Serious Games at Westminster (SG@W) is a multidisciplinary research group committed to both research and developmental activities in order to foster greater knowledge, understanding and use of serious games in different domains.
‘Serious games’ are defined as “games that do not have entertainment, enjoyment or fun as their primary purpose”. They are simulations of real-world events or processes, designed mainly for the purpose of solving a problem. Their main purpose is to train or educate users, but they have other diverse purposes as well. The aim of SG@W is to conduct strategic research that focuses on understanding the factors and approaches that contribute to effective serious games design and lead in changes in various domains including:
The research group objectives include:
- experimentation with and development of advanced interfaces technologies targeting to aid education, user experience and accessibility
- study the cognitive/social factors and the design of serious games/simulations
- developing a theory of gamification
- developing a framework/guidelines/methodologies for the effective design of serious games
- scholarly and developmental activity, including industry networking and collaboration, planning, publishing and submission of funding applications
The group provides a specialist and dedicated forum for established researchers to discuss finding about the design of serious games and develop recommendations of good practises. The group also offers training opportunities on serious games design to students and graduates by involving them in research projects and the use of state of the art technological interventions.
More updated information the serious games website.