It Pays to Play Video Games

How Young Game Enthusiasts Are Already on the Job


When it comes to skills-based mobile gaming, the factors of self-measurement, competition, pacing, and flexibility listed in our previous post help to engage players and accurately measure their progress, but where can that gameplay actually get them? This post will explain the direct workforce application of video games and how they’re preparing Gen Z for a professional future.


Video games and professional technology

Did you know that single-player controls and gameplay often resemble the technology encountered by the modern professional? A student’s proficiency in tech and their familiarity with video games can actually prepare them to command the technology found in many industries, from advanced manufacturing to construction. Working robotics or operating machinery are tasks that tend to come naturally to Gen Z, who have had some kind of device in their hand for over a decade.

“Construction work involves high-tech skill,” says Dr. Mittie Cannon, founder of the nonprofit Power UP Loud, a construction training program for young women. She saw the connection between games and trades skills and—for over five years now—has used video game technology to introduce women to construction. And developers are right there with her. For example, the Building Information Modeling software CtrlWiz is made to function with an Xbox controller, meaning that the commands and movements are intuitive to a gamer and the program itself is more appealing to Gen Z.

Meanwhile, Debbie Dickinson of Crane Industry Services has noticed that “people who are comfortable with video games are very comfortable with â€Ķ simulation technology,” according to an article by Construction Dive. Many young users of the crane simulation system feel at home with the familiar features of joysticks and foot pedals, thanks to their past engagement with the physical components of video games.

The same can be said for students trying out the VRTEX 360 welding simulator. It familiarizes people with the skilled trade of welding through virtual reality in a game-like space. If students have used a VR headset before—or if they’re comfortable with the concept of one—then they’ve opened up an entire world of training simulation for themselves. 

In general, industries have “increased [the] adoption of digital solutions,” meaning that jobs and training are resembling video games more and more. Barbara Humpton, President and CEO of Siemens Corporation, speaks to this in a recording of the 2021 U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Talent Forward event: “The tools of engineering are becoming very interactive, â€Ķ so the skills we develop as we play games today â€Ķ translate directly into the kind of work that needs to be done in the engineering framework of the future.”



Professions and video game technology

Even the style of the modern workplace is trending toward a video game experience that might feel second-nature to players.

Undoubtedly, the ability to work with others—especially when they’re not in the same room as you—is a prized skill in today’s job market. A GamesBeat article by Demian Entrekin of Bluescape, solutions for hybrid teams, compares a hybrid work environment to a single-player focus in a multiplayer game. Entrekin elaborates, “The online world of video games is a shared world. While you have the ability to act independently, your actions will impact other players.” He explains that the beauty of many games is that every player works with the same information and commands in the same digital space—instead of battling the “army of disjointed tools” that many companies have mandated for use in the past.

The rise of remote work has revealed the truth: if employers want their teams to be productive and collaborative, they need to ensure that everyone has easy digital access to the same information, which is a feat made simpler when there’s a universal toolset and a dedicated virtual space for it all (just like in a video game).

“The future of work will be more like this shared virtual world where silos are a thing of the past,” Entrekin says. “The difference will be tools built with a virtual world mindset. â€Ķ When access to information and the capability to share that information is instantaneous, we’re closer to a video game where sharing and collaboration is as easy as one click of a button.” Entrekin points to Minecraft as a perfect example of a game-turned-digital-tool, as it allows students and teachers to “come together” to learn and create with shared building blocks (literally). More and more will education and occupations integrate digital collaborative technologies, and while this natural development might trip up some people, those who play video games will be able to take both the style of work and the virtual tools in stride.



Ahead of the game

As the Siemens Corporation President and CEO says, “Encourage your kids to play video games!” From workforce training, to on-the-job technology, to the very nature of the workplace, video games are being emulated on every professional level. This means that players really are ahead of the game, exercising relevant skills and practicing new technologies every week.


How do you see video game technology being used in the workplace?

