brings
together the best features of available interactive games technologies and social networking
structures and tools. In short it is not sufficient to create a game in itself. The game should be the
central feature of a wider proposition incorporating a range of supporting social interactions.

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US ANALYSIS ON THE USE OF
Prepared by: Twin Learning LLC

NATIONAL REPORTS: US NATIONAL REPORT
126
US NATIONAL REPORT
STATE OF THE SHELF
Recognition of the value of play in learning did not begin with the battle of Waterloo or the
playing fields of Eton. Pedagogues as far back as Plato and as radical as Rousseau discussed its
place in both learning and education. Games first became digital in the ‘60s and have grown to
become a $40 billion business worldwide. With the advent of a worldwide web of knowledge
and media it has been estimated that people spend as many as 3 billion hours a week just
playing online [1], but it is only in the last few decades that scholars have begun in earnest to
study what makes digital forms of play tick and how that is related to learning. James Paul Gee
was perhaps the first to point out that the long-running debate about games vs. learning was
based on a false dichotomy, and illustrated three dozen ways that good game design is, by
nature, good pedagogy [2]. Academic departments in game studies and in game design have
opened in universities around the world. Initiatives such as Serious Games, Games for Change,
and Games for Health have convened game designers and producers together with
researchers to create new applications targeted at purposeful learning [3].
During the same period, considerable advances have been made in understanding how
people learn, and dedicated educators have been aggressive about attempting to apply that
new view of learning to today’s youth and adults. Two centers of excellence that early on
produced significant contributions to the scholarship of learning are the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education (OISE) and the Learning Technology Center of Vanderbilt University’s
Peabody School of Education. Their work [4, 5, 6], particularly the National Research Council’s
How people learn [7], has helped shape our approach to defining learning activities which
might be incorporated into transformative games. Research into learning styles [8] and learning
as a social system [9] color our view of social games as a transformative activity.
Information technology has been used with some success in teaching subjects such as
mathematics and reading for more than three decades. At Stanford University in the 1970’s, Pat
Suppes did seminal work in intelligent computer-aided instruction and used it to teach college
students symbolic logic, elementary school students remedial mathematics and reading through

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what became Computer Curriculum Corporation (now Pearson’s SuccessMaker), and now
gifted high school students through the Stanford-based Education Program for Gifted Youth, an
online charter school. Even though Control Data Corporation’s online effort, PLATO, was a more
significant development effort, Suppes’ NSF-funded research led to a more adaptive curriculum
[10, 11]. Over the years John Anderson and Kurt Koedinger at Carnegie Mellon University
developed a memory model and adaptive curriculum [12, 13] that has been productized as
Carnegie Tutor, as has Jean-Claude Falmagne whose “knowledge space theory” led to the
ALEKS system [14].
Other psychologists, cognitive scientists, and even ethnographers have been struggling with
how technologies can be brought to bear on the learning process. At OISE, Marlene
Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter used their Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environment
(CSILE) as a platform for studying metacognitive processes at work in project-based learning,
observing, among other things, phenomena later to become an integral part of what is now
referred to as a “reputation system” in such offerings as eBay and Amazon.com, as well as
massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and incorporating commenting and ranking as an
essential mechanic. This work has a counterpart in the work of Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger
on “communities of practice,” which describes how members move from “legitimate peripheral
participation” to full membership [15]. At the Peabody School of Education at Vanderbilt
University the learning sciences group did groundbreaking work in the use of stories to scaffold
problem solving and pioneered the device of the teachable agent to enhance motivation [16,
17, 18]. This work has migrated to the University of Washington with John Bransford and to
Stanford with Daniel Schwartz.
Numerous studies have tried to define how and where technology can best be applied to
learning [19]. Most recently, a team of ethnographers led by Peter Lyman, Mimi Ito, and Barrie
Thorne spent nearly four years studying the informal learning behaviors of youth at various
venues to understand better how they were learning from each other at “networked publics”
[20]. In their synopsis they point out that, “Youth respect one another’s authority online, and they
are often more motivated to learn from peers than from adults. Their efforts are also largely self-
directed, and the outcome emerges through exploration, in contrast to classroom learning that
is oriented toward set, predefined goals” [21].

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The recent rapid growth of game applications that coattail on more popular social media sites
such as Facebook raises the question what methods could be drawn from these applications,
which are adopted by tens of millions of users in a matter of months, to nurture collaborative
learning among youth and adults immersed in like topics and activities. For one thing, the
demographics of digital game play has changed dramatically. In 2010 the successful game
company PopCap (now owned by Electronic Arts) conducted a survey of gamers, the purpose
of which was to determine the percentage of US and UK Internet users who play social games at
least once a week, understand the game play behavior and preferences of social game
players, and to create a profile of the typical social game player. In the US and UK, respectively,
54% and 58% of social game players are women, the average age being 43. Most (95%) play
several times a week and a third play several times a day. The length of sessions varies from a
quarter of an hour to two hours. Most played for fun and excitement with stress relief and
competitive spirit the other two top reasons for playing. Most (83%) went to Facebook to play,
and almost half went there specifically to play games [22].
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project revealed that social networking sites
nearly doubled in usage among people ages 50 and older since last year, and has grown 100%
among people ages 65 and older [23]. Jay Jamison, a partner at BlueRun Ventures wrote in
TechCrunch about the upcoming IPO for Facebook that the public’s tastes for internet-based
social networks is not sated but rather users are adopting new, interest-based social networks
such as Pintarest, a virtual pinboard (10M monthly unique users in the US in January 2012),
Thumb, a community for instant opinions, and Instagram, a photo sharing site that was bought
by Facebook for $1B this month [24]. But social gaming makes up for a significant part of activity
on Facebook. Zynga alone accounted for 12% of Facebook’s 2011 revenue and 15% of their
1Q2012 revenue [26, 27]. Greg Richardson, CEO of social game company Rumble, claims that
the $10B evaluation set for Zynga’s IPO is a function of their focus on delivering games that fit
today’s digital lifestyle. Their games can be accessed instantly, the UI and UX are easy to master,
users can try the game out and play at no cost [28].
The study of the phenomenon of games in our cultures and the study of how to make them
have both become legitimate academic exercises. The classic textbook in game design was
authored by Katie Salen, then of the Parsons New School of Design, and Eric Zimmerman, then
of GameLab (which produced Diner Dash, a seminal time-management game and one of the
first of the casual games genre) and, along with its companion reader, is still used in college

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game design programs today [28]. Professor Salen has since founded two schools, one in New
York and one in Chicago, whose curriculum and pedagogy is based on principles of game
design [29]. More recently, their textbook has found some competition in the higher education
market and the commercial game industry in the form of a new textbook by Jesse Schell,
professor of entertainment technology and game design at the Entertainment Technology
Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and founder and CEO of Schell Games [30].
Professor Schell’s book has a companion deck of cards, each of the hundred of which is a
different lens on the game design process [31].
Equivalent guides to good game design targeted at both the education and the training
industries include one by Clark Aldrich that aims to show faculty members and instructional
designers how to identify opportunities for building games, simulations, and virtual environments
into the curriculum, how to successfully incorporate these interactive environments to enhance
student learning, and how to measure the learning outcomes [32]. A pair of seasoned training
professionals have also authored a useful guide to game-based learning focused on simulation
games [33]. Clark Quinn and Marcia Conners have managed to use their familiarity with
cognitive science and such concepts as cognitive apprenticeship, situated learning, and
constructivism to ground their how-to book. A tome that was brought to my attention in the
course of our group discussion with experts in the fields of game and learning was written by
Wills, Leigh, and Ip on the subject of role-based online learning and targets educators and
trainers “seeking to engage students in collaboration and communication about authentic
scenarios” [34]. Drawing on their extensive experience and practice it aspires to be a
“comprehensive guide to the design, implementation, and evaluation” of the role-playing
approach to learning.
Drafting on the success of such social game studios as Zynga, the “gamification” movement has
taken hold in the training, education, and consumer world, at least in the US. The most explicit
guide on how to apply game mechanics and principles of motivation derived from games is
Gabe Zichermann and Christopher Cunningham’s Gamification by Design [35]. The book is very
explicit on notions such as engagement, i.e., loyalty, and lists the metrics it is to be measured by
as recency, frequency, duration, virality, and ratings. It discusses in detail player motivation with
respect to pleasure, rewards, and time, dwelling on force, flow, reinforcement, intrinsic vs.
extrinsic motivation, and the player’s progression to mastery. The authors go into game
mechanics in depth, covering pattern recognition, collecting, surprise and unexpected delight,

