Bring Immersive Training to the Next Level with Gamification
Gamification has accelerated over the last few years and organisations are now opting for gamified immersive experiences rather than traditional learning methods.
Gamification is a fun and creative way to engage users in their XR experience. Gamified experiences can reward learners for effectively performing their tasks correctly, improving overall performance over time.
Creating the experience
XR content can be broken down into two segments, the setting and the action. The setting determines how the experiences looks and feels. Immersive Learning Solutions can take real panoramic shots of a companies working environment, but if this is not possible, a virtually generated 3D model of the space can be used.
Immersive Learning Solutions has access to over 4 million 3D assets and hundred thousand 360 degree images for building gamified content for Virtual Reality .
The types of content used to create a setting include:
• 360° panoramic image
• 360° panoramic video
• Architectural 3D model of a space
After the setting has been defined, elements can be added to convey information and check for retention. The types of embeds that are available to support the storyboard include:
• Videos (case studies, introductory monologues, process flow etc)
• Images (just about anything)
• Audio (in built text to audio can also read out any text, otherwise, you do have a
narration input)
• Text (for bite sized information/ instruction relay)
• 3D models (as avatars or props)
Green screen effects can also be enabled on an XR experience.
Experiences can be broken down into two categories, unguided, and guided. Unguided experiences are designed for a first person view, whereas guided experiences introduce a character to walk the users through the process.
Introducing Gamified Activities into an Experience
To allow users to maintain engagement whilst undertaking immersive learning, gamified activities can be incorporated into VR environments. Rewards, timed activities and scoring are a few of the gamification activities that can assist with improving motivation, engagement and attention whilst learning. When users are organised into teams and are allowed to compete against each other in learning experiences inside a VR environment engagement levels will increase and knowledge retention will rise.
Structural Gamification:
Structural gamification is a way of moving a learner through the content, without changing the content itself (best suited for employee training ). Old school incentive structure that could take multiple forms:
• Points
Users score points based on how many questions they get correct.
• Badges
Badges are rewarded to users upon completion on certain modules.
• Levels
The users will advance onto the next level of the experience based on their performance in the current level.
• Leaderboards
Users can be added to a leaderboard with their colleagues to encourage engagement. When an employee is competing with their colleagues, they are more likely to pay more attention and work harder to achieve their goals.
Content Gamification:
This involves changes to the content itself, or addition of a story-line or challenge within the content. Examples of content gamification include:
• Treasure hunt
Incorporating a treasure hunt in to a VR learning experience will encourage users to explore all areas of the experiences.
• Escape room
Add an escape room to test users’ knowledge and skills.
• Perform a task
Get users to perform tasks to make sure they understand what they are being taught.
How is gamification beneficial?
Previous research has suggested that humans brains are wired for pleasure. Gaming is an effective way to learn because it simulates enjoyment and keeps our minds engaged and content. There are many benefits that gamification can have on employees when it is introduced into an organisations immersive learning experience. These include:
• Problem Solving:
When individuals feel challenged, they are more motivated to learn. Gamification challenges users at different levels to give them
• Recognition:
People feel more satisfied and gain a better sense of accomplishment when they are recognised for what they are doing. Gamified platforms allows users to view awards from their learner profiles and share them with their peers and colleagues via social media. Users can also download certificates they have earned by completing these tasks.
• Meets desired needs:
Curiosity and the need to learn and discover new things is a natural desire in humans, however this is commonly discouraged due to organisations practicing old training methods. Gamification can awaken these desires and infuse learning into an individuals daily routine.
To create an immersive experience that increases users enjoyment and meets their needs to achieve work place goals, gamified learning acts on multiple senses.
Gamified learning experiences can also be enhanced by using techniques such as:
Using real life scenarios to challenge users:
Creating a story where the user is the lead character in the experience will increase their engagement and motivation. Experiences that create stress and tension will drive the user forward.
Creating urgency in the experience:
In order to get the user to move fast and achieve their goals, include threats and obstacles into the experience. The threat should be real and relevant to the organisations work place.
Overall, adding gamification into XR experiences proves to be beneficial for increasing users engagement and participation levels. Gamified activities bring employees together and increases knowledge retention as well as maximising learning productivity. Adding team challenges, games and quizzes to the experience, along with providing certificates and badges upon completion, will also encourage participation and increase employees’ attention spans.
If you would like to find out more about Gamification and about how it can benefit your business, please feel free to contact us via email at ottawa@immersivelearningsolutions.co.uk