Features

Getting Serious About New Opportunities:
On Game Developers And The 'Serious Gaming' Market

Pitching Methods For 'Serious Games'

Convincing clients starts by realizing that games are not a proven mechanic to most. You won't have quantitative information that will be absolutely provable and easy to sell. It can get 'chicken and egg' here - the client wants data you really won't be sure of, until you build what it is that they want. Instead, you're left sounding more like a lawyer, building a qualitative case for their client.

I've compiled some good talking points along those lines in Table 1. There are others, but these help make some good comparative advantages for games, and they try to touch on things clients might have more comfort with. Keep an eye out on the many efforts underway now, for good examples to cite in future meetings.

	Talking Points when Pitching Serious Game Ideas Talking point: "Games are simulations too - just done a bit differently, and in some ways, much better." Goal: Show how games are the extension/derivative of something clients are inclined to be more comfortable with. Talking point: "People under 30 are spending enormous amounts of time with games." Goal: Show the advantage games are gaining over other mediums that customers may have more familiarity with. Talking point: "Learning is inherent in games. You can't win at most games without going through a fairly complex learning methodology." Goal: Dispel the thinking that games for learning requires some drastic step away from what game companies build every day. Talking point: "We can create a more complex and experience-based form of learning, that people can play on their own with." Goal: A big advantage for games is the possibility to create self-motivation to learn. Talking point: "We can measure everything a player does - not just what they answered on a question" Goal: Show that data collection possibilities of game outstrip many other methods. Talking point: "It is hard for me to make something more compelling then major market games, but I can make it more interesting then other alternative solutions to your problem." Goal: Don't sell fun absolutely -- you'll likely raise expectations too high. Sell your abilities, and your approach that will lead to a better solution which you can be more confident of. You're not going to be more fun than Half-Life 2 or the PS3.
	Table 1

You can hone a set of slides using the points in Table 1, adding in demographics on games (always impressive to the uninitiated), and your background. You should especially list technologies you have built for games which might be useful in other applications, not just the games themselves. Right there, you have the outline of a presentation you can give to any interested party on short notice.

Finding those parties can be tough, especially when starting cold. You really need to get yourself in front of people. Look locally for chances to meet and show off your company. Chambers of Commerce/local business gatherings, technology, training, and E-Learning conferences are all good places to start networking for opportunities. Partner as much as possible, because the majority of the business development in this field is akin to the consulting business - it's word-of-mouth advertising. Partners can also package you in with their own larger sales efforts to big companies. It's all down to raising your profile and getting connections you can leverage to bring attention to services. Your Web site should have a page outlining your company's ability to build for non-entertainment uses - maybe with a demo or prototype based on some of your core technologies.

Local universities are also important. They're the largest recipient of grants, and many of them may have partnership opportunities for game developers where your skills and their research can be combined.

You can also apply for grants and other RFPs (requests for proposals) yourself. The U.S. federal government's SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) grant program can be a great proving ground for you. SBIR grants are increasingly looking to accept game-based approaches. The problem with RFPs and grants is they require lots of good proposal writing. Download some other SBIR grants, or attend a SBIR grant workshop that most agencies hold which provides a free bootcamp on obtaining them. SBIRs have three award phases (each progressively harder to obtain), going from $100,000 for stage I to over $1M by Stage III. Right now, I know of at least 10 projects underway or built with SBIR funding. This includes safety games for young and mentally disabled kids, assisted living training, biodiversity, and even one project to build a science teaching educational platform.

If government contracting is something you want to pursue further, one of the best things to also do is to contact your local state economic development office, and your local congressional offices. Believe it or not, the bureaucrats in those places really do want to help bring home the bacon for local companies, and can help you a lot with information, contacts, and advice. Maryland and Baltimore's Economic Development Departments are great examples of local government groups that have been successful with assisting their local game development communities.

What Are Others Doing?

Developers who are making things happen in alternative markets are doing so because they're more aware of the potential of these markets, but also more aware of the pecular issues involved. This requires you to be as inventive and creative in the business aspects of things as you will need to be in the actual development of the game.

It starts by paying attention to incoming requests from potential clients. As the profile of non-entertainment uses of games rises, it's important not to be too dismissive of more unconventional enquiries, even though some can sound like they're from Mars. Many bodies are also looking for new models to create further upside to their efforts, so they can stomach lower-budget projects that more plentiful. For example, BreakAway Games' government-funded trainer for municipal governments allows them to provide low-cost modifications and customizations for an affordable fee to those local governments - this could double or even triple the total value of the project. For the Virtual U project I worked on, and for Simulearn's Virtual Leader, it's been found that selling the game (or giving it away as part of a comprehensive training seminar built around the game) has been a better revenue model.

	America's Army

In terms of commercial crossover work, publishers have for now focused mostly on military titles like Real War, Full Spectrum Warrior (THQ), and America's Army (Ubisoft), which is headed to consoles in 2005. In the future I suspect other non-military titles, especially in the business-sim and education markets will also hold crossover potential. These models will see the games be available in one form in their first 'serious games' form (and often released for free to their intended audience), but then upgraded and tweaked for commercial success by their publishers. But always protect the brand you've built first, as losing control of its intended purpose just to make extra money in the commercial market could damage the goodwill the game developed in the first place. Make sure it's complimentary to the mission of the project.

	Be Aware of Issues Like These When Designing Serious Games * Designs must fulfill a mission other than entertainment - this can force you to compromise fun elements in order to maintain the accuracy and instructional integrity of the project. * Your game will likely be played on wide-range of lower-end hardware. Design accordingly. * Features are often needed to support training and other applications of the software. These features include log files of gameplay, printing capabilities, and instructor-oriented options. * Aspects of your design should consider a user base that may be made up of a large population of first time gamers. * A lot of projects in this space will be lower-end, cross-platform browser-based efforts.

Folding it Back to Entertainment

The games industry will always be about entertainment first. Diversifying into games outside of entertainment means a lot of work, but it doesn't mean you throw the fun out. It's often one of the critical factors driving customers to consider a game-based approach. The opportunity here isn't just the interesting projects you can work on - although that should be a big factor. This is also a chance to find work you can leverage back to the entertainment side of games. Already two major military funded games have homes at publishers. Technologies R&D-ed for 'serious games' are also finding their way back into the commercial market. So the diversity of work needn't only benefit your bottom line - it will expand your horizons, and your capabilities in the core gaming market as well.

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