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organizing and creating order, gifting, flirtation and romance, recognition for achievement,
leading others, fame (getting attention), being the hero, gaining status, nurturing (growing). It
cites case studies and even includes two tutorials, one on coding and one on gamification
platforms.
If Zichermann and Cunningham’s book is the compleat guide to gamification to date, perhaps
the most informative, if cynical, discussion of how persuasive psychology is applied to acquiring
and monetizing player is Tim Roger’s “who killed videogames? (a ghost story) [36]. We are
indebted to Kris Hattori who works at an education technology industry newsletter entitled
EdSurge.com and an educational game startup named luckybirdgames.com for tipping us to
this source which describes an apocryphal presentation to investors by two social game
company executives who tell the story of how they hook players into progressively greater
“engagement” with a social game.
Perhaps the most optimistic game maker around is Jane McGonigal, who, while completing her
doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, in performing arts and media, was also
puppet master on one of the most successful early alternate reality games (ARGs), I Love Bees,
which game she describes in an essay drawn from her dissertation in Professor Salen’s collection,
The Ecology of Games [37]. Her recent best-selling book, Reality is Broken, takes apart games
she has made and played and suggests that by drawing upon such play one could motivate
players to make contribution to the betterment of humankind [38}. At least two of her games
that we have participated in have done that with some success. World without Oil got people
thinking about and describing how a shortage of oil would impact their lives, and Urgent Evoke
had them trying to encourage social entrepreneurship. She reveals the “four secrets” to making
ourselves happy, viz., satisfying work, the experience (or hope) of being successful, social
connection, and meaning, and argues that including these in activities can keep people
engaging in collectively accomplishing something that might never have otherwise.
McGonigal’s reflections on her own work and games is remarkably consistent with the results of
a recent study of older adults in Spain, The Netherlands, and Greece, which concluded that
challenge, socialization, fun, learning opportunities and escape from daily routine were the main
reasons why adults would be interested in playing games [39]

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Just as Facebook is unlikely to be the last word in social networking, browser-based social games
will likely soon give way to more mobile versions. Connie Malamed, a visual and information
designer, makes a credible case that a “new era of mobile learning and performance support is
upon us,” and argues that the affordances of mobile devices will usher in this era. She cites as
the characteristics of the use of mobile devices that will contribute to mobile learning are that it
is supportive, collaborative, gestural, learner-centric, informal, contextual, user-generated, fun,
and sensitive and connected [40]. Her perspective is reinforced by an excellent essay by
Jonathan Stark on, “The 10 principles of mobile interface design,” that details exactly how
different that user experience is [41].
INTERVIEWS
Over the course of the last two months we conducted a dozen in-depth interviews face-to-face
or by phone with pioneers of the videogame industry, veterans of the training world, scholars
and critics of the game world, and the producers of some of today’s most engaging games. The
purpose of the interviews was to gather intelligence on how best to make a social game that will
help European adults learn digital, social, and civil competencies, and gain cultural awareness
and expression. The interviews were informal and, in addition to general questions about games,
social media, learning, and interculturality, we tried in each instance to evoke specific answers
to questions such as, What are the stickiest social games out there? What makes them sticky?
What are people learning playing them? What are people getting from each other playing
them? What keeps grownups from playing social games? What would you do to make a game
to help people understand each other?
More importantly, during the course of each conversation the interviewee returned to
emphasize and re-emphasize some point they thought was particularly important for the
enterprise. Jeff Braun, who discovered Will Wright and with him founded Maxis, the startup that
brought us SimCity and The Sims, insisted that the game was not the thing, rather it was the
extrinsic motivation, a reason to consider the issues, that was critical. Evoking the concept
“chocolate covered broccoli” often used to describe educational games, he insisted that the
exercise be undertaken by the players with some specific reward as the real goal of the
interaction. Steve Mayer, one of the original team at Atari when Pong was introduced in 1972,
felt that the most successful metaphor on which such game play as was called for would be
should be based was the small village, where players could both be a part of their own village
but interact with players in other villages. Clark Aldrich, training simulation designer and

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producer, and author of several well-received texts on simulations and games, was one of
several to emphasize how important it was to be very specific in what you intended to achieve
through game play, perhaps posing problems or issuing challenges that simply could not be
solved without an intercultural approach. Andy Kimball, who founded a game-based training
company over a decade ago, also emphasized that the most important item to address in the
design process was the results you sought from the game play. He evoked the decades of
designs that Thiagi (Sivasailam Thiagarajan, PhD) has contributed to multicultural games, each
game targeting a specific issue [42]. Jimm Meloy, former worldwide director of e-Learning at
Autodesk, felt that finding ways to engage players in different cultures could start with their own
and then follow commonalities to other cultures.
The more academic of the interviewees, such as BJ Fogg of the Stanford University Persuasion
Lab, tended to emphasize not only the behaviors that the game seeks to promote but also the
manner in which success would be measured. James Paul Gee, chaired professor of literacy
studies at Arizona State University and author of several books about games and learning,
emphasized that the success of the game would likely be measured in how people changed
not only in what they say but how they behaved, and in the virality of the game – how well it
motivated players to involve others in the game play. Jesse Schell of CMU drilled down on ways
to determine what the impact we wanted to have with the game was, and to consider what
experiences we could create for the players that would likely have this impact. Karl Kapp,
professor at Bloomsburg University, suggested recording every game transaction between
players and playing it back so that the players could observe their own behavior. Matteo
Bittanti, professor of Visual and Critical Studies at California College of the Arts, prolific author
and film and game critic, suggested engaging players in real world activities that themselves
involved the change we sought. In addition, two young game producers, John Say, founder
and CEO of Say Design studios in Irvine, California, and Shanghai, China, and Michael Martinez,
senior product manager at Zynga, emphasized that clear objectives and simple rules were the
surest way to achieve results with players.
Some of the games that interviewees described in the course of our conversation suggest
strategies we might pursue or mechanics we might want to apply. Andy Kimball pointed to
BaFa’ BaFa’, a cross-culture simulation developed by R. Garry Shirts designed for those who are
in situations that require an experiential understanding of another culture [43]. After participants
are given a brief orientation to the exercise, they are divided into two groups or "cultures" and

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are introduced to the values, rules, expectations, and customs of their new culture. Observers
are exchanged between the two cultures. After a fixed time, the observers return to their
respective groups and report on what they saw. Each group tries to develop hypotheses about
the most effective way to interact with the other culture. After the exercise, the participants
discuss and analyze the experience and generalize it to other groups in the real world. The
simulation allows players, among other things, to develop empathy for behaviors without
attaching a specific cultural identity to it.
Kimball pointed out several lessons that could be learned from the success this simulation and
others have had. First, a “medium fidelity” simulation is likely to be more engaging for players
than one which does not help them suspend disbelief or one which is close to being, but fails to
be convincing because its very attempt at verisimilitude distracts players who find fault with it.
Second, the “behavioral epiphany” that such simulations seek is prompted by a conflict in which
the player is required to make a commitment. It is that investment that engages the player in
such a way as to be interested in and affected by the result. Third, it should be remembered that
there are different types of cultures – organizational, generational, gender, professional, etc. –
and that anchoring learning in commonality (e.g., what a Pakistani engineer has in common
with an American engineer) can lead to appreciation of diversity.
A simple way of making explicit conflicts is to pick a set of priorities and then develop scenarios
where hidden agendas may surface. If you value health, property, and convenience, where do
you park your car at a mall? Near where it’s crowded or far away where you have to walk?
Another game that illustrates self-interest in conflict is the Dollar Auction. As described In
Wikipedia, “The dollar auction is a non-zero sum sequential game designed by economist Martin
Shubik to illustrate a paradox brought about by traditional rational choice theory in which
players with perfect information in the game are compelled to make an ultimately irrational
decision based completely on a sequence of rational choices made throughout the game. …
The setup involves an auctioneer who volunteers to auction off a dollar bill with the following
rule: the dollar goes to the highest bidder, who pays the amount he bids. The second-highest
bidder also must pay the highest amount that he bid, but gets nothing in return. Suppose that
the game begins with one of the players bidding 1 cent, hoping to make a 99 cent profit. He will
quickly be outbid by another player bidding 2 cents, as a 98 cent profit is still desirable. Similarly,
another bidder may bid 3 cents, making a 97 cent profit. Alternatively, the first bidder may
attempt to convert their loss of 1 cent into a gain of 96 cents by bidding 4 cents. In this way, a

