What are Serious Games?

Serious games offer a variety of advantages that go beyond the usual arguments and are often underestimated.

• They enable the training of emotional intelligence by involving players in moral dilemmas or social interactions that promote empathy, compassion and emotional control.
• By consciously integrating mistakes and unforeseen events, players learn to deal with frustration and setbacks, which can increase their resilience in real life.
• They can uncover unconscious thought patterns and biases by simulating situations that require players to approach problems with an open mind.
• Complex topics that are difficult to visualise or understand (e.g. climate change, social dynamics or psychological mechanisms) can be made tangible through interactive scenarios and modelling.
• By providing a space to try out radical ideas or alternative ways of thinking in a protected environment, serious games offer a platform for innovation and creative problem-solving.
• They help to develop long-term thinking by playfully simulating the consequences of decisions over longer periods of time – an approach that is particularly suitable for political or economic education.
• By repeatedly confronting a challenge, the player can develop a deeper form of intuition, e.g. for complex systems or strategic decisions.
• Through targeted manipulation of the environment and rules, they can be used as an ‘anti-pattern experience’ by deliberately simulating poor structures or bad decisions to make their consequences tangible.
• They enable a playful confrontation with fears, e.g. in therapeutic applications, by allowing users to gradually deal with stressful situations in a controlled environment.
• In certain professional fields, such as cyber security or medicine, they enable the development of a ‘reflex-like’ ability to react in critical situations by realistically simulating stressful situations and training automated behavioural patterns.

But despite these profound advantages, there are also disadvantages that are often not immediately apparent.

• The game-like mechanics of reward systems can lead to an overemphasis on extrinsic motivation, thereby displacing intrinsic motivation (i.e. interest in the subject itself).
• In particular, long-term use can develop an unhealthy feedback loop in which players learn only for points or awards and no longer out of genuine interest.
• Games are often designed for specific thought patterns and solutions, which can lead to users being unconsciously limited and alternative approaches being overlooked.
• In narrative serious games, a story that is too prescriptive can inhibit the exploratory or critical thought process if players are only allowed to operate within a narrow framework.
• If they are not carefully designed, serious games can unintentionally convey false or distorted models of reality and thus promote disinformation instead of knowledge.
• There is a risk that people may feel safe in a virtual simulation and develop a false sense of overconfidence, which can have fatal consequences in real situations (e.g. in medicine or crisis management).
• The emotional intensity of some serious games can unintentionally increase psychological stress or negative feelings, especially when they simulate real crisis situations or ethical conflicts.
• Some games use patterns from the entertainment industry to make them more attractive, but this can dilute the seriousness of the topic and lead to players not dealing with the content sufficiently.
• Particularly in organisations or companies, it can be problematic if serious games are perceived as a ‘mandatory task’ rather than as a real added value for further training.
• The more interactive and realistic a game becomes, the greater the risk that manipulation or targeted influencing of behaviour, e.g. through subliminal design decisions or conscious control of the gaming experience, will no longer be recognised as such by users.

Conclusion: Serious games are a powerful tool that goes far beyond traditional education. They offer unique opportunities for promoting emotional intelligence, intuitive thinking and realistic decision-making. At the same time, however, they also harbour hidden risks, especially if they unconsciously manipulate behavioural patterns, restrict thought processes or convey false models of reality. It is therefore essential to consciously and critically design and reflect on their use.

The terms ‘serious games’ and ‘gamification’ are sometimes used synonymously, but there are significant differences. Gamification refers to the integration of game-like elements into a non-game context without creating a complete game. Typical examples of gamification elements are scoring systems, rankings, badges, progress bars or challenges. These mechanisms are often used in digital learning platforms, corporate training or apps to increase user engagement.

Serious games, on the other hand, are complete games in their own right that have been developed with a specific learning or training objective. They offer a narrative structure or clear tasks and combine entertainment with the imparting of knowledge or skills. While gamification aims to make existing processes more attractive by adding game-based elements, serious games aim to enable sustainable learning through active experience and action.
Conclusion: gamification adds playful elements to an existing system, while serious games are designed from the ground up as games to achieve learning objectives. Both methods can complement each other, but they are clearly distinct in the way they work and the goals they pursue.

