In this talk at the 'research games' barcamp I presented my research area 'Social Serious Games' with the related fields and definitions. The slides give an insight into architectural design and aspects to keep in mind when designing such games.

1. Social Serious Games =
Serious Games and Social Media
New opportunities for game-based learning
6th October 2012, Wiesbaden
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ralf Steinmetz
Dipl.-Inform. Johannes Konert KOM - Multimedia Communications Lab
3-Apr-13
© author(s) of these slides including research results from the KOM research network and TU Darmstadt; otherwise it is specified at the respective slide

2. Social
Media
Serious
Games
Social Serious
Games
Social
Games
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 2

3. Serious Games
What is a Serious Game?
Image sources: http://www.slidetoplay.com/, http://www.multimediamanufaktur.com/de/, KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 3
http://highactivities.com/

4. Serious Games
There is an agreement in the research world that there is no agreement
about the term Serious Game.
One definition
„Serious Games are computer games for a primary purpose
other than pure entertainment“ (wikipedia)
..but nobody knows exactly.
Image source: amazon et al. KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 4

5. Serious Games
Our definition:
„Serious Games are the combination of game technology and concepts
plus additional technology and science
in manifold application domains “ (Göbel)
My definition:
„Serious Games are computer games used for another purpose
beside pure entertainment“ (Konert)
Wikipedia definition:
„Serious Games are computer games for a primary purpose
other than pure entertainment“ (wikipedia)
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 5

6. Serious Games
What is a Serious Game?
maybe
..it depends on the context
Source: http://www.slidetoplay.com/, http://www.multimediamanufaktur.com/de/, http://highactivities.com/ KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 6

7. Serious Games
Authoring
Control
Evaluation
Der Wechsel, TU Darmstadt
Examples
Geograficus, Braingame
Das Portal, DECK13
Ecotopia,Talkie
2weistein, Brainm. St.
Image sources: www.deck13.com, http://www.brainmonster.de, https://www.facebook.com/ecotopia.beta, http://www.geograficus- KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 7
game.de, ‘Der Wechsel’ presented at http://www.gamedays2012.de; circle images: http://www.kom.tu-darmstadt.de

8. Social
Media
Serious
Games
Social Serious
Games
Social
Games
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 8

9. Social Media ( & Web 2.0)
Sociologically driven terms Technical Applications:
Web 2.0 is the internet usage Twitter, Blogging,
with collaboratively developed Folksonomies, ..
content and applications.
Loose Socializing is the Online Social Networks,
Followers, …
internet usage to effortlessly
keep connection to a broad
amount of individuals‘
activities.
„Social Media is a group of Internet-based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the
creation and exchange of user-generated content” [Kaplan & Haenlein]
e.g. Social Media Applications: Youtube, Flickr, Facebook
Sources: wikipedia.org, KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 9

10. Social Media (Landscape 2011)
7 categories
Trend towards
 seamless communication
 context-aware filtering
 activity-centered services
Most promising players:
Facebook, Google and Twitter
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 11

11. Social Media (Landscape 2011)
11 Social Media Needs: Publishing, Discussing, Sharing, Gaming, Networking,
Searching, Location-based Services, Event-based Services, Single-Sign-On
(Identity-Management), Extensibility (Plugins), (Micro)-Payment-Service
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 12

12. Social Media (Landscape 2012)
7 cat. 6 categories
2011 2012
Publish Publish
Share Share
Commerce Buy
Location Location
Network Network
Games Playing
Discuss
Most promising players:
Facebook, Google and Twitter
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 13

13. Social Media
Social Media Explained
 Why are these Social Media
Applications so successfull?
 What makes them different
from other kinds of media?
Source: Forbes: Google+'s Success and Failure, in Two Images. KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 15
http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2012/02/09/googles-success-and-failure-in-two-images/

14. Social Media
Social Media (compared to industrial media)
Reach: producers can easily reach their audience
Access: producers can easily create content by themself
(nearly for free)
Usability: producers can use without profession,
consumers can easily consume
Immediacy : no long distribution or finalization process
Permanence: stored and repeatable accessible,
re-usable and changeable
Source: wikipedia.org ‘Social Media’ using [Benkler] KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 16

15. Social Media
12 Social Media Interaction Types (simplified)
 Post, Share, Update,
 Vote, Comment,
 Chat, Invite,
 Join, Tag,
 Connect, Buy, Play
Fig: Share, Vote and Comment Interactions Schemes
References: [Crumlish, 2009] [Julien, 2011] KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 17

16. CAN’T THIS BE USED FOR GAMES?
Source: http://croobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ThinkingSmiley.jpg KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 18

17. Social
Media
Serious
Games
Social Serious
Games
Social
Games
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 19

18. Social Games
Source: http://best-farmville-farms.blogspot.de/ KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 20