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series of bids is maintained. However, a problem becomes evident as soon as the bidding
reaches 99 cents. Supposing that the other player had bid 98 cents, they now have the choice
of losing the 98 cents or bidding a dollar even, which would make their profit zero. After that, the
original player has a choice of either losing 99 cents or bidding $1.01, and only losing one cent.
After this point the two players continue to bid the value up well beyond the dollar, and neither
stands to profit” [44]. In describing this game, Kimball analogized it to the thesis in a recent
article in the Economist which argued that people vote against their own self-interest primarily to
keep whoever is below them in social economic status there, below them. Not being last is more
important than being closer to first.
Professor Schell described the development process for PeaceMaker that originally took place
at CMU [45]. Initially the team working on the project wanted to make people understand
strategies for peace in the world. Experienced game designers argued that to get something
universal across it was necessary to be very specific. Those familiar with the problems with
relations between the Israelis and the Palestinians were afraid the conflict was too real, too
threatening for a game (this reflects a similar observation by Jimm Meloy about the difficulty of
structuring play that touches on hard issues such as immigration or the economy). However, the
basic insight that led to the development of the game was that the real reason the conflict was
so difficult to resolve was that people think it is simple. As Schell put it, “both sides think, ‘If they
would stop being such jerks, this problem would go away.’” So, the objective of the simulation is
to show how complex the problem really is, to put players in roles that allow them to see that. So,
the game is not about peace or aspiration, but rather to help players appreciate the position of
the “other” side. The lesson to be learned from this is that “transformational games” start with
asking, what are all the problems, but then must focus the ones that have solutions that the
game could simulate. In a similar vein, Steve Mayer alluded to the Kurosawa film, Roshomon, to
illustrate the point of seeing the same situation from multiple viewpoints.
Professor Kapp shared with me an extract from his book, Gadgets, Games and Gizmos for
Learning, that describes a game developed for SAP, the German enterprise software company
[46]. SAP “needed to provide their project managers with a learning experience to address a
specific challenge—managing teams whose members were scattered across the globe. With
team members in Germany, Japan, America, and India, a SAP project manager must contend
with issues such as cultural differences, time zones, disparate expectations, communication
styles, and other issues a local team may not encounter. SAP partnered with an e-learning

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design company, Enspire Learning, located in Austin, Texas to craft six, hour-long modules
tackling six major difficulties with distributed, or ‘virtual,’ teams the training including a 20-minute
capstone simulation for each of the six modules. The capstone simulation allows the learners to
experience virtual team management as a team leader. The learner makes key strategic
decisions about a simulated project and assigns work packets to three distributed segments of
the team, based on their skills, cultural differences, and the work in question. After making
strategic decisions, the project is executed and the learner experiences the effects of their
actions, mitigating any issues that arise. Enspire and SAP recognized the significant design
challenge of meaningfully discussing cultural differences while remaining sensitive to the cultures
of learners world-wide. This challenge was addressed by using a trick from the gamer’s Massively
Multiplayer Online Role Play (MMORPG) games. The team created a fictional world called Orth
with its own fictional cultures. The team from the Orthian region of Sampo considered timeliness
as paramount, while the culture from Shananees viewed time very loosely. Understanding and
deciphering these differences influence how the learner makes decisions.
“So how does the learner measure progress? To coincide with SAP’s standard processes, the
simulation fixes the timeline and resources, leaving three measures of a successful project:
Quality, Feature set, and Morale of your team—your “QFM” score. Choices the learner makes
directly or indirectly affect her ability to deliver a finished project of high quality, with a maximal
feature set, and high team morale. … The simulation provides the learner feedback throughout
the execution stage. A team lead may complain of being assigned work his team finds boring,
or he may thank you for providing them with new communication technologies. At the close of
the module, the learner’s virtual mentor, Linda, provides the final QFM score, general feedback
on performance and feedback on specific learner decisions that significantly impacted the
learner’s scores.”
Professor Kapp claims that the lessons of the simulation are learned even though the events take
place in a fictionalized world. Whether that sort of transfer is indeed accomplished in this case
would have to be judged by the players post-simulation performance in the workplace,
Kirkpatrick’s level three. It is, however, the question Steve Mayer suggests be asked of every
activity players engage in during a game intending to change them, “Is the experience
transferable?”

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Professor Gee pointed us to a game sponsored by the Knight Foundation in Macon, Georgia.
Macon Money was a social networking game developed by Area/Code Entertainment as an
experiment “to see if we could use serious games as a vehicle to build community,” a
spokesperson for the Foundation said in a news report [47]. Organizers distributed special
symbol-coded bonds, each redeemable for an unknown denomination in Macon Money, $10,
$20, $50 or $100. The catch was that each player got just half a bond, and to turn it in, they had
to find the person holding the other half. The bonds were strategically sent out to different
communities. Therefore, the game forces people from different racial and economic classes to
find one another and redeem their bonds as a team. To find their match, players used a variety
of methods: social media, online message boards, the Macon Money website at
www.maconmoney.org, or even face-to-face contact. Once the people holding the two sides
of the bond turned it into the Macon Money office, they received “Macon Money,” in
increments of $10 to $100, which could be spent at various downtown businesses. The
businesses, in turn, were reimbursed with real money by Macon Money. The game succeeded in
getting people from different parts of town together, at least for purposes of the game, and
received international recognition.
By contrast, Professor Gee was quite impressed with the success of Facebook games like
FarmVille, whose designers “are geniuses at manipulating people, taking principles of motivation
and behavioral economics” to make a profit and opine that the same principles can be
applied to games for change. Clark Aldrich emphasized many of the most popular games
available, such as Plants vs. Zombies or Angry Birds, are successful by virtue of the very simplicity
of the user interface and user experience, a lesson he hoped would not be lost on us.
In Nashville, Tennessee, last week, we were given a look at a project developed by Little Planet
Learning for Ely Lilly, the global pharmaceutical company, which sought to emphasize the
cultural diversity of their 40,000 employees worldwide. As a catalyst to the project several dozen
employees were interviewed and their stories about how they came to work for the corporation,
what they did there, what they valued about their work and their colleagues, and why respect
for each others differences was important to their workplace. These were woven into an initial
presentation meant to catalyze other employees to contribute their own stories to the
collection. It was an excellent illustration of the points that Steve Mayer made for a game
designed in part around storytelling, though the example of such a collection that he used was

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the Shoah Project initiated by Steven Spielberg in which stories of the concentration camps in
World War II are being collected from survivors.
We went around a bit with John Say about the success of Words with Friends and Draw
Something. The asynchronous nature of the multi-player games allows them to be what Steve
Mayer called “interstitial,” something you can play while getting along with your real life. They
are based on classic game mechanics but allow players to feel in touch with each other as they
go about their business. It’s worth taking a look at the report of an interesting talk given at the
Game Developers Conference (GDC) last month by Steve Meretzk and Dave Rohrl of Playdom
entitled, “The 10 key social games of the year” [48]. The list includes Slotomania, Zombie Lane,
Bubble Witch Saga, Gardens of Time, Monopoly Millionaires, The Sims Social, CastleVille, Social
Empires, Triple Town, and Words with Friends.
If we were to attempt to summarize the most important exhortations from those interviewed it
would likely come down to a few key points. First and foremost, be clear what your objective is,
what specific behaviors you want engage players to adopt, and design as simple a game as
possible to achieve that. Second, role playing and storytelling are two tried and true
approaches to broadening peoples view of themselves, the world they live in, and the
perspective of others. Third, engage people with each other, preferably to make something or
solve something together.
GROUP DISCUSSION
The group that was convened at SRI International in Menlo Park, California at the end of March
was smaller than intended. Two people begged off earlier in the week and two were no-shows
on the very day of the get-together. In the end there was a mix of three generations of
researchers, analysts, and designer/producers. In the beginning the discussion focused on the
project itself and it was apparent that by whom, when, and where the game was intended to
be played were critical design issues.
We then moved on to discussing the distinction between what was required to effect changes
in attitude and how that could affect behavior, one participant pointing out that in some
instances attitude change followed on changed behavior, even if the opportunity or occasion
of the behavior change was serendipitous. The simple act of doing something with someone