Site Selection Magazine – Fully Enrolled: Esports and Video Game Programs Power Up on Campus

By Adam Bruns The digitizing of the economy is pervasive, whether you’re performing quality control in an automated manufacturing plant; undergoing a medical procedure; operating a container crane at a backed-up West Coast port; launching fabrication of a 3D-printed prototype; or putting the finishing touches on a breakthrough architectural design.

Could using our own digits, senses and synapses in the pervasive playing of video games deliver a competitive advantage to a world hungry for IT skills, systems thinking and interdisciplinary creativity? Video game development and competitive esports programs at colleges and universities around the world are counting on it. Read More.

Gen Z Busts the Myths of Gaming – 2 of 3

By Beth Ann Townsend, Narrative Designer at skillsgapp //  

Video Games Are Preparing Our Next Workforce for Global Leadership

In the last post—the first installment to this series—I talk about how video games have the power to bring people together. They disregard distance. And because of that, video games are also able to bridge the gap between cultural differences large and small, creating truly global communities. What’s more, the collaborative nature of video game production ensures endless teachable moments and exposure to diverse perspectives beyond the bounds of the game. Playing video games and developing them can help students learn about themselves and others while picking up skills that will prepare them for a career in any field they pursue.

high schoolers working on a game

The global impact of video games on under-resourced students 

This past April, Rochester Institute of Technology’s international game prototyping course gave students the chance to collaborate in a virtual cultural exchange program and establish commonalities despite cultural differences. In that same month, the U.S. Department of State announced the conception of a video game diplomacy program, which seeks to connect almost 3,000 students from the US, Bahrain, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. The exchange program will bring under-resourced teens from Detroit, Atlanta, and New York City into partnership with Middle Eastern students for the united purpose of developing social impact games. In a conversation with The Washington Post about the program, Marie Royce, who has served as Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs since 2018, says that “young people have something in common[:] â€Ķ They play video games. … It’s important to have initiatives around gaming [because] it’s an opportunity to give everybody a chance to have an exchange.” 

These recent efforts to utilize the universal medium of games build upon previous initiatives like Digital Play for Global Citizens, a publication from Sesame Workshop and the Center for Global Education at Asia Society. Digital Play for Global Citizens introduces a “vast landscape of digital resources â€Ķ and suggests some innovative ways to nurture our young learners into macro-minded citizens.” In this increasingly connected world, our up-and-coming workforce must be prepared to answer questions and resolve issues that span the globe, and video games have proven to be effective tools for teaching students collaborative and inclusive practices.

students playing on phones

Game development promotes skills development

Cultural exchange projects help to promote peace, growth, and understanding, and through the State Department’s Game Exchange program (in partnership with the nonprofit Games for Change), Royce hopes to foster diplomacy while also building essential skills in students here at home, no matter their income level or personal identity. She addresses the future of Gen Z, stating, “In creating video games, people develop tremendous skills…. [They’re] able to think critically [and] develop STEM skills and … leadership skills.” Collaboration, communication, and compromise are essential to video game production, as creators must work together to realize a cohesive vision, but those soft skills aren’t all that young leaders can grow. Like Royce says, game development gives students the chance to practice math, art, logic, storytelling, coding, and more, because it’s a cross-section of so many different disciplines—disciplines that are needed in the wider world right now.

Gen Z has entered the game, championing diversity and inclusion

In order for the U.S. to ensure the success of our next generation of leaders, workers, and creators, we need to advocate for inclusivity and big-picture thinking alongside the hard skills that get so much attention in schools. Video games—as illustrated by the RIT virtual exchange course, the U.S. State Department’s Game Exchange diplomacy program, and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s Digital Play for Global Citizens—can “promote global citizenship,” let us explore new “boundaries, borders, and geography,” and help us all develop “empathy and understanding of diversity.” Game development encourages cooperation with others near and far at the same time it teaches critical skills. 

