The business of games

Like many people who lived out their teenage years in the 80s and early 90s, I was saddened to learn about the recent passing of Bob Holness. An absolute legend in the game show world, the brilliant host of Blockbusters presided over a show that had an amazing 11 year run, and gained cult status for its one liner, "Can I have a P please Bob?"   For its gaffes, "What L do you make in the dark when you are not sure of the consequences of your actions?" And for its theme tune which soon became one of the most recognisable of modern times.

Everyone loved Blockbusters, and some of us were lucky enough to appear as contestants. Yes, you've guessed it. My claim to fame…. Way back then, I appeared on the show, young and fresh, competing with a friend against a solo player. Contrary to the old adage 'two heads are better than one', we did not manage to get through to the famous gold run. We did however win a dictionary, a sweatshirt, £80 each and got to have three days off school, which seemed reward enough at the time.

And as a result of my 15 minutes of fame on Blockbusters, I know that I will never forget the word 'nephritis' for as long as I live ( what 'N' refers to an inflammation of the kidneys?). That's the thing about Blockbusters, not only was it great fun, it was educational too.

Game shows like Blockbusters show us that games can be a great way to encourage and improve knowledge retention - often a key objective of the L&D team.  And so it is no surprise that more and more L&D managers are looking to introduce a gamification model into their businesses for building knowledge, skills and capabilities.

Walking round the Learning Technologies exhibition last month it looked like every other eLearning provider was turning their hand to gamification and one of the speakers from the conference, Plymouth University's Steve Wheeler, spoke about digital learning futures with a strong focus on game-based learning.

So why is it we're seeing this move over to game-based learning?  Well, as technology continues to make experiential-learning more accessible, employees themselves are raising their expectations for more 'engaging' resources to learn with.  And with increasing evidence of the effectiveness of well-designed games and simulations in delivering business results, progressive employers are more readily investing in such techniques to help their staff 'learn by doing' (and, most importantly, failing) in a safe environment.

Karl Kapp, Professor in Instructional Technology at Bloomberg University and an expert in simulations and games in eLearning, says that when it is done properly, gamification provides a user experience that is 'inherently engaging'. It is by improving the quality of the participant engagement, through gamification, that enhances knowledge retention and increases knowledge application.  Gamification, done well, makes learning fun and incentivises employees to learn more and to grow their skill base - and where properly aligned to organisational goals - to raise performance levels in critical business tasks.

It is a great concept. Most of us like a good game or an element of competition and so by applying game-like mechanics or game-design thinking to non-game activities, knowledge retention should improve. Industry analysts seem convinced, and so am I. With uptake of gamification for training purposes expected to increase, Gartner reported in 2011 that within two years over 70 per cent of Global 2000 companies will be using at least one gamified learning application.

So it seems there is more to be taken from my 15 minutes of fame than a lesson on the potential weaknesses of the human urinary system. The serious business of games is a powerful means to improving the performance of learning.

Al Bird is learning consultancy director at KnowledgePool He can be contacted at al.bird@knowledgepool.com