Serious Game quest review

Serious games as the name implies are games designed to promote learning instead of entertainment. This is brief review of 3 serious games;

1. ·       Free Rice
2. ·       Americas Army.
3. ·       The McDonald’s game.

Free rice: is a game designed to teach simple concepts in various subject areas including English vocabulary and simple multiplication tables. While doing this, it also attempts to make a difference in hunger through the United Nations Food Program. For every correct answer by a participant. The game is free and does not require any downloads or special equipment. There is currently a banner that informs people of the game being updated. In terms of accessibility and playability, the game is very accessible as long as there is a good internet connection. One does not need any advanced tech skills to attempt the games. Because the game is designed for beginners it is not appropriate for advanced learners in any of the subject areas. 

Free Rice screenshot

 

America’s Army: of the serious games I attempted, America’s Army was the most complicated to play on a desktop. One needs a STEAM account, which is free  to access the game. After the account is created, the American Army game needs to be downloaded. For computers with limited storage spaces and bit places with limited broadband connectivity, this seems to be a bit of a hurdle to access the game. This game however had the best graphics and narrative of the games attempted. It also has a well-kept forum and instructional modules, teachers can easily adapt to their classroom if the game suits their curriculum goals and instructional objectives. This was by far the best developed game.

America's Army

The McDonald’s game: is a also a free game which comes in multiple languages and has a free interface. Unfortunately, the only browser this game seems to work on now is the Microsoft Edge. It did not work on either Mozilla and Chrome due to it being developed with Flash. In terms of playability, the  without reading the instructions, the game is not as intuitive. However, once that is done, the game is geared towards achieving different goals including management of a farm, running a chain and other 21^st century skills. In addition, because of the various language versions, this game can be used across different geographic locations without language impeding its use as an instructional tool.

The McDonald's game

Overall, the review of these 3 serious games shows the varying degrees of sophistication and hurdles faced by serious games. It also highlights that, different games can meet different instructional goals and pedagogical needs.