Virtual Reality Games for Developing Production (network project)

In an effort to create a shared understanding of the interplay of the various systems involved in the production process, industrial companies have traditionally turned to role-playing games, company based games, problem-matrix analyses and simulation activities. These game genre activities may function satisfactorily, but there are several drawbacks to using them. The development process behind any one game is time consuming, not to mention the actual staging process. But perhaps most importantly, such games are difficult to reuse, lacking in realism and unable to reflect the complexity of the actual production situation they are intended to replicate. Rather than discard the idea out of hand, this project explores how the application of new technologies might renew and improve role-playing games and the like. The goal? To create a theater-like experience to encourage a company?s employees to reflect on their actions ? in the context of the game AND in their daily work routines ? and use the experience inherent in the reflection process to formulate new plans; that is, to create artificial organizational learning that is as realistic as possible. The proliferation of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has opened up a whole range of new avenues to help companies develop their production competencies. Taking this development as their cue, the researchers have set out to accumulate experience in the application of ICT to multimedia-based dialogue tools ? e.g. narrative games in video format ? designed to support the evolution of organizational and managerial skills in industrial firms. In the second phase of this project, the researchers have set their sights on making a major contribution to the development of the next generation of role-playing games for developing production. No longer just glorified versions of Monopoly, these new games have evolved into pieces of advanced simulation software employing state-of-the-art Virtual Reality technology. The project seeks to establish some ground rules for the evaluation, conceptual design, and programming of role-playing/simulation games while analyzing the differences between traditional games and next generation games and pinpointing the possible effects of VR technology on them. CIP project group: Ph.D. researcher Mette Semey, Ph.D. researcher Agnar Gudmundsson, Professor Jens Ove Riis, Associate Professor Anders Drejer (project manager) External Partners: University of Southern Denmark, Department of Communication; Aalborg University, Department of Communication; Cultivator, an international Human Resources Management firm; Zenaria Multimedia; Odense Steel Shipyard Group (Lindøværftet); Ib Andreasen Industri; Other industrial participants t.b.a. Project duration: spring 2001 ? spring 2004.