The military is using video game design theory for some training programs, not just “the fancy, realistic, virtual world experiences, but also the built-in use of frustration and reward.” (And similar training packages were adopted by Unilever, the giant corporation which owns Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.)
“I know I’d feel better about job training if it felt more like killing zombies,” adds the interviewer of this game-engine CEO, who says research actually supports games as a teaching tool. Electronic Arts sponsored some large experiments in schools about teaching kids with Sim City and The Sims, and “The conclusion was that they taught them really well… You’re not actually reading the rules of the game; you’re kind of feeling them and internalizing them.”
Some companies now conduct team-building exercises using “Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter,” and game design is even being used to build tax software. “It has to be the most boring field, but I mean that’s the point. You can make it slightly challenging and give people little reasons to play these tax tools – beyond, you know, not going to prison!”