As the president of Games for Change, Susanna Pollack, explains to The Washington Post, video games can transcend mere entertainment and “be significant drivers of social impact,” because they are not confined within any one nation for any one kind of person. “Like other forms of media,” Pollack continues, “games can address important social topics and meet people where they are”—whether that’s in a high school in the USA or one in the UAE. By bringing together people across the globe and empowering students with new skills and knowledge, video game diplomacy programs are achieving a unique blend of civic engagement and practical application that illustrates the versatility of games and their positive impacts around the world. 

What talents would you like to see more of in the workforce right now? Collaboration, inclusion, STEM skills, global citizenshipâ€Ķ?

Changing Behavior Through Video Games Comes Down to These Four Things

As mobile video games gain greater reach and sophistication levels that deliver more realistic, entertaining, and challenging experiences, unprecedented narrative is being incorporated into gameplay that influences players’ behavior in meaningful ways. As we leverage this preferred medium to prepare our next generation for meaningful careers in previously stigmatized industries within manufacturing, including life sciences, cyber/IT, aerospace, and auto, many behaviorists agree on incorporating these four disciplines into gameplay to affect change.

Four In-Game Disciplines that Can Change Behavior in Gen Z

1. Motivation

Self-determination theory identifies three primary psychological needs that drive most behaviors: 

â€Ē the need for competence, or a feeling of effectiveness at completing tasks

â€Ē the need for autonomy, or the sense of freedom to choose one’s own behavior

â€Ē the need for relatedness, or of feeling tied to others through relationships and shared values.

These basic needs tend to motivate behavior in an individual, independent of extrinsic rewards. By design, video games check each of these boxes via challenges that can be repurposed with increased difficulty, directly promoting and improving desired skills development, which can make workforce readiness a lot more rewarding…and fun.

2. Reinforcement

In contrast to intrinsic motivation, video games can also use extrinsic rewards to reinforce desired behaviors, including task-noncontingent rewards, and rewards of glory. The former can consist of kudos and likes from other players in the game, or by in-game mentorship from industry and educators, all of which promote feelings of relatedness and autonomy. Rewards of glory consist of points, achievements, badges, or animations, and can support competence needs by providing feedback and shareable bragging rights. 

3. Personalization

Gen Z is more likely to devote cognitive effort and attention toward an activity they perceive to be personally relevant. By tailoring game narrative to align with their values, game designers — and industry — can persuade players in a way other forms of persuasion may not. Creating game characters a player identifies with, or by casting the player themselves as the main character is one way. Another way is to incorporate desired goals into the game narrative. As an example, BeatNic Boulevard is a new simulation-style, free-to-play mobile game where students in San Bernardino County, California — in collaboration with Stanford University’s Tobacco Prevention Toolkit — learn the importance of living a tobacco-free lifestyle. As students play the video game, they learn and recognize the impact of tobacco-use, vaping and how the sale of these products negatively affect schools and communities, eradicating false perceptions perpetuated by the tobacco industry.  

4. Proteus Effect

The Proteus Effect represents the experience of embodying an avatar in a virtual environment, which affects multiple aspects of cognition and behavior of the player. Being in a virtual world allows users to control many aspects of their appearance they cannot easily change in the real world, allowing a player to “try things on” in an arena void of stereotypes. This is especially powerful in breaking down stereotypes within trade-specific careers.

Mobile Gaming is a Viable Skills-Training Medium

The number of active mobile gamers worldwide is over 2.2 billion today. As industry, states, and regions look to grow their workforce-ready talent pools, mobile gaming should be at the top of their list as a proven, customizable training and recruitment tool that can scale to reach this entire next generation.

What skills development or behavioral change would you like to see incorporated into mobile games? Comment below.

Gen Z Busts the Myths of Gaming – 1 of 3

By Beth Ann Townsend, Narrative Designer at skillsgapp //  

Video games build community

Dark basement. Empty chip bags. One guy staring at a bright screen, maniacally pressing buttons on a controller. I don’t know when or how this stereotype got started—much less reinforced—but at some point it came to represent the quintessential “gamer.” Nowadays that perception is changing as old fears are dismissed and more people recognize the value of video games. 