19. Social Games
 Farmville
 Sim Social
 Bejeweled Blitz
 Garden of Time
 City of Wonder
 Market Street
 ESPNU College Town
 Martian Boneyards
 Code of Everand
 Online Image Labeling - The ESP Game
 Infiniteams
 Chemistry – MeCHeM
 Ars Regendi
 Wolf Quest
 Grepolis
 Industry Player
(…)
Sources: selection from www.playdom.com, www.gamesforchange.org, KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 21
www.socialimpactgames.com, seriousgames.msu.edu/games.php and www.spielbar.de

20. Social Games
What is a Social (Casual) Game? Criteria for a Social Game
 casually played or  Asynchronous Play
each player at his own time, pace and intensity
 with easy to use interfaces which are
 Casual Multiplayer
 connected to OSNs awareness of others actions in game
[Loreto & Gouaïch, 2004]  Coopetition
low competition, high cooperation,
no direct drawbacks for individual players
 Beneficial Social Media Integration
user generated content as knowledge resource,
physicality of game play activity
References: [Loreto & Gouaïch, 2004] [O’Neill, 2008] [Nalebuff, 2007] [PlayGen, 2010] KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 22

21. ARE THERE SERIOUS SOCIAL GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 23

22. Serious Social Games
Enercities
Criterion Enercities
1st purpose Yes
entertainment
2nd extra purpose
Inter-subject Minimal
interaction
Interdependency Minimal
Internet-based Yes
Beneficial Social Partly
Media Integration
Coopetition No
Casual Multiplayer No
Asynchronous Play Yes
Enercities.eu – European Commission funded
Image source: Enercities.eu, screenshot from game KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 24

23. Serious Social Games
PoweRBrands
Criterion PoweRBrands
1st purpose Yes
entertainment
2nd extra purpose
Inter-subject Yes
interaction
Interdependency Yes
Internet-based Yes
Beneficial Social Partly
Media Integration
Coopetition Yes
Casual Multiplayer Yes
Asynchronous Play Yes
Reckitt Benckiser Recruiting
Image source: http://apps.facebook.com/powerbrands/, screenshot from game KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 25

24. Serious Social Games
PowerOfResearch
Criterion PowerOfResearch
1st purpose Yes
entertainment
2nd extra purpose
Inter-subject Yes
interaction
Interdependency Yes
Internet-based Yes
Beneficial Social Partly
Media Integration
Coopetition Yes
Casual Multiplayer Partly
Asynchronous Play Yes
TMP Games Gmbh, funded by EC's 7th Framework Program
Image source: powerofresearch.eu, screenshot from game KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 26

25. Serious Social Games
These games do not use Social Interactions
for what they are popular for!
Social Interactions in Social Media platforms are used for:
 Mutual support (groups, interest, …)
 Knowledge exchange (hints, opinions)
 Assessment of ideas and creative solutions
 Help and Guidance (tutoring)
This is what Peer Education means:
Peer Education
= Peer Tutoring + Peer Assessment
.. and more like
flutter, ecotopia,
Change for Rio, …
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 27

26. So,….
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 28

27. Social
Media
Serious
Games
Social Serious
Games
Social
Games
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES?
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 29

28. Motivation: Peer Tutoring
Learning with Games (Singleplayer)
Today:
 Well designed Digital Storytelling
 Player seeks help for challenges
from friends, forums, ..
Challenges: Power Of Research, TPM Games
 No integrated assistance and help
 Only ‘random’ match Der Wechsel, TUD FIF
(person or content)
for assistance
Idea:
Support knowledge transfer by
Peer Tutoring using the
social network of players
Image sources: powerofresearch.eu; ‘Der Wechsel’ presented at http://www.gamedays2012.de KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 30

29. Motivation: Peer Assessment
Assessment in Games (Singleplayer)
Today:
 Gaming complexity improves fast
 More sophisticated learning content
Challenges: 2weistein, Brainmonster Studios
 Missing complex
open format challenges PEDALE Learning Environment
 Assessment by (closed-format part)
(limited) computer algorithms
Idea:
Support player feedback by
Peer Assessment using the
social network of learners
Image sources: http://www.brainmonster.de; ‘Der Wechsel’ presented at http://www.gamedays2012.de KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 31

30. Social Serious Games
A Social Serious Game is a Serious Game
satisfying all criteria mandatory for a Social Game.
(Asynchronous Play, Casual Multiplayer, Coopetition, Beneficial Social Media Integration)
Using Peer Tutoring Using Peer Assessment
 Hints  Rating, ranking
 Assistance  Allows open format tasks in games
 Best practices  User-generated tasks
Serious Social Media
Games Applications
Social
Serious Games
Image sources: FreeDigitalPhotos.net (Idea go and jscreationzs) KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 32

31. Social Serious Games
(Existing ) Social Media
Serious Games Platform
(g+, fb, …)
Image sources: http://www.brainmonster.de; ‘Der Wechsel’ presented at http