Part 1: Defining Serious Games
A game is a fun thing with an objective and asks you and multiple people to participate.
A serious game is one that has a clear objective and set rules, but is not necessarily geared towards having fun. The objective is to have gained some sort knowledge or skills in a particular field Corti states that game-based learning/ serious games “is all about leveraging the power of computer games to captive and engage end-users for a specific purpose, such as to develop new knowledge and skills”(Corti, 2006). I believe serious games are for improving cognitive functions especially those associated with learning, while a regular game has the objective of entertaining.
Part 2: Applying My Definition of A Serious Game to a Serious Game
The game i played was Ayiti: The Cost of Life and it did match the criteria for a serious game. The game too a lot of effort (keeping characters alive, educated, etc), all while under major constraints (potential to die, bad weather, sickness, lack of food/money). But throughout the game there was a clear objective which was to obtain enough education to be able to sustain the family. The game itself was very informative because it dealt with the risks that the people of Haiti face on a daily basis.
My overall experience was that I was challenged. It took me a few trial and error rounds (or seasons), to gage how the game would react and treat each decision I made. This game is definitely advanced and takes a while to get familiar with the challenges. I tried to start over from scratch because I was having a hard time dealing with income and profit. First time around by the second year, the family in totally was in debt, sick, and starved to death.
I learned that the strategy is all about making more than you spend within a season whilst making sure everyone’s overall health doesn’t kill them. The game is set out in extreme harsh conditions and every move you make is vital. It’s not like the typical tycoon video games, this takes conscious strategy and preparation before making each move (since each move really does matter.)
Serious Games Blog 