In this blog series, we’ll bust some still lingering gaming myths by exploring and correcting misperceptions about video games and the people who play them, specifically our future workforce, Gen Z. There are already plenty of articles written by professional research teams and scientists detailing how games can improve manual and mental dexterity, teach problem-solving skills and creativity, relieve stress while stimulating the brain, inspire players of all ages, introduce educational topics, and—maybe most importantly—foster community, so I’ll share something only I can: my own experience.

Family game nights: generations of memories

Video games have always been important to the members of my family, even my grandparents. 

My Papa Donald had a squeaky SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System), and sometimes all six of us grandkids could be found piled in his living room squeaking away, collectively trying to beat Donkey Kong Country. It was a similar thing with my Pop Pop and the King’s Quest point-and-click adventures: for years my sister Addie and I spectated his gameplay while consulting the cheat book on his behalf. 

Then there was my dad and Luigi’s Mansion. Terrified of the ghosts, my sister and I solo-played only rooms that my dad had already cleared. But the fun for me didn’t come from saving the day as Luigi; it came from spending time with the two of them.

With my mom, our game was Animal Crossing. She’d catch bugs, I’d fulfill the American dream of paying off a mortgage. We also used to write each other in-game updates despite sitting right next to each other. There was something special about communicating through such a unique medium.

As a kid, I didn’t know that all these little moments with my family would matter—these moments that games created—and yet we were reinforcing our relationships with every press of a button.

Plugging in to stay connected

My sister and I are now 20 and 22, respectively, so we’re on the upper end of Gen Z and have grown up playing games like so many others our age: games on the TV, computer, DS, iPad, and now mobile phone. By gaming, I’ve stayed close to my sister through college to today. She and I bond over video games that champion the story. For example, Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines was our Christmas break go-to, and throughout my last semester of school I played Dishonored for her via Discord’s screen-sharing feature. It’s become clear to me that games are a powerful means of making and preserving memories. They let us stay connected no matter the distance, and that’s been particularly important this past year.

Our story isn’t unique, especially not amongst the younger half of our generation who started early with mobile games. Games have always linked people together, and with the advent and popularity of online and mobile gaming, they’re now able to achieve that person-to-person connection on an even broader scale. Because 90% of Gen Z is engaging with mobile gaming, chances are high a large percentage of your future workforce is playing and connecting right now.

Games, fellowship, and friendship

Gaming isn’t a lonely hobby. I don’t think it was ever intended to be. Game nights are some of the most vivid memories I have with friends, from zooming through Mario Kart Wii in middle school to scrambling around on Overcooked! in college. Yeah, maybe at times we were in a dark basement eating chips, but we were all there with each other, laughing and shouting and building upon our friendships, practicing cooperative skills and making our time together last. Ultimately, it’s not just about the games; it’s about the communities they strengthen.


Do you have a favorite video game from childhood? If so, I would love to hear about it below
!

Beth Ann Townsend recently graduated from Washington & Lee University with a double major in English and Classics, a combination of interests she’s excited to bring to skillsgapp. She’s always loved telling stories, solving problems, studying what has been, and imagining what could be. Now a narrative designer at skillsgapp, she can puzzle out the best ways to marry the “what” and “why” of the game with the “how,” working alongside a team that’s dedicated to uplifting our next workforce generation. 

Career Awareness Within Manufacturing: Three Untapped Opportunities to Reach the New Workforce Generation

Held on the first Friday of October each year, the National Association of Manufacturers organizes Manufacturing Day. Its purpose? To raise awareness among students, parents, educators, and the general public about modern manufacturing and the rewarding careers available. Since its inception, both the manufacturing industry and federal agencies have gotten creative with their outreach initiatives in an effort to dispel some of the “dull and dirty” misconceptions about such jobs, from official proclamations and factory tours to mobile escape room experiences. 

