Commissioned by a Vedette client, this presentation looks at the significance of computer gaming in society, questions the stereotypical views of gaming and proposes that gaming can help improve digital skills and show enthusiasm for a career. Gaming technologies can also be exploited, for example in creating training environments, in approaches to managing data and for training AI. Lastly, gamification techniques can be used to enhance training and recruitment.

1. Learning from
Computer Games
Andy Fawkes
Vedette Consulting
Pixabay

2. Key Themes
• Computer Gaming in Context
• Gaming as a Digital Skill
• Exploiting Gaming Technologies
• Gamification of Training and Recruitment

4. In 2017, 32.4 million people
played computer games in the
UK, broadly 50:50 female/male
Spending $4.2 billion, making the
UK the 5th largest games market
in the world
UKIE

6. UK Children aged 12 to 15
spent 12.2 hours a week
gaming in 2017
and 11 to 64 year-olds,
8.9 hours
UKIE

7. Wikimedia
Gaming Stereotypes

8. Computer Games as a Digital Skill?
Digital Skills are skills that range from:
• enabling basic social interaction
(communication skills, literacy,
smartphone usage etc) to
• enabling interaction with systems
and services (e-commerce, e-
government services etc) to
• matching the needs of employers
and which maximise employability
Digital Skills for the UK Economy, UK Govt., 2016

9. Cognitive Benefits of Playing
Computer Games
• basic visual processes
• attention and vigilance
• executive functioning
• job-related skills
Peter Gray Ph.D. - Psychology Today (20/02/15)

10. “…a lot of the skills (we need),
the ability to fuse data,
to have situational awareness,
to understand the environment,
are skills which (gaming) helps
build up…”
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier - 11 Jan 2018
The Military Times/Twitter

11. Grand Theft Auto V Police Roleplaying
DoctorGTA

12. Games Engines in Training

13. Gaming Technology as a Training Environment
Bohemia Interactive Simulations

14. Bohemia Interactive Simulations
When to use Games in Training?
• Games are effective for cognitive or
“how to think” training
• Games are not typically used to train
motor skills, e.g. using a firearm

15. Realism…

16. Massively Multiplayer
Online Games (MMOGs)
MMOGs offer a way of thinking
about data and communities
Persistency of
Simulated World
Persistency of
Player Data
Number of
Players

17. Training AI
in Games
The Open Racing Car Simulator (TORCS) - GitHub

18. Gamification
the application of game-design
elements and game principles
in non-game contexts
Wikipedia

19. Gamification Examples
• US Army’s America’s Army
• eidesign Risk Management
Training
• Strava Athletes App

20. Summary
• Consider Gaming as a Digital Skill
• Benefits of Gaming Skills
• Can show Enthusiasm for Work Area
• Exploit Games Technology
• Training Environments
• Approach to Data
• Training of AI
• Consider Gamifying Training and Education