The acceptance of serious games depends heavily on their design, their use and their target audience. They are perceived positively when they offer clear added value. A good balance between fun and knowledge transfer is crucial, as too strong a focus on the learning aspect can be off-putting. Gamified elements such as rewards or storytelling increase motivation.

Intuitive operation and an appealing design are also important, as technical hurdles reduce acceptance. Younger, digitally savvy users often adopt serious games better than older generations, who prefer simple user guidance. Context also plays a role: scepticism can prevail in companies if the benefits are not clearly apparent, while pupils and students see serious games as a welcome change from traditional teaching. In the health sector, they are often appreciated when they support therapy.

Studies show that serious games are particularly well received when the learning objectives are clear, learning progress is visible and motivating feedback is provided. [6] Overall, acceptance depends on the quality of the game, the target group and the area of application – a well-thought-out design with recognisable benefits increases the likelihood of success.

A good balance between entertainment and knowledge transfer in serious games is achieved when learning content is seamlessly integrated into the game mechanics. Knowledge should not just be imparted passively, but brought to life through interactive challenges. Games that simulate physical experiments or make economic relationships tangible through strategic decisions increase motivation and the learning effect. The key is to actively shape the learning process – through exciting puzzles, reward systems or gripping storytelling.

Clear goals and direct feedback help players to recognise their progress and stay motivated. At the same time, the game should not be too challenging: graded difficulty levels, intuitive explanations and playful tutorials ensure a pleasant learning curve. Storytelling and emotions play a key role because they make learning content more tangible and facilitate remembering. If the player identifies with characters or scenarios, the knowledge remains in the memory more sustainably.

Individual customisation options such as adaptive difficulty levels or personalised learning paths increase long-term motivation. It is crucial that learning does not appear to be a chore, but rather arises organically from the game. A successful serious game does not feel like a lesson, but like an exciting experience that imparts knowledge along the way.

When using serious games, various technical hurdles must be taken into account to ensure smooth operation and a high level of acceptance. One of the biggest challenges is platform compatibility. Ideally, games should run on different end devices such as PCs, tablets and smartphones in order to reach a broad target group. Especially in companies or educational institutions, older systems are often in use that do not support all modern technologies.
Performance and stability are common issues. Stuttering animations, long loading times or crashes can severely impair the user experience and distract from the actual learning content. Optimised programming is therefore essential, especially if the game is based on resource-intensive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).

Usability and accessibility also play an important role. A complex user interface or confusing controls can lead to frustration, especially for less tech-savvy users. Intuitive navigation, clear instructions and simple user guidance are therefore essential. In addition, the game should also be accessible to people with disabilities, for example through screen reader compatibility, subtitles or alternative input methods.

Another hurdle is the data and network connection. Many serious games rely on online features such as multiplayer interactions or cloud-based storage. However, if a stable internet connection is required, this can be problematic in schools or companies with strict IT policies. Offline modes or hybrid solutions are sensible alternatives here.

Finally, data security is a key aspect, especially when personal data is collected. In the health or corporate sector in particular, strict data protection guidelines must be observed, which require additional security measures such as encryption or access restrictions.

All in all, the technical realisation of digital serious games requires well-thought-out planning to ensure both performance and user-friendliness. Only if the game runs smoothly can it effectively achieve its learning objectives.

The learning success of a serious game can be measured using various methods that capture both the player’s direct interaction and the long-term increase in knowledge. One of the most common approaches is in-game analysis, in which the game stores data on the player’s progress, the levels achieved or the tasks completed. By analysing this data, conclusions can be drawn about the player’s understanding and application of what has been learned.

In addition, knowledge tests before and after playing the game offer a way to objectively measure learning progress. Quiz questions or tests are used to document changes in knowledge. Another instrument is playful competence tests, in which the user has to apply the learned content directly in the game, e.g. through simulations or practical decisions.

Long-term monitoring of knowledge growth is also useful to check whether what has been learned is also retained in the long term. This can be done through subsequent tests or practical applications outside the game. In educational institutions and companies, feedback questionnaires are also used to capture the subjective assessment of the players.

In addition to quantitative methods, qualitative evaluation can also be carried out through observation or interviews. These methods examine how the players’ behaviour changes and whether they can apply what they have learned in real situations.

To capture the learning success as accurately as possible, a combination of several methods is often useful. While in-game data provides a direct insight into the gaming experience, external tests and surveys help to capture the actual knowledge transfer into everyday life.