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from a culture with which you were unfamiliar is likely to make you look more favorably on that
culture in the future. This line of thinking led to a discussion of mixing activity in the real world with
activity in the game. This seems particularly attractive when mixed in with online role playing as
a means to allow a player not only to experience vicariously that which someone from another
culture might in a virtual world (e.g., an African-American avatar entering a white bar) but also
to extend that experience into the everyday world. The example of a Jewish-American woman
in suburban Palo Alto, California, realizing after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11 that ever after
Americans would look differently on those whom they blamed for that disaster prompted her to
spend the whole of the next day doing everyday things dressed in a burka. The reactions she
provoked from ordinary people in that guise painfully confirmed her intuition.
Examples of citizen science were cited as samples of people working together to see things
differently. The crowdsourcing of protein folding research pioneered by University of
Washington’s Center for Game Science and Department of Biochemistry through the medium of
the game Foldit was cited [49], as was the efforts of the American Association of Variable Star
Observers (AAVSO), whose 1,400 members and observers from 52 countries contribute over a
million observations per year [50]. If that visualization online or in the real world were done with
changeable cultural lenses (e.g., in an Alsace marketplace note the objects from Germany or
vice-versa across the border) it could lead to the sharing of new perspectives.
We returned to motivation several times in the course of the discussion. Everyone was of course
familiar with such game mechanics as levels and leaderboards and badges, but we struggled
with what sort of rewards would incent players to continue to be engaged in a game about
interculturality. The most likely solution seemed to involve teams that worked together to best
other teams, rather than individual achievement. In framing the research on kids’ informal
learning and digital media, Mimi Ito posited a spectrum of genres of participation on the
internet that went from friendship-driven (people whom you know in the real world that you
socialize with in Facebook), to interest-driven (working with strangers on a mission in World of
Warcraft or collaborating with others from around the world to sub-title anime) [51, 52]. It is such
a common interest that could get diverse players to interact. An industry analyst cited the policy
in his son’s baseball league in San Francisco that team be made up of players from different
neighborhoods so that kids broaden their view of the world. In a city where there are over 100
different languages spoken in homes, this represents a step in the right direction. Playing

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together to win forged a bond among children who might otherwise have never encountered
each others culture.
But if the game were to have a real-world component, and be driven at least in part by
competition, what sort of challenges could you assign players to engage them productively
toward a better sense of other cultures. The work of the Center for Civic Education was cited for
its efforts to encourage people to identify something in their community that could be changed
for the better by legislation then work together to effect that change [53]. One gamer
described the Big Urban Game (B.U.G.), commissioned by the Design Institute of the University of
Minnesota with the goal of encouraging the residents of Minneapolis and St. Paul a way to see
their surroundings in a whole new way, and to think about the design of urban space. The game
was a race between three teams, each of which was attempting to move a 25-foot high
inflatable game piece through a series of Twin Cities’ checkpoints in the shortest amount of time.
The game was played by residents who joined one of the three teams: red, yellow, or blue, then
chose the route that they felt was the fastest, and either called the BUG 800 number or voted
on-line for their favorite. Each evening, a team of volunteer movers carried the pieces through
the city, following the route that had received the most votes. During the days of the race, the
piece stood as a landmark at its current location, and became a center for community activity.
Players could travel to the piece’s location and roll a giant set of dice. The totals generated by
the dice rolling of each team were compared, and the team with the highest total got a head-
start in that evening’s run [54].
The sense of silliness and the fun of the race appealed to the group who then discussed ways to
turn traditional project-based and problem-based learning and make it more engaging. Solving
a community problem together could bring more enjoyment into personal challenges and
developing competencies. One game developer described the mechanic in the Xbox game,
Castle Crashers, that fosters communications and teamwork. Players operate as a team, if one
dies the other can heal them. Together they can perform tasks they couldn’t individually. He
suggested that the same could be done by creating problems or missions or challenges that
required more than one cultures approach to solve or complete. This was extended by an
analyst who suggested that debate be incorporated into a game, taking current cross-cultural
issues, assigning a side to players arbitrarily and measuring before and after the opinion of the
group. He used the example of the Oxford-style debates broadcast in the US on National Public
Radio (NPR) that use experts but follow a similar format [55].

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We circled back to the hybrid type of game that, like an ARG, has both an online and a real-
world component. The example of Beast, perhaps the first alternate reality game, a viral
marketing campaign for the film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence that Steven Spielberg finished upon
the death of its director Stanley Kubrick, was brought up [56]. The ARG had a system that
allowed players to receive game-related messages via email and voicemail. We imagined a
player who had been assigned the role, and avatar in the virtual world, of a Muslim woman and
who, during the day in the real world, was given tasks by texts consistent with her persona that
the player would have to perform interspersed with the players real everyday routine.
If we were to attempt to sum up the sense of the group it would be that hybrid (virtual world and
real world) game play involving role playing and interactions about players both as a team
competing to complete challenges together against other teams would be a serious avenue to
explore. The real world tasks should be not only for the sake of the game play but have social
impact as well. The most important element would be having players from different cultures
working together to a common end and structuring their challenges so that their very
differences would be critical to the common solution.
While we did not play games to initiate or provoke discussion at this session, a week later we did
take advantage of the occasion of a guest lecture to a class of about 60 graduate students
from 30 different countries at the San Francisco campus of Hult International Business School to
try two games to see their reactions. In the first instance, the students were asked to form up in
their regular study groups and take ten minutes to find the most obscure thing they had in
common. “Obscure” would be judged by the number of students in the overall group that
shared that thing. The “thing” could be something about them, or something they had done, or
how or where they had done it. The answers the group came up with ranged from the banal
(“we have all taken a shower with someone else”) to the scatological, the most obscure being
that all the members of one of the groups had used Twitter to tweet while sitting on the toilet. In
the debrief the students discussed their strategies for arriving at their common thing ranging from
starting with polling themselves on what they had in common to going around the circle saying
what the most unusual thing they had ever done to see how many in the group had too.

141
In the second game, students were paired in groups of two. One from each group was told to
be very touchy, “in-your-face,” make constant eye contact, while the other was told to behave
as a shy and private person would. They were told to get to know one another. During the
debrief, those that had a personality more like the role they played expressed surprise at how
little they learned during the session. Those that played against type were surprised to find how
difficult such behavior was to sustain, and several were led to consider than many who indeed
behaved that way might not be if given the chance. In both cases it was clear that the debrief
was the most important part of the game because while engaged the players spared little
metacognitive effort to understand what they were going through but afterward they could
reflect not only on their experience but see how it compared and contrasted with that of the
others in the class.

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CONCLUSION
All three forms of the research conducted for this review of games and learning in the US led us
to caveats that should be taken seriously from others’ prior efforts, and insightful suggestions as
to paths we could go down in setting down the requirements for the game to be created and
deployed, and the design to be implemented. In the literature, the interviews, and the
discussions it was clear that defining what, very specifically, we wanted to achieve, how that
achievement was to be measured, and, of all the possible ways to accomplish it, what were the
simplest activities we could find to engage users were the most important lessons we could take
from this homework. For the intended game to succeed in any setting, it should allow the player
to practice seeing things from others’ points of view, should provide a mechanism for mutual
support, promote efficacy in real life, and exploit the behavioral mechanics of social games to
be both viral and sticky.

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[49] University of Washington Center for Game Science, UW Department of Computer Science
and Engineering, UW Baker Lab, DARPA, NSF, HHMI, Microsoft, and Adobe. Foldit: Solve
puzzles for science. http://fold.it/portal/
[50] http://www.aavso.org/
[51] boyd, d. (2008). “Why youth [heart] social network sites: The Role of networked publics in
teenage social life.” In D. Buckingham, Ed., Youth, identity, and Digital Media. Cambridge,
MA: The MIT Press, pp. 119-142
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262294273chap6.pdf
[52] Ito, et al. (2009) Opus cite
[53] http://new.civiced.org/
[54] http://www.decisionproblem.com/bug/bug2.html
[55] National Public Radio (NPR). Intelligence Squared. U.S.
http://www.npr.org/series/6263392/intelligence-squared-u-s
[56] Wikipedia.org. The Beast. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beast_(game)