Despite such efforts, and arguably accelerated by the resource shortages perpetuated by the pandemic, the skills gap in American manufacturing is reported to reach 2.4 million jobs unfilled through 2028, causing a potential economic loss of $2.5 trillion. As we recover, industry, educators, and government agencies are tasked to not only think differently regarding how to build career awareness but to incite action in order to help the public perceive U.S. manufacturing as the modern, vibrant, growing industry that it is today, so that it will continue to be tomorrow. 

Three opportunities for reaching manufacturing’s next workforce generation:

1. Gaming: Gen Z (those aged 9-24) grew up and teched up in 2020-21. They’re also more likely to consider working in manufacturing than previous generations. The manufacturing industry should consider developing technology that utilizes gamification to simulate vocational experiences in order to take advantage of Gen Z’s unique skills and interests – no matter where they are. Unfortunately, according to President and CEO of L2L, Keith Barr, the industry hasn’t fully explained the dynamic, technology-driven environment of the modern plant floor.” Mobile gamification allows for scalability and reach, even in under-resourced communities.

2. Earlier Intervention: According to a survey, 75% of Americans have never had a counselor, teacher or mentor suggest they look into attending trade or vocational school as a means to a viable career. Why? In part because teachers and counselors require a four-year-degree for their careers which intrinsically feeds the stigma, whether intentional or not. Even those who do tout the benefits of an ‘alternative route’ in high school, it’s often too late. Disappearing are the days of rote physical acts performed on a factory floor. As emerging technologies displace low-skill jobs in modern manufacturing, new jobs require new skills, requiring a keen balance of art and science. The earlier a student becomes versed in these skills and is exposed to corresponding pathways in middle school, the more deliberate and prepared they can be in navigating their own hopes and dreams, not those of their predecessors.

3. Increased access to hands-on learning and apprenticeships: Preparing students for their future careers through experiential learning opportunities outside of the classroom is like trying one on. If someone demonstrates proficiencies and interest that industry is looking for, corresponding educational and career pathways can be strategically offered and incentivized to an already vetted, future employee. If the opposite, investment in training in a non-viable employee is removed from a company’s bottom line. Vital Link, an example of a  non-profit organization in Southern California offers students hands-on programs that introduce them to the world of robotics, engineering, manufacturing, healthcare and medical, computer programming, digital media arts, and automotive technology enabling them to explore their interests, expand their skill sets, and develop a network to create pathways to “jumpstart” their future careers – an expedition manufacturing so desperately needs.

For the skills gap to close, more than factory doors need to open; so do our minds. Will Healy III, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University, perhaps says it best. “Pick something you will do different in 2022. You have to.” 

Care to share your own ideas for closing the skills gap in 2022? Please comment below.

Everyone’s a Gamer

Gaming habits continue to skyrocket in 2021 and beyond.

Over the past few decades, the term “gamer” has been loosely used to categorize the maligned, often-misunderstood group of people that regularly engage in video, computer, or tabletop games. But the truth is, we’re all gamers today, as the immersive power of gaming has sprinkled its magic fairy dust on our otherwise linear, more traditional methods of entertainment and learning, and there’s no shame in that.

The demographics of gaming are changing. 

No longer is it just teenage boys scraping up change for the latest Call of Duty, but instead the gaming market has exploded in all directions. Mobile gaming, esports, VR/AR, social gaming, and gaming streaming have all attracted new audiences. Take Netflix, the COVID-crowned king of binging’s latest announcement of adding video games to its service. It’s the everyday mainstream population they’re responding to – our preferences, our peak hours, and our penchant for interactivity. Sitting on the sofa as a voyeur to other people’s narrative is no longer enough for us, according to their research. 

We want in.

Even Peleton, the bike that pedaled so many of us through the pandemic from our living rooms is upping their game by adding Lanebreak to their repertoire. Similar to your typical rhythm and dance games, here you’re incentivized to pedal at a certain cadence or resistance along a Tron-like virtual highway. 

We play to slim.

Learning games are earning more than points.

Mobile games in education have also taken a giant leap forward as of late. Hands-on skills development is now, literally, in the palm of middle and high schoolers hands, offering engaging ways for kids to gain career-making skills and connections, and for industry to grow a work-ready talent pool, even in under-resourced communities.

