What are Serious Games?

Definition and function of serious games

Serious games are video games that strike a balance between entertainment and education in order to convey information and knowledge to the user in a playful way. Through the human urge to research and the application of knowledge in a fun environment, the drive to learn is much easier for the user, he faces the challenges voluntarily. The educational mission of Serious Games is not limited to the specific transfer of knowledge, but can also sustainably promote skills, health effects, behavior or ways of thinking.

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Application and areas of application of serious games

Serious games can be used in many different industries: In addition to education, there are effective approaches in medicine, politics, culture and many more. A notable example in the medical field is the serious game Foldit. The puzzle-like game uses the swarm intelligence of the users, transmits the protein folds and designs to researchers and enables a protein structure to be found with which diseases could be rendered harmless.

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