GOOD PRACTICES – SUCCESS STORIES
148

149
1. TITLE AIR TRAVEL, GAME DEVELOPED IN FRAME OF THE
PROJECT "TEACHERS - CREATOR OF EDUCATIONAL
SOFTWARE"21
Game promoter/creator Adrian Frentescu and Mugurel Andrici, Romanian teachers.
Target group approached Students from secondary and high school.
Access (where) and what
type of game (3D, etc.) http://ler.is.edu.ro/~ema/soft2011.html, downloadable.
Interactions, actions and
activities included
Exercises, Simulation by conducted discover for planning an
air travel (how to select, book a flight and by a ticket.
Educational potential
(competences and skills)
Discover the meaning of new words in context,
Use newly acquired vocabulary in context,
Check again accumulated knowledge.
Number of users – players 1700
Transferability – reusability
Easy to transfer for other type of travel or activity that imply
the same steps.
Accessibility http://profesorulcreator.siveco.ro/web/guest/castigatori
Impact N/A
21This good practice has been extracted from Romanian National Report findings

150
2. TITLE ALTERNATIVA 1322
Game promoter/creator
Anesvad Foundation, within the framework of
Conexiones improbables initatiave, in collaboration with
Campus por la Paz de la Universitat Oberta de
Catalunya.
Target group approached University public, youth etc.
type of game (3D, etc.)
All the interactions take place in the following blog:
http://www.alternativa13.com/
activities included
The future where access to health services is becoming
increasingly complicated – this is the scenario of
Alternativa 13 online game where players have to
investigate possible alternatives.
Europe approves the Health card by points, or a
neighbour of Cuenca wins the Health Bono – are the
titles that may appear in the media in a hypothetical
future where health services are increasingly difficult to
access. The Alternativa 13 game presents those news as
an introduction to the game. Within this context, the
participants are offered challenges to overcome, using
own initiative and research capacity.
The game uses social networking, as well as real
resources in Internet. The players are encouraged to
collaborate in order to be able to advance.
Alternativa 13 is a pilot project of social innovation that
stands for a new communication media – a virtual
vehicle of alternative reality game which aims at raising
awareness about the right to the health.
Alternativa 13 aims at exploring new ways to promote
awareness and knowledge about the right to health.
Using minimum media and taking advantage of the
expertise of participants, the game aims at testing the
strategies that allow to generate awareness through a
medium rich in materials, documents, however, in an
interesting, attractive and engaging way.
Number of users – players Not defined.
Transferability – reusability Not defined.
Accessibility All the interactions take place in the following blog:
http://www.alternativa13.com/
Impact Alternativa 13 game initiative has been launched
between 25th of April to 16th of May, 2012.
22
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151
3. TITLE AMNESTY THE GAME23
Game promoter/creator HGDA – Hellenic Game Developers Association.
Target group approached Adults around the world.
Facebook online game.
activities included
1. Click and share comments about the death penalty
on your Facebook account,
2. Publish on Facebook and receive points for saving
prisoners,
3. Follow a scenario helping prisoners and influencing
government policies about the death penalty.
Basic ICT skills, knowledge about the value system,
develop negotiation skills, learn about human rights.
Number of users – players Individual but with social aspects.
Transferability – reusability To adult training.
Accessibility Web browser needed, PC/laptop, speakers.
Impact
The game is about informing adults on the death
penalty around the world and how one can help. People
learn about actions and procedures needed in order to
raise awareness.
People are enticed to take action.
URL http://amnestygame.com/
Notes
We were asked to locate Greek social games with an
educative perspective and this game was selected by
the company. It is available through Facebook and
knowledge gained and information provided can be
shared with friends online. The information and the
scenario selected is very powerful since the player can
directly influence the game path and at the same time,
inform friends online of real facts related to the death
penalty. User friendly game, with many new information
on diverse countries in the world where the death
penalty is still legal.
23
This good practice has been extracted from Greek National Report findings

152
4. TITLE ARABIAN WORLD24
Game promoter/creator Bunduc Madalina, Romanian teacher.
Target group approached
Students from secondary and high school
All persons interested in discovering various aspects of
the culture and Arab civilization.
http://ler.is.edu.ro/~ema/proiecte/soft/2011/lumea_arab
a/index.html
activities included
- To report the Arab world to the external context of
different historical periods
-adequately use historical terms and concepts related to
Islam
-to mark the Arab caliphate map expansion
-to use in different contexts, terms and concepts specific
to Arab culture and civilization
-make connections between Arab culture and other
cultures and civilizations of the world.
Correct use of terms specific theme
Recognition of Arabian features.
Establishing links between the geographical and socio-
economic development
Appropriate use of temporal and spatial coordinates
relative to the given topic
Comparison of Arab civilization to other civilizations of
the world.
Transferability – reusability Easy to transfer for other contents.
Accessibility
http://ler.is.edu.ro/~ema/proiecte/soft/2011/lumea_arab
a/index.html
Impact
Development of competences intercultural by
discovering new cultures.
24
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153
5. TITLE BUYING A COMPUTER25
Game promoter/creator Centre of Assesment ECDL Credis.
Target group approached
Students enrolled in the certification program of
computer skills
type of game (3D, etc.) ECDL’s Centres.
activities included
User must recognize the hardware necessary to assemble
their own computer.
N/A
Number of users – players 20 students, adults over 35 years.
Transferability – reusability N/A
Accessibility Easy to access.
Impact
The impact was positive for a course that usually is the
transmission of information theory by the instructor. By
including this activity increased the level of interactivity
and students were motivated to continue their study at
home.
Student testimony: "I never thought that at my age I'll
play Thursday learn at the same time".
25

154
6. TITLE DARFUR IS DYING26
Reebok Human Rights Foundation & the International
Crisis Group.
Target group approached Adults.
Online.
activities included
Navigation through keyboard arrows,
Activities include: fetch water : hide from militia, navigate
within a camp (pump water, build garden etc).
Social elements: send tweets, notifications, share results.
Basic ICT skills,
Economic crisis repercussions (new knowledge)
Values of society – new knowledge
Geography
Transferability – reusability Can be played as part of school experiment / group
activity led by a teacher.
Accessibility
Easy accessibility although the navigation through the
keyboard is not easy. Accessible through the internet.
Impact
The game is about how helping adults realise, through
the game, the situation in Darfur and to make active
efforts to inform policy makers about the crisis in this
country (Sudan).
URL http://www.darfurisdying.com/
Notes
The game has a social aspect to it although is mostly
played individually. The game was selected because it
uses a very powerful scenario where the player is
responsible for several people. The way the information is
used is crucial for the avatars in the game. This evokes in
the player strong feelings and a sense of learning more
to complete it more successfully.
26

155
7. TITLE DEUTSCHE WELLE GERMAN COURSES27
Game promoter/creator Deutsche Welle.
Target group approached German language learners globally.
Social networking tools, including a Facebook site, a
Twitter account with over 3,000 followers, podcasts and
videos, that allow German learners all around the world
to connect with each other.
activities included
Users can generate and share text, audio, videos and
photos. They can publish personal profiles listing their
interest and language skills. A targeted search helps
locate study partners and teachers. There are interactive
classrooms, study groups catering to individual needs,
audio and video chat, regular news posts, vocabulary
and grammar exercises, and more. Community has
attracted 50,000 users in under two years, with 15,000
learners visiting the site every day.
Language skills
Number of users – players 50,000 users in under two years, with 15,000 learners
visiting the site every day.
Transferability – reusability E-Learning Age Award – Best use of social media for
learning.
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
27
This good practice has been extracted from UK National Report findings

156
8. TITLE INERCITIES28
Product of the European funded project Enercities.eu ( 2
Greek partners).
Target group approached Adults
Online through web browsers. Not downloadable
activities included
Build your own city (selections, drag / drop, results based
on your action, sharing with friends, invite friends to get
more points to do things on your city).
Each action has a reaction i.e. you cannot achieve the
total population living in your city.
1. Basic ICT skills,
2. Learn about connection between energy /
people,
3. Learn about how the environment is influenced
by your choices (green choices are
recommended)
4. Civic competencies (you interact with
environment, with other people)
Transferability – reusability Can be played as part of school experiment / group
activity led by a teacher.
Accessibility Web based on Facebook or playable via a web browser.
Impact The game is about energy sources and the balance
between people, planet and profit.
URL http://www.enercities.eu/project/
Notes
This social game was selected because 2 Greek partners
were involved and hence, is partly Greek but also
because it allows the user to structure his/her
environment as they see fit. This provides information on
the environment based on the player’s information and
knowledge but also experiences. The game can be
shared online. The game environment is user friendly and
can be structured and delivered as part of a training
activity moderated by a trainer.
28 This good practice has been extracted from Greek National Report findings