We play for our future.

Even though video games have been a part of the popular culture since the early 1980’s, no one could foresee how important gaming would become in the 21st century. So as we begin to shed the gaming stigma of yesteryear, it’s time to embrace this new era of game-changing connectivity that offers real-time, real-life rewards.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Do you have a favorite game? If so, please share below!

WORK ETHIC. Can it be taught?

According to Thinkers Point, work ethic is a soft skill and a belief that diligence and tough work have an ethical benefit and an inherent ability, virtue, or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. And according to many, you’re either born with a strong work ethic, or you’re not.

Psychologist Marie Hartwell-Walker recently studied disparate degrees of this valuable skill between kids who lived on small family farms and “city” kids. The farm kids worked (and worked hard), she reported, while the city kids lamented over routine chores, such as clearing the table. 

Why the difference?

“I think it comes down to this,” she writes. “On the smaller farms, work is clearly valued, it is done routinely, by everyone, and the consequences for not doing it are obvious and clear. In other households, kids experience work as capriciously imposed by the big people and whether they do it or not has little observable consequence.”

Work ethic is a soft skill employers look for in every industry, especially those looking to fill positions for skills-based careers that require a measurable level of output in a timely manner. Mike Rowe, arguably the most passionate advocate for skills-based careers of this century, even named a scholarship after it. The Work Ethic Scholarship Program is “about recognizing people who understand the importance of work ethic, personal responsibility, delayed gratification, and a positive attitude. These are hardworking men and women who will keep the lights on, water running, and air flowing.”

The skills gap in American manufacturing is reported to leave 2.4 million jobs unfilled through 2028 causing a potential economic loss of $2.5 trillion. That’s a lot of strong work ethic needing to be cultivated in order to fill them. The good news is that there are everyday practices that can be taught in creative ways no matter where your next workforce lives that can transform – and even incentivize – employable behaviors into workready habits.

1. Practicing Punctuality 

By developing the habit of showing up on time, or even being early for appointments/class/work, kids can have the chance to mentally prepare for what’s ahead and to take advantage of meaningful opportunities available to those who are first in line. 

2. Developing Professionalism 

This goes beyond eye contact and a firm handshake to include attitude, values, and demeanor. Simply being positive and cordial to their peers, refraining from gossip, and being respectful of others is a recipe for an effective team player and leader.

3. Cultivating Self-Discipline

Any good achievement takes discipline. Staying focused on the long-term goal and not being side-tracked by short-term gratification translates into consistent follow-through on projects. 

4. Using Time Wisely

Ben Franklin was among the first to coin, “Never leave that ‘till tomorrow which you’ll do today.” An age-old credo, but so is “time is money.”

5. Staying Balanced 

Having a strong work ethic doesn’t mean being tethered to a production line on their feet all day. It includes taking time to relax and recharge, in order to maintain a clear perspective at work.

A Teachable Strategy

Schools are currently challenged with prioritizing soft skill curriculum in the midst of COVID-catch-up, so practice outside of school is paramount in strengthening these skills in students – a deficit costing industry a considerable amount of money in new hire training and attrition. One way we approach 21st-century skills is through 21st-century methods of teaching them. By incorporating soft skills into each of our games’ hard-skill challenges, both industry and students entering the workforce are playing for a more well-rounded win.

The “Lean-Forward” Advantage of Mobile Games in Workforce Development

One of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century, Abraham Maslow, established “the hierarchy of motivation”, theorizing that in any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth, or to step back into safety. Both are immersive actions but inspired by disparate levels of ambition. The same dichotomy arguably holds true with how we choose to experience our downtime, too. Even before the pandemic, Netflix unleashed a franchise phenomenon of cozy socks and loungewear, designed to support a feet-up, laid-back escape from the everyday. Mobile gaming, by contrast – while also a pastime catapulted into the billions by the at-home dynamic of COVID-19 – commands an entirely different posture. Phone in hand, elbows on knees, with eyes on the screen the player is alert and at the ready. The late film and music editor Norman Hollyn calls this the “Lean Forward Moment”, where the audience has an emotional reaction that causes him or her to lean forward and pay more attention.

