Gamification In Learning Through An Avatar-based Serious Game Concept - EI Design

http://www.eidesign.nethttp://www.eidesign.net
Gamification In Learning Through An Avatar-based
Serious Game Concept
1
Part of Gamification Series
Presented by
www.eidesign.net
Author-Asha Pandey
Chief Learning Strategist, EI Design
apandey@eidesign.net

http://www.eidesign.net
About EI Design (www.eidesign.net)
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3
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Gamification In Learning Through An Avatar-based Serious Game Concept
In one of my earlier articles published in eLearning
Industry portal on Aug 2014, I had shared a case
study on the benefits of Gamification in learning
(through a serious game concept). In this article, I
am sharing another case study using the same
content (on Account Management Fundamentals)
but re-designed using an Avatar-based approach. I
will also share the gains that accrued with this
enhanced approach.
4

Gamification In Learning
5
While Gamification has been applied in several
domains, our focus has been on its application in
learning. The games that we design are therefore
geared to meet definite learning outcomes and
our Gamification strategies broadly map to:
1. Tasks or concepts that are overlaid on the learning
content but are not related to the content
2. Contextual tasks or concepts that are overlaid on
the learning content
3. Partial Gamification (notably in inline checks and
end of course assessments)

Background
We had to re-design a quick online training for Project
Managers who were being groomed to handle Account
Management practices.
The course on Account Management Fundamentals
outlined the basics of account management and more
specifically, what they must do to move their
organization up the value chain. The learners needed
to understand two aspects:
• Their organization’s view that was to scale the newly
acquired/existing customer to an Account and then
to a Key Account
• The need to work on changing the customer’s view
and scale their organization from a service vendor to
a strategic partner (This journey was mapped to four
levels/quadrants and it represented the challenges
that the learners must face to accomplish the
required mandate.)
6

The new brief
The need for re-design arose on account of two
aspects:
7
• The first was on account of varied backgrounds of
learners. The target learners included Project Leads,
Associate Project Managers, Project Managers, and
Program Managers. The typical Project Management
experience ranged from three years to 10 years.
• The second was to have learners face challenges that
mapped to their experience. In the initial concept, all
learners went through an identical learning path
featuring identical questions. However, in real life, the
more experienced professionals would face trickier
situations as they will handle bigger and more
challenging accounts.

8
The revised concept
After reviewing the new brief, my team came up with
an Avatar-based Gamification approach. The highlights
of this approach were:
1. Creation of different learner paths
2. Alignment of the learning and Gamification path to
the proficiency of learners
3. Presentation of a mix of questions in each path
(mapping to real life challenges commensurate
with the proficiency level of the learners)
4. Non-availability of learning aids of theory (lifeline)
for higher proficiency learners to make the
challenge tougher. (The complexity and the nature
of the challenges posed to the learners tested their
cognitive proficiency to tackle the situation at
hand, thereby resulting in immersive learning.)

9
From the original Gamification concept,
we retained the overall look and feel and
the Introduction.
What we retained

10
We updated the rules of the game to sync up
with the new approach.
What we retained

11
Then we added the Avatar selection frame.
What we retained

12
For the learners choosing more than eight
years of experience, we provided a different
path. After the Avatar selection, a Jeopardy
game was presented to test their fundamentals
on Account Management. Specifically,
1. A good score enabled them to move
directly to Level 2.
2. However, if they scored less than 60%,
they were provided with a friendly
message nudging them to take up Level 1:
<Your scores are low. Do you still want to
continue to level 2?>
What we retained

13
This is the landing page of Level 1. The Avatar
chosen at the time of selection was in the middle.
The challenges were presented on clicking or
selecting the objects with the (+) symbol.
What we retained

14
What we retained
This was a sample question/challenge. On
answering correctly, the learners were awarded
a star as highlighted. We provided different
question banks for each path that matched the
challenges with the experience of the learners.

15
We also added surveys to seek inputs on the
learners’ current understanding of Project
Management.
What we retained

16
The gains
We were able to match the learner proficiency to a
specific learning path that gave them the right insight
on how to handle customers. The Avatar-based
approach helped us carry out this mapping.
I hope this case study is useful. I look forward to your
feedback and suggestions.

http://www.eidesign.net17
EI Design Pvt Ltd
Corporate Office and Development Centre
#160, Arun Arch,
9th Cross, Indiranagar 1st Stage
Bangalore - 560 038, India.
www.eidesign.net
Asha Pandey,
CMD and Chief Learning Strategist
Tel (Direct): +91-80-25202679
Board: +91-80-25202677 / 25202678
Mobile: +91-98450-61484
Email: apandey@eidesign.net

Gamification In Learning Through An Avatar-based Serious Game Concept - EI Design

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