157
9. TITLE EVOKE29
Game promoter/creator Publisher: The Council of Europe and the European
Commission, Developer: Mr. Alberto Cottica.
Target group approached Young people and “new adults”.
Access on Internet (website)
Edgeryders is a social game aimed at building a
nurturing environment where we get help, inspire one
another and make sense of it all.
activities included
Edgeryders is diverse, constructive interaction channel
between European young people and our democratic
institutions, and designed along the principle of Internet-
enabled massive open collaboration.
The game is aimed at building a nurturing environment
where we get help, inspire one another and make sense
of it all.
You get Rep when you participate, you play Missions,
you share what you do with your friends on facebook
and twitter, you talk to other edgeryders and comment
their posts. Everything that keeps the community healthy
should give Rep. An automatic system cannot
understand all the nuances of our behaviour, so the
Mentors and Moderators can assign Style points and
Badges to people when they do something awesome
that cannot be tracked by the system. If you think that
an Edgeryder has done something great for the
community, tell your friendly neighbour moderator that
the person should get some Rep!
When a member participates in a mission, s/he gains also
reputation points and badges. But there are no prizes:
the reputation of the "players“ helps the newcomers to
connect with people willing to help them. A game that
makes everybody win.
The goal is to produce a shared vision of how Europe’s
young citizens could claim a stronger influence on our
common future – and a larger share of the social
responsibility that goes with it.
Number of users – players Not avaible.
Edgeryders is the game that can inspire the institutional
decision makers.
Accessibility
The game is in English language but the Rep can write in
their own language.
Impact
The results of the project will be presented to the
European Commission and the Council of Europe’s
member states in a conference to take place in May
2012.
29

158
10. TITLE FARMVILLE30
Game promoter/creator Zynga
Target group approached Middle-aged women
Facebook
activities included
Plan, cultivate, harvest, exchange, recruit.
Behaviour motivation and modification techniques.
Number of users – players 63+ million once, 24.9 million currently.
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
30
This good practice has been extracted from US National Report findings

152
11. TITLE FOURSQUARE11
Dennis Crowley e Naveen Selvadurai (indipendent ITC
developers).
Target group approached Travellers and citizens with a high inclination to mobility
and socializing, equipped with smart phone.
Application that can be downloaded on the phone, you
can access the game checking in from the place where
you are.
activities included
When you check in, Foursquare sends the notifications
real time to your friends, so that they can find you if they
are free and nearby.
The competition in the fame is called “The Mayor” that
means if you made more check ins than the other
members from the same public place you’ll be named
“mayor” of that place.
Foursquare will send messages of congratulations to all
your friends.
The challenge is to steal the title of mayor to the other
participants to receive personal goals such as badges or
virtual trophies.
- Stimulates the participants to attend the places
where they feel happier
- Stimulates the participants to have a very active
and dynamic social life
- Invites the participants to experiment unknown
places and widen their social horizons
- Reinforces the social connections
Number of users – players In 2012 Foursquare registers 20 million users.
Foursquare takes as a model a classical ball game that it
is usually played on a basket court.
The application could implement already existing
games, having the peculiar aspect to make people
interact on a real and social level, so it has the potential
to create aggregation in a short time in different places
within the same urban space.
Accessibility
The game is easy, intuitive, multi-language and
accessible to all. The only requirement is to have a
smartphone.
Impact
A T-shirt is popular among the Foursquare players that
show a door badge with these words: “Achievement
unlocked. Left the house”.
The challenge of this game is in fact to lead a significant
and balanced life in a non-virtual world.
11
This good practice has been extracted from Italian National Report findings

153
12. TITLE GAME4MANAGER12
CITEVE, the Portuguese Technological Centre for the
Textile and Clothing Industries.
Target group approached Middle and senior business managers.
Website:
http://www.game4manager.com/G4M/site/index
activities included
The game simulates a business environment that places
several challenges to the player, operating as the
business manager. The decision making process is
assisted with a tutorial interface that facilitates the
learner acquisition of the necessary knowledge and best
practices regarding any area of the corporate
environment.
Across the board, but special significance in business
related skills.
Number of users – players
Several but undefined (can be immersed in Second Life
environment).
High.
May be easily applied to cultural and other human
interaction issues
Accessibility
Via browser and website.
Impact High (in target group).
Notes
Game4manager is a collective effort to developing a
game to implement an Integrated Management System
in a virtual company.
The game has a double capacity:
- It can contribute to diminish white collar
resistance to game playing (the “serious” tag)
- It is a powerful tool to increase management
related knowledge.
It also is a Leonardo da Vinci product, so common
ground is very likely and direct communication with
project managers can result in valuable input to P4i’s
game.
12
This good practice has been extracted from Portuguese National Report findings

154
13. TITLE GAMESTAR MECHANIC13
Game promoter/creator Institute of Play.
Target group approached 8-14 year olds.
type of game (3D, etc.) Gamestarmechanic.com
activities included Design games, share them, play them, rate them.
(competences and skills) Designing, making and sharing things
Number of users – players 120,000
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
13

155
14. TITLE GARDENS OF TIME14
Game promoter/creator Playdom
Target group approached Middle-aged women.
type of game (3D, etc.) Facebook
activities included Find hidden objects, exchange.
(competences and skills) Back story, ties scenes together, promotes virality.
Number of users – players 5.2 million
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
14 Ibid.

156
15. TITLE GLOBAL CONFLICTS – PALESTINE15
Serious Games Interactive
http://www.seriousgames.dk
Target group approached Students in Secondary and Further Education.
3D online.
activities included
The series allows students to explore and learn about
different conflicts throughout the world and the
underlying themes of democracy, human rights,
globalization, terrorism, climate and poverty. The player
assumes the role of a freelance journalist who has just
arrived in Jerusalem facing challenges.
Citizenship
Geography
Media skills
Number of users – players Single Player.
British Education and Training Technology Award Winner
2010 Secondary, Further Education & Skills, Digital
Content.
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
15

157
16. TITLE KNOWLEDGE GAME16
Game promoter/creator WOW Group (Greece) for the client Multirama (IT Retail
chain).
Target group approached Adults (any age).
Facebook game, general quiz game.
activities included
5 level game, one needs to collect as many points as
possible (general quiz questions) and win competitions
and products. The products are donated by companies.
The levels get more difficult as you move along the
levels. The questions are timed.
This „Knowledge Game” (Παιχνίδι Γνώσης) is an
engaging trivia game with different levels and a bonus
scheme based on credits and in-game boosters.
Number of users – players 1 player and invitations for your friends can be done.
This can be used in a general exam where
students/trainees can be asked to answer general
questions (from a multiple pool coming random) in
diverse areas such as art, ICT, geography, history,
management, etc.
Accessibility
Easy to access through a web browser and a Facebook
personal account. Facebook asks for access to your
personal information (profile) in order to give you access
to the game.
Impact
This game was rated the most popular Greek Facebook
App game during one month in 2011 (month not
specified).
16

158
17. TITLE LEARN TO LEAD (L2L)17
Developer(s): Orazio Miglino, Andrea Di Ferdinando,
Massimiliano Schembri, Alberto Venditti, Maria Luisa
Nigrelli
Promoter(s): University Federico II of Naples,
Institute of Cognitive and Technologies Sciences (NRC)
Funded by: European Agency for Education, Culture and
Audiovisual (EAECA)
Partner Countries: Italy, France, Spain
Target group approached SMEs, small government offices, NGOs.
Online game - Downloadable.
Learn2Lead is created to design, implement, and test a
novel, online approach to training in team leadership
activities included
In the game, each learner manages a simulated team of
employees (e.g. a team of workers in a bank agency, a
post-office or a local government office) which
competes against other teams to maximize its objectives
(e.g. profit, volume of services delivered, customer
satisfaction). An underlying computer model shows the
(sometimes unexpected) effects of player’s decisions
(e.g. recruitment, training, incentives and disciplinary
measures, organizational measures) on the dynamics
and efficiency of the team. The system allows the user to
experiment with different approaches before competing
with other players. Play is asynchronous (players will not
be required to be online at the same time). A script-
based design facilitates adaptation for use in different
professional settings. The game is suitable for use, both for
self-learning and for learning in a blended learning
environment with the support of a tutor.
- Competition and cooperation;
- leadership skills and team working;
- effectiveness and efficiency;
- competencies in “people management”, resource
management and organization.
Number of users – players 10 users for each country.
Two training companies belonging to the partnership use
the game to offer tutor-supported training to their
commercial customers. In parallel with this effort, the
partnership provides free access to the standalone (non-
tutored) version of the game, through servers maintained
by one of the partners. These servers is been maintained
in operation for at least 1 year.
Accessibility
The game is playable for free and in 4 different
languages: Italian, French, Spanish and English.
The graphic environment is nice and the following
instructions are very easy.
Impact
L2L has concluded last December with Large-scale use
of the system will be encouraged using online and
traditional media.
17

