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Hanja maru is an online game to help children learn Chinese characters.
By Yoon Ja-young
Games and parents have never been on good terms.
Parents think that games distract children while they should be studying or playing outdoors, not to mention the extreme cases involving teenagers collapsing while playing games without a break or game addicts stealing money from their parents to buy game items.
Murder and death are even linked to online gaming obsessions.
The Korea Serious Game Festival 2011, the largest festival in the country dedicated to serious gaming, however, may reverse the negative view some people have of the activity.
Held at Seongnam City Hall in Gyeonggi Province from Oct. 7 to 9, the event is set to offer the visitors serious game exposition, a serious game development camp and business opportunities under the theme “a fun playground, an exciting learning space.”
A serious game refers to specific game content that includes education, medicine, national defense and sports, as well as others.
“According to research, such games have a positive effect on reasoning, ability to think, sociability an acquisition of information. These particular games are used for military training, education, treatment of mental problems and rehabilitation,” said Ryu Sun-il, a researcher at KT Economy Business Institute, in a report.
The U.K. defense ministry, for example, developed a serious game called “Interactive Trauma Trainer,” which trains troops on how to respond to a possible injury and the medical treatment that should follow.
IT also has serious games on the maintenance of combat planes and shooting. Japan is focusing on a rehabilitation game for senior citizens, and some businesses use them to improve work effectiveness.
Of course, the fun and play factor is not excluded in these games. Located between training simulation, which focuses on training and education purpose, and commercial games, which consider only fun factor, serious games have a broad audience.
Also referred to as functional games, they have a positive impact on players. Research has indicated massive multiplayer online role playing games proved to help students learn English.
The country’s game industry is especially interested in games with educational purposes, and the global e-learning market is expected to grow to $26.5 billion by 2014.
In 2010, the serious game industry generated $360 million in the U.S. Market, while it is expected to become a 500 billion won industry in Korea by 2012.
The expansion of the serious game market will help gradually improve society’s view on games.
Visitors at the festival will be able to play games comprising a variety of content, including from the military and aviation sectors. Both those developed by domestic and foreign companies will be on display.
A special showcase of experience-oriented games related to health, such as sports games and medical simulation programs, as well as educational games, such as brain development or learning English and Chinese.
Integrated games with application of various fields such as sports, board and aviation simulation that people can enjoy together will also be exhibited.
Article source: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2011/10/123_95980.html
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