Serious gaming comprises the use of digital games for reasons other than entertainment. In the recent past, these games have been associated with positive impacts in society. With regard to education, a game named Quandary was created to help solve emerging educational challenges (Rughinis, n.d.). Quandary enhances skills such as critical thinking and perspective-taking. The game presents a user with a situation in which they must make a decision. In Quandary, players aged eight or more years are in a position to shape society while recognizing ethical considerations. Cinema and video games are developing and converging into leading providers of interactive entertainment. What is more, both are interconnected through their preference for textual fabrics. I envision cinema and video games advancing to influence each other more through sharing of content. Against this backdrop, this study explores how serious gaming can be used to help solve issues in the military, healthcare, and educational sectors.
The military might find serious gaming applicable to enhancing its learning. Within the military, serious gaming applies to improving shooting skills and geographical knowledge (Rughinis, n.d.). With serious gaming, one can virtually practice and improve the aforementioned military skills before going to the field. The military can find the knowledge and skills useful during wars. Moreover, the military uses gaming to help patients to overcome trauma during wars.
The healthcare sector would benefit from using online games to encourage patients battling various health conditions. For instance, Remission, the original cancer-fighting game, is a useful application that encourages cancer patients (Rughinis, n.d.). Remission 2 is one of the games that propose countless ways that apply to fighting cancer. Nanobots Revenge is also another game that helps cancer patients to fight the disease. The Nanobots Revenge exhibit treatments such as chemotherapy and antibiotics are used to fight cancer. The gaming experience boosts patients’ recovery by changing their attitudes towards fighting the disease. Serious gaming also has the potential of enabling cooperation and harmony in societies. Gaming facilitates the attainment of the outcome by encouraging human interactions and increasing healthcare awareness. Some games also require teamwork, which cultivates cooperation among players. Overall, serious gaming plays an important role in the military, healthcare, and educational sectors.
Reference
Rughinis, R. (n.d.). Gamification for productive interaction reading and working with the gamification debate in education. Bucharest: University Politehnica of Bucharest.