“The gamer lean has become a universal meme, but until now, the science behind its benefits were completely unknown,” says Tom Fairey, CEO, and founder of Stakester, an online gaming platform. One of their most popular games is soccer-inspired FIFA, which researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds reported a leaning forward advantage of  4 minutes and 41 seconds per game to ensure a victory. Moving your main sensory system – your eyes – closer helps you focus and concentrate, they proved, and that leaning forward has a positive impact on sharpening players’ instincts.

Imagine swapping soccer out for gaming content that supports skills for the everyday. Rewards and incentives to reach different kinds of goals that are fun still command the same focus and attention, just with a different outcome. Here lies the ‘aha’ moment for parents, educators, and industry looking to prepare our next generation with the tools to succeed as the next workforce. By transforming skills development, career awareness, and job opportunities into mobile gaming technology, we can revolutionize how the next generation actively “leans in” to career pathways at an earlier age. 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs comprises a five-tier model of human needs: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

The desire to level up, according to science, is simply in our DNA. This is what makes mobile gaming a profoundly powerful medium to perpetuate a step – or lean – forward to growth, instead of a step back to the safety of the same old tools and tactics for workforce development.

The Neuroscience of Gaming: Persuasion Techniques Behind Skills Development Games

blog author By Aminata N. Mbodj

Part 2 of 2

By their very structure, video games trigger effective learning paradigms[1] through elements such as experiential and inquiry-based learning, self-efficacy and goal-setting, as well as continuous feedback and cooperation. Effective video games not only leverage brain chemistry but enhance it through gradual challenges and reward mechanisms. Thus, they manage to increase focus and time on tasks so as to yield higher learning outcomes.

A study depicted in Merrilea Mayo’s article on Games for science and engineering education goes as follows:

[…] a middle school class was divided into two groups. The control group (32 students) learned electrostatics through interactive lectures, experiments, observations, and teacher demonstrations. The second group (58 students), with the same teacher, mostly played an electrostatics game called Supercharged during class time while also receiving lectures and handouts. The 32 in the control group improved their understanding by 15% over their pre-test scores; those who played the game improved their understanding by 28%. Much more impressive was how the simulation contributed to girls’ achievement; among girls, the control group improved on their pre-test scores by only 5% and the game group by 23%. 

Evidence from this research not only seems to suggest that video games added to normal lectures and handouts contribute to higher learning outcomes, but it also demonstrates that video games may improve learning outcomes in specific demographics which might have been underrepresented and underperforming, especially in STEM fields. 

Games and Personalization, a Whole New World

The case study above, most importantly perhaps, suggests that video games can, quite literally, widen access to talent which, otherwise, would not have had access to the traditional workforce pipeline. In gameplay, just as in early workforce training, the individual must move forward with a sentiment of purpose and personal responsibility when engaging in skill acquisition; an effective training system must make space for variations among trainees, especially if the desired result is a holistic, performant, and innovative workforce.

Personalization, as a result of identity-centric gameplay, is a pillar for creating particularly engaging and immersive game experiences. Tondello et al[2] propose different personalization factors to consider in making games more appealing and effective; these factors include personality types, age, gender, player types, culture or nationality, or again individual susceptibility to persuasive attempts. 

Tondello et al claim: “personalization is more effective than standardization to create behavior change.” Indeed, the above-cited factors, when properly and ethically leveraged, increase individual involvement in the games’ narratives[3], and thus make players more receptive to behavior change suggestions and more likely to experience the game as an immersive simulation

As one of the most scalable digital media to date, video games have a massive reach with more than 2.6 Billion people said to play them worldwide. Personalization features developed atop factors such as those cited above further expand reach across demographic lines; for manufacturing, and in the context of skill-building games, this means access to the right talent, no matter where it is located, no matter what it looks like. 

