1st Edition

Alternate Reality Games Gamification for Performance

By Charles Palmer, Andy Petroski Copyright 2016
    130 Pages 21 B/W Illustrations
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    130 Pages
    by A K Peters/CRC Press

    While formal training and communication are a foundational approach to developing employees in the workplace, alternate reality games (ARGs) provide a framework for increased and sustained engagement within business organizations. ARGs are transmedia experiences designed to generate engagement and immersive learning beyond what is achieved in formal and conventional training and communication approaches.

    Alternate Reality Games: Gamification for Performance leads you through the fundamentals of ARGs. It includes a discussion of what is and is not an ARG, citing examples and identifying business challenges that can be addressed through ARGs. It presents case studies that illustrate the variety of forms that ARGs take and the issues to which they can be applied, such as improving performance and critical communication situations. It also gives guidelines for creating your own ARGs, reviewing the process and technological tools and considerations relevant to their creation.

    Presenting a thorough examination of the beneficial roles ARGs can play in the business environment as well as methods for creating effective ARGs, Alternate Reality Games: Gamification for Performance is an ideal reference for those approaching or considering ARGs for the first time as well as the training professional or professional game designer. It presents a comprehensive overview of the advantages of applying ARGs to the workplace as well as methods for designing and using them.

    Why Am I Negotiating with Aliens during Sales Training?
    The ARG Journey
    ARG Examples
    An ARG or Not an ARG
    The Learning Connection
    The Business Applications
    Endnotes

    New Employees Should Be Finding the CEO
    ARG 1: Immersion into New Programs
    ARG 2: Teamwork and Collaborative Narrative
    ARG 3: Optimize Training Time
    ARG 4: Increased Skills
    Fueling Innovation and Other Organizational Benefits
    Full Participation
    Multiple Rabbit Holes
    The Buddy System
    Bait-and-Switch
    Endnotes

    Keeping Up with the Joneses
    Other ARGs to Explore
    Endnotes

    All the World Is a Stage
    Building an ARG
    Initiation
    Preproduction
    Production
    Postproduction
    Go-Live
    Debrief
    Endnotes

    Storytime
    Player Types
    Story Structure
    Creating Your ARG Story
    Endnotes

    10 Participation Points for Gryffindor
    Avoid Technology Distractions
    Make a Plan
    Evaluate Player Activities
    Identify Technologies Based on Participation
    Creating Specific Interactions
    Endnotes

    Dinosaur or Perfect Bird Perch
    Mobile and Wearable Devices
    Head-Mounted Devices
    Gamification
    Blended Games
    ARG Technology
    Conclusion
    Endnotes

    The Search for One-Eyed Willy
    The Book Website
    The Book Resources

    Biography

    Charles Palmer, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Pennsylvania, USA

    Andy Petroski, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Pennsylvania, USA