159
18. TITLE MY VILLAGE18
Game promoter/creator Jacques Delors European Information Centre.
Target group approached European citizens.
Facebook interactive game
Further information:
http://www.eurocid.pt/pls/wsd/docs/F6598/myvillage.pdf
activities included
Manage a small village, by playing the role of a Mayor
having to handle a series of financial and economic
events and difficulties. The decision making process
involves reflecting in a number of relatable issues: how
can I save money? How can I have funding for
innovative ideas? How can I save natural resources? Why
crisis happen?
Promote increased awareness around economic
recovery and social cohesion.
Number of users – players
1
Transferability – reusability High
Accessibility
Project closed since middle 2011, albeit all information is
available in the EUROCID page.
Impact
Low, but several teacher guides were developed to assist
in pedagogical exploration of the game, as it allows the
discussion of national curricula subjects in an
approachable manner.
18

160
19. TITLE MUSIC HERO – APRENDE TU RETO19
Game
promoter/creator
Junta de Andalucia (more information about the game
initiative, in Spanish:
http://www.andaluciaemprende.es/es/2006-06-28-
20.22.28.188/2010-01-19-10.31.31.839/2011-02-24-10.00.33.776)
Target group
approached
Teenagers, up to 15 years old.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Facebook platform, information about the game:
http://www.music-hero.com/index.php
Interactions, actions
and activities
included
Strategic simulation: creation of the music group and online
competition, where the players have to manage the group,
increase a number of fans, as well as manage their time and
money.
5 activities to be concluded in the centre of group session.
(competences and
skills)
The game aims at fostering entrepreneurial skills, cooperation
and competitiveness above all.
Specific objectives are: to know and identify the skills of an
entrepreneur, Improve own skills through similar, develop auto-
reflection and self-knowledge, encourage the development of
own projects.
Number of users –
players
Unlimited, simultaneous/multiple playing
2 modalities are available:
1. A game available for 2 months, with a capacity to
accommodate 10.000 players simultaneously. It allows
playing between 10 and 20 minutes for two months.
2. Fast (express) game, with a capacity up to 50 players,
allows performing up to four different games
simultaneously. The playing time is of 90 minutes and
can be integrated in a workshop of 3 hours. Participants
play in pairs and the game is complemented by
introduction and assessment activities that allow linking
the game with education value regarding the
entrepreneurial skills.
Transferability –
reusability
The game can be implemented in non-formal education
centres with groups between 10-15 years old range.
The concept of the game can be easily transferred to other
target groups and be applicable to other training topics
Accessibility
The game is accessible through the website: http://www.music-
hero.com.
http://www.music-hero.com/index.php/guia-
educativa/aplicacion.html
Impact
Since 2007 till March 2011, 5.135 players have tested in the
game.
19
This good practice has been extracted from Spanish National Report findings

161
20. TITLE NEW IN TOWN (SOCIAL GAME – LIFE SIMULATION)20
Game
promoter/creator
Digital Chocolate.
Target group
approached
Youth, not defined.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Digital chocolate browser:
http://games.digitalchocolate.com/canvas/new-in-
town?src=dcw_web_portalhome
and activities
included
Casting players in the role of a recent college graduate out to
make it big in the city, the game tasks players with the
management of several precious resources essential to survival
even in the real world — time, money and happiness. After
customizing their avatar’s appearance, gender and name, the
player is introduced to a number of fellow graduates who will
later become the source of the game’s quests. Through some
initial tasks, the player is shown how to get a job, how to
perform the job to earn money, how to get food and how to
buy new clothes. Following these introductory missions, future
quests are presented as “challenges” against the other
characters to see who can complete them first, with greater
rewards on offer for quick completion. These quests must be
juggled around the player’s other needs, however, lending an
unusually deep degree of time management to the game.
(competences and
skills)
Key competences,
Time management.
Number of users –
players
N/A
Transferability –
reusability
The concept of the game can be easily transferred to other
target groups and be applicable to other training topics.
Accessibility The game is available on Digital Chocolate platform that
allows to play and interact with “strangers”.
Impact
A solid suite of social features, a wide range of premium vanity
items and the ability to use premium currency to eliminate
“grinding” to a certain degree mean that the game has the
potential to be both popular and profitable in the long run. Its
original gameplay and high degree of technical polish may
attract a wider demographic of players than many similar titles,
and Digital Chocolate has plenty of plans in place for the
future of the game, including ways for players to directly
interact with one another’s avatars rather than simply visiting
their apartments.
20
Ibid.

162
21. TITLE PEACEMAKER21
Game
promoter/creator
Developer: ImpactGames
Designers: Tim Sweeney, Eric Brown, Asi Burak
Target group
approached
Israeli and Palestinian people (youth and adults).
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
PeaceMaker is sold for 20 dollars (Download + Package on
Amazon) for all operative system.
The game is a government simulation game that incorporates
elements of turn-based strategy in 3D.
and activities
included
The player choose to be either the Prime Minister of Israel or the
President of the Palestinian National Authority, and must resolve
the conflict peacefully. The game interface includes a map,
showing the Gaza Strip, the Galilee, the West Bank and the
north of the Negev. After each turn, the events of the week are
pointed on the map. By clicking on it, the player views a news
report, with real-world pictures and footage, of a
demonstration or a bomb attack.
Each week, the player makes a decision regarding security,
construction or politics. The player performs one actions at
each turn, such as giving his people a political speech. A key-
point of the game is that the actions of the players do not
always have the expected outcome. The player actions
provoke immediate reactions, such as public protest or political
critics. They also influence several long-term variables, classified
into two categories. The first is the approval of the policy of the
player by different groups and leaders. The second covers
economic, social or political indicators. Their values are
displayed on the screen as thermometers.
Each leader must take into account the approval of his
counterpart, of both people, of the United Nations, the United
States and the Arab world. The Palestinian President also has to
deal with the Fatah and Hamas; and the Israeli Prime Minister
with the Yesha Council and all the Palestinian militant
organizations. The player has access to polls, which represent
the different indicators. Each leader is informed of his
leadership and the quality of his relations with the other party.
On the Palestinian side, the polls cover the authority of the
President, the opinion of the man of the street towards Israel,
economic health and national independence. On the Israeli
side, they reflect the insecurity, the suppression, and the Israeli
compassion towards the Palestinians.
(competences and
skills)
- Promoting peace among real conflicts;
- promoting non-violence communication;
- keeping in touch with many point of views and getting
inside a decision making process;
- better understanding of the Israeli - Palestinian conflict.
Number of users –
players Almost 150.000 users.
21

163
Transferability –
reusability
The outcomes from decision making process can give a
support to the political establishment. The real governments
may be inspired by the players.
Accessibility
The game is playable in English, Hebrew and Arab, to
strengthen the multiple point-of-views. PeaceMaker is sold for
20 dollars.
Impact
PeaceMaker has become a flagship of the serious game, and
a major step for the acknowledgement of the genre. In 2006, it
took the award in a competition organized by the University of
Southern California, entitled “Reinventing public diplomacy
through games”. It won the Best Transformation Game award
in 2007. This prize rewards the best game which engages
players on a deep and meaningful level around an important
social issue, whose aims and outcomes are no less than to
foster a powerful intellectual or behavioural transformation in it
users. It is awarded by the association Games for Change,
whose mission is to promote games that engage
contemporary social issues in meaningful ways to foster a more
just, equitable and tolerant society. Suzanne Seggerman, co-
founder of the association, stated in 2009 that just like Darfur is
Dying, Food Force and Ayiti: The Cost of Life, PeaceMaker was
just such a game, having had an impact.