Rewarding Behavior: From Novice to Skilled

Skills development games are specifically designed to optimize the processes of learning, technical upskilling, and soft skills acquisition. Using the personalization factors, the player is taken through a reward fueled “persuasion pipeline” geared towards transforming them from novice to skilled. The following excerpts from an article on the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, on Video Games and Rehabilitation[4], give us an insight as to the mechanisms triggered by effective gameplay:

One of the insights â€Ķ on the neuroscience of reward and motivation, is the discovery that the limbic system, in particular the nucleus accumbens (NA), is critical to learning new behaviors, especially those associated with the pursuit of rewards. At the beginning of a game, players desire a low level of challenge to meet a correspondingly low level of ability and familiarity with the game. With an increase in experience, the greater challenge keeps players on the edge of their ability to accomplish tasks. Physiologically, when the same action is no longer guaranteed to produce the same level of reward, the magnitude of reward prediction error is also increased. This desirable increase could be achieved by … increasing the level of challenge offered by a game or by changing the game. 

Reward Prediction Error might be the new term that we take away from the above excerpt; it measures the degree to which what was expected differed from what was obtained. While Lohse’s research explores how rewarding a given action is; other researchers, such as Dalhousie University’s Rita Orji, are set to optimize the very nature of these in-game actions so as to maximize reward[5].

Cialdini’s Persuasion Strategies

Persuasion strategies are the backbone of behavior change research; Cialdini’s six persuasion strategies, exploring Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Commitment, and Consistency, as well as Consensus and Liking, are among the most widely adopted. Orji et al ran a large-scale case study (1108 individuals) using various Persuasive Technologies, which have been defined as “a class of technologies that are intentionally designed to change people’s attitude or behavior”, to test these strategies across the Gender and Age lines.

The results showed that, across the board, commitment and reciprocity emerged as the most persuasive. Furthermore,  according to Orji et al, there are three pivotal aspects that are critical to long-term engagement and thus behavior change: competition, feedback, and presence. Skill development games aim to maximize these aspects, respectively, through a subtle mix of Badges & Certifications, On-demand Analytics Reporting, and In-game Live Events.

As the immersive technology par excellence, skill development games offer today’s manufacturing industry a unique opportunity to combine specialized training and cutting edge behavior change techniques into highly captivating and impactful learning experiences. Furthermore, with all this evidence showing not only the extent to which video games are taking up ever-larger chunks of our already active screen life but also their special ability to promote skill acquisition and knowledge retention, using them as the primary tool to reach new industry talent simply stands as the logical next step for manufacturing.


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Aminata N. Mbodj A First-Year PhD Candidate in Human-Centered Computing at Clemson University, Aminata is deeply fascinated by the humbling process of learning. Three questions keep her up at night: “Which cognitive processes do we use to build mental models of the world as we experience it?”, “To what extent can we use algorithms to map these structures out?”, “What resulting computing solutions are accessible, so as to optimize our everyday learning?”

1 Merrilea J. Mayo. 2007. Games for science and engineering education. Commun. ACM 50, 7 (July 2007), 30–35. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/1272516.1272536 
2 Gustavo F. Tondello, Rita Orji, and Lennart E. Nacke. 2017. Recommender Systems for Personalized Gamification. In Adjunct Publication of the 25th Conference on User Modeling, Adaptation and Personalization (UMAP ’17). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 425–430. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3099023.3099114
3 Moyer-GusÃĐ, E. (2008). Toward a theory of entertainment persuasion: Explaining the persuasive effects of entertainment-education messages. Communication Theory, 18(3), 407-425. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2008.00328.x
4 Lohse, K., Shirzad, N., Verster, A., Hodges, N., & Van Der Loos, H. (2013). Video games and rehabilitation: Using design principles to enhance engagement in physical therapy. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 37(4). doi:10.1097/NPT.0000000000000017
5 Orji, R., Mandryk, R., & Vassileva, J. (2015). Gender, age, and responsiveness to Cialdini’s persuasion strategies. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including Subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), 147-159. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20306-5_14

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