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The GSK Virtual City is a “serious game”. Rather than being purely for entertainment, Serious Games encourage physical-world behavioural change through motivation and awareness.
About
As countries around the world continue to experience the enormous impact of COVID-19, making individuals aware of the importance of the vaccine, and getting them to take personal action, is critical. Building and strengthening the motivation of the public to take the vaccine seriously and adhere to vaccine schedules must be energetically pursued. Promoting the benefits of the vaccine through traditional digital channels is unlikely to result in long-term behavioural change, whereas Serious Games are an idea mechanism for positive reinforcement, behavioural nudging and just-in-time learning. The GSK Virtual City, which is a Serious Game, will be an innovative environment for knowledge transfer and behavioural changes. Serious Games are already widely proven in healthcare. For example, a smartphone game for patients with Type 2 Diabetes has been shown to improve intrinsic physical activity motivation, measured as steps per day. The 4 Roads and Avantgarde partnership has delivered many digital experiences for brands including Philips, eBay and Credit Suisse – all engaging the audience, educating them, encouraging physical-world actions and creating a desire to “share the story”. The GSK Virtual City, which can be localised for different regions, is an opportunity to approach this crisis in an educational and interactive way. From learning about how Covid-19 spreads to how individuals can protect themselves, we can inform and educate the audience in a virtual and safe space. The power in the GSK Virtual City game is to lower the barrier of entry in tackling a complex subject area and allowing players to feel as though they can affect change. The more we can empower players to learn on their terms, the more likely they are to act proactively.
Key Benefits
Knowledge of cause and effect – The ability for players to comprehend new knowledge and apply it. For example, presenting players with choices and showing how the GSK Virtual City environment changes depending on the decisions they make. Interactive and visual transfer of knowledge – Serious Games allow information and data to be graphically presented, engaging a wide audience, and visually demonstrating the impact of the required action, in this case uptake of the vaccination. Increased engagement and motivation – Traditional methods tend to be focused on broadcasting information. Game-based learning works on the basis that the more players interact with the content, the more chance there is of positive behavioural changes. Encourages reflection - Serious Games can immerse players in other worlds such as the GSK Virtual City and provide the distance needed to encourage in-depth reflection – all away from the distractions and noise of continuous social media concerning Covid-19. In effect, we can provide quiet and focus space where the players are empowered with the knowledge that they need in such tumultuous times. Data analysis – Traditional broadcasting of information provides the creator with very limited feedback on the impact of their content, whereas Serious Games allow for the collection and analysis of data. This creates the opportunity for constant evaluation and constant improvement.
Applications
Serious Games are useful in a broad spectrum of applications - ranging from educational games for younger audiences, to collaborative training and simulation environments for industry sectors. Other examples include games for culture and tourism, marketing and advertising, participation and planning for public awareness, and social impact games covering societal topics such as security, religion, climate, or energy.