Key Information
About the content
Have you ever wondered how playing games can help us to train people, deal with societal challenges or raise awareness of contemporary social issues? In this MOOC you will learn the ins and outs of games that are designed with exactly those purposes in mind: serious games. We will define serious games and discuss the different types that have been developed. We will explain why people like to play them and what impact they may have. State of the art theories from game studies, philosophy and media psychology will be used to help you understand how serious games work and how they appeal to players. The potential impact of gaming is addressed in detail by discussing persuasive games, which aim at changing the player's attitude. Throughout the MOOC, theoretical insights will be illustrated with playful animations and case studies of serious games that are developed by world-class companies in the city of Rotterdam. This MOOC is particularly interesting for you when you are a student considering to study digital media such as serious games, a professional interested in the opportunities these games may create for your organization, or a game developer who wants to know more about the impact serious games can have. Are you ready to broaden your vision on serious games? Join this course and be inspired!
Syllabus
- Week 1 - Introduction and Definition
What are serious games? What characteristics do they have in common with digital entertainment games? And what sets them apart from other media products? In this first module, we set out to define the field. Get ready to immerse yourself and play your first se... - Week 2 - The Theoretical Framework
You might be wondering why we keep on playing a game, even though we sometimes lose or get stuck in a level. In this module, you will learn about what is so motivating about games. We will discuss theories and also a practical example of a serious game that en... - Week 3 - Different Serious Games and Simulations
Throughout this MOOC, you will learn that serious games are applicable in various situations. In this module, we introduce a taxonomy of serious games, which is a classification of the different kinds of serious games. We will focus on one type of serious game... - Week 4 - Persuasive Gaming
How can a game influence the attitude of a player? In this module, we will dive into a specific kind of serious games: persuasive games. Rhetoric and psychological theories will help you to understand how the process of persuasion works. And we will analyze in... - Week 5 - The Impact of Serious Games
By now you probably wonder to what extent serious games actually reach their desired outcome. This seems to be the million-dollar-question, because when an organization invests serious money in a serious game, they would like to be sure it works. But the answe... - Week 6 - The Futures of Serious Games
Unfortunately, we do not own a crystal ball. In this module we will nonetheless take a look into the possible futures of serious games. Will we be playing games in virtual reality, or will we guide our game characters with our brains? Before we look forward, t...
Instructors
Jeroen Jansz
Full Professor
Media & Communication
Mijke Slot
Dr.
Media & Communication
Content Designer
Platform
Coursera is a digital company offering massive open online course founded by computer teachers Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller Stanford University, located in Mountain View, California.
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What did i learn about Serious Gaming ?From zero (before) to 8 (since only because all this is new to me)Learning about this new topic (to me) was a complete challenge in the beginning. I left it for a while (maybe 2 - 3 weeks) then when i returned i skimmed through the from the start to where i stopped then continued. Things we getting much better with me.One concern however, the professors were speaking some difficult vocabulary (not the simpler english style) - upon which i had to look in the dictionary quite a few times. - but i guess this was because they were selecting very specific meanings to specific exact words they wanted to use.Thank you very much for this great experience :)
Good course. A lot of theory foundation. I hope there will be more practical material in future session, especially numerical design, etc.
Two things I like the most about this course. First, solid the useful theories, especially regarding pursuasive gaming. Second, many interesting cases of serious games with in depth analysis . What could have made this course better? It will be great if you can help us establish a framework of how to develop a serious game, aka how to use the theories(tools) in steps to come up with a solution. I understand the steps can be different for different purposes, but there must be some common rules and approach. I would also like the opportunities to hear the thoughts from developers of good serious games. What drives them to make the game at the first place? What do they find different from developing an entertainment game? What are their thoughts on the future of serious games?
What did i learn about Serious Gaming ?From zero (before) to 8 (since only because all this is new to me)Learning about this new topic (to me) was a complete challenge in the beginning. I left it for a while (maybe 2 - 3 weeks) then when i returned i skimmed through the from the start to where i stopped then continued. Things we getting much better with me.One concern however, the professors were speaking some difficult vocabulary (not the simpler english style) - upon which i had to look in the dictionary quite a few times. - but i guess this was because they were selecting very specific meanings to specific exact words they wanted to use.Thank you very much for this great experience :)
Very interesting course with interesting lecturer. Thanks guys! I learnt a lot on through the concepts, theories and real live case studies!
Had issue with week 3 quiz. One of the tables seemed wrong to me and the numbers seemed flipped compared to the questions/answers giving in the quiz and the number representation in the videos. Answering the quiz ended up being more frustrating than helpful because of this.