164
22. TITLE PORTUGAL 1111: THE CONQUEST OF SOURE22
Game
promoter/creator
Licínio Roque, Filipe Penicheiro and Ramos de Carvalho.
Target group
approached
Children
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Retail. Age of Empires like game.
and activities
included
Turn-based game on the Reconquista of Moorish lands by
Christians in XII century Portugal.
(competences and
skills)
History.
Number of users –
players
Multiplayer.
Transferability –
reusability
Narrow possibilities to teach intercultural competences but very
effective.
Accessibility Retail.
Impact Very high.
22

165
23. TITLE RE:MISSION23
Game
promoter/creator
HopeLabs, Inc.
Target group
approached
Young cancer patients.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Re-mission.net
Windows
and activities
included
Fight cancer through game character inside body.
(competences and
skills)
Self-efficiency, healthy competition.
Number of users –
players
126,000+
Transferability –
reusability
N/A
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
23

166
24. TITLE SIM COMPANY24
Game
promoter/creator
Pedro Campos
Ana Campos (WOW Systems).
Target group
approached
9-14 children
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
SIMS franchise like.
and activities
included
The player assumes the role of a businessman in day-to-day
work, having to take decisions related to business
management and operation.
(competences and
skills)
Very high potential in conveying complex competences in
areas such as entrepreneurship and decision making.
Number of users –
players
Several but undefined.
Transferability –
reusability
High. Can clearly be used to teach intercultural competences.
Some doubts on transferability to adults.
Accessibility
Unknown.
Impact High in target group.
24

167
25. TITLE SQA GAMESSPACE25
Game
promoter/creator
Learn TPM Ltd.
Target group
approached
Vocational students post 14.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
3D Online.
and activities
included
This assessment allows candidates to enter a simulated
workplace environment and perform simulated tasks to
demonstrate key competencies required.
(competences and
skills)
Assessment of vocational skills including:
Risk assessment in a health sector environment
Customer Interaction in a retail environment
Inclusion awareness in uniformed services personnel.
Number of users –
players
Single Player.
Transferability –
reusability
British Education and Training Technology Awards Winner 2011
– ICT Education Partnership.
Accessibility Learn TPM Ltd.
Impact Vocational students post 14.
25

168
26. TITLE SUPER BETTER26
Game
promoter/creator
Super Better.
Target group
approached
Adults.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Superbetter.com
and activities
included
Set goals, enlist friends, take challenges.
(competences and
skills)
Goal-setting, networking, behaviour change.
Number of users –
players
6,000
Transferability –
reusability N/A
Accessibility N/A
Impact N/A
26

169
27. TITLE TEACHERS - CREATOR OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE27
Game
promoter/creator
Romanian Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports, in
partnership with SIVECO Romania.
Target group
approached
Romanian Teachers.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
http://profesorulcreator.siveco.ro/web/guest/home;jsessionid=
7343AEA93A79E16ACADDB852BC3CD668
and activities
included
Teachers were instructed to create their own digital content for
innovating in the educational process;
In the frame of project a national competition for educational
software was organized.
(competences and
skills)
They have improved their skills on the development of
educational software applications and ability to use
interactive teaching and learning.
Number of users –
players
1,700 Romanian teachers trained and each of them made his
own educational software
18 games selected for national competition, 6 winners.
Transferability –
reusability
Continuously and for all content type.
Accessibility
http://profesorulcreator.siveco.ro/web/guest/castigatori
Impact
At national level covering all 41 Romanian counties, 1700
teachers received professional certificates bearing
transferable credits.
The project results are well received in educational
communities of the participants, such as external teachers or
training centres.
27

170
28. TITLE THE SIMS SOCIAL28
Game
promoter/creator
Developer: Playfish
Publisher: EA Games
Target group
approached
Facebook community and smartphone generation.
Access (where) and
what type of game
(3D, etc.)
Access on Facebook platform or smartphone.
Browser game.
and activities
included
The Sims Social lets the user create their own customizable
character. However, the player uses their character to interact
with those of their Facebook friends. The characters can
develop likes or dislikes for other Sims, creating relationships
that can be publicized on the user's Facebook page.
The Sims Social uses the socializing features of Facebook to
allow players to send and receive gifts in order to finish certain
quests or objects. When the player cannot obtain objects from
friends, the only other option is to skip the task using SimCash.
Furthermore, certain items, such as double beds and couches,
will have a hammer icon in the right corner, denoting that
some assembly is required. To assemble these items, a player
will need certain items that usually can only be obtained by
sending requests to friends.
Players can pursue three different relationships with their
neighbours. They can become friends, rivals, or enter into a
romance. There are various relationship levels to be unlocked.
Each relationship path gives the player different social
interactions, as well as different tasks that can be performed at
friend's homes. Once the player reaches a new relationship
level. Certain relationship levels require the other party to first
approve the relationship status before they are reflected in the
game.
Players can use items found by performing tasks to craft
special potions and complete collections. Players can craft
numerous potions that can provide benefits to Sims.
There are currently five skills: art, cooking, music, writing,
athletic, and various project skill items which are tied with
specific themed collections. Developing higher level skill levels
allow Sims to obtain new objects. Sims develops skills when the
player interacts with an art object, a music object, a cooking
object or a writing object.
At times, skills are a part of quests given to the player for their
Sim to achieve.
Sims can aspire to three different career paths: Rocker, Chef,
and Artist. Each career consists of 5 levels each with three sub-
levels. To advance in their given career players are required to
submit appointments for various jobs. After the given
appointment time the player can send their Sim to work and
earn Simoleons and Career Points. Career Points help further
careers leading to promotions. After each promotion players
receive a special object only acquirable through a career.
28

171
Upon completion of an entire career track, players can select
a new career track at the cost of forgoing all past career
history.
There are currently nine traits for Sims in The Sims Social and
only can be purchased with Lifetime Points. All traits except the
insane one feature 5 levels; each needing to be bought at a
higher price of Lifetime Points than the last one. The traits are
slob, steel bladder, neat, super mechanic, insane, ogre, ninja,
great kisser, and night owl. When the player upgrades the level
of a trait, the trait becomes more prominent in the Sim's
lifestyle.
In The Sims Social Sims have needs. There are six needs: social,
fun, hunger, hygiene, bladder, and sleep. When all of the
needs are fulfilled, the player's Sim will become inspired.
The Sims Social has four currencies: Simoleons, SimCash, Social
Points, and Lifetime Points. These currencies are used to
purchase items in the game. Simoleons are the most basic
currency and can be most readily earned by performing
almost any non-autonomous task. SimCash can most readily
be obtained by purchasing them with real-world currencies;
however, a recent update to the game permits users to earn
up to 10 SimCash as a reward for playing the game on 5
consecutive days. SimCash allows the player to purchase
special and limited edition objects. When the player begins the
game, they will receive 20 free SimCash.[8] Social Points are
obtained by performing social interactions with other Sims.
These can be used to purchase objects that are not available
using Simoleons. You can exchange the Social Points for
Simoleons by buying a Social Point item and selling them.
(competences and
skills)
- Interaction with your Facebook friend through social and
individual skills;
- good competition;
- connecting people in virtual environment;
- learning job competences;
- respecting the citizens.
Number of users –
players
Since its release to the public, the game has accumulated
over 30 million players (over 16 million added in the first week).
On September 2011, The Sims Social surpassed FarmVille to
become the second-most popular Facebook game.
Transferability –
reusability
The Sims Social is a Facebook addition to the Sims series of
videogames.
Accessibility
The game is playable for free and in English language. The
graphic environment is nice and the following instructions are
very easy.
Impact
After The Sims Social has been launched, Playfish had given
The Sims Social Stadium for EA Sports FIFA Superstars. The
promotion had started at mid-September 2011 that player
need to reach level 10 in The Sims Social to claim them, before
it is removed. The promotional stadium has been added on
September 23, 201. On February 9th, 2012 The Sims Social won
the Social Networking Game of the Year award at the 15th
Annual Interactive Achievement Awards. On February 15th,
2012 The Sims Social was nominated for best online browser
game by the British Academy Video Game Awards - a
subsidiary of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This
publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
P4I - PLAYING FOR INTERCULTURALITY.
Ref. 518475-LLP-1-2011-1-ES- GRUNDTVIG-GMP
Coordinator: Inveslan
Spain
Web: www.inveslan.com
Partner 6: INCSMPS
Romania
Web: www.incsmps.ro
Partner 2: EIMD
Spain
Web: www.iegd.org
Partner 3: SQLearn
Greece
Web: www.sqlearn.eu
Partner 4: CNIPA
Italy
Web: www.cnipapuglia.it
Partner 5: SPI
Portugal
Web: www.spi.pt
Partner 7: Learnit3D
United Kingdom
Web: www.learnit3d.com
Third Country partner Twin Learning LLC
USA
Web: www.linkedin.com/in/michaelpcarterphd
www.p4i-project.eu
p4i@inveslan.com

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