SERIOUS GAMES PORTAL: Silvertongue: New Health Safety Game

Description

Via: Silvertongue Software

Derry start-up Silvertongue Software is an early player in the Serious Game market that recently won a contract with the Irish Health Safety Authority (HSA) - the Irish equivalent to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - to build an educational video game for teaching young adults about workplace safety.

Still under development, the game uses gameplay techniques to teach health and safety rules in a way that makes it easier for 17- and 18- year-olds to absorb.

“We wanted strong graphics that would appeal to the age group, something really gamey with a touch of anime,” says Caroline Anderson, managing director of Silvertongue. “We will also be fitting it with widgets for Facebook and Bebo, so users can compete to get the best score and earn badges.”

The aim is to make dull guidelines more exciting.

“Educational games can be very dry and the big challenge is to make them better than glorified multiple choice,” she said. “We try and keep it fun and interesting.”

No easy feat when the message is to pass on advice on avoiding dermatitis in a hair salon or how to lift things in a warehouse. Users can wander into different workplace scenarios and embark on a whole range of tasks that will teach them about safety risks with measurement tests to evaluate what they have taken on board.

The HSA plans to launch the game in June as a free instructional tool on its website.

Using a game development platform combined with flash software, Silvertongue has created an innovative pseudo-3D graphic style that suits the web delivery platform.

“Delivering full-blown 3D over the Internet is very difficult to do; the user has to download software onto their desktop. We spent a lot of time finding a compromise that ...

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http://seriousgamesportal.blogspot.com/2009/04/silvertongue-new-health-safety-game.html

http://seriousgamesportal.blogspot.com/2009/04/silvertongue-new-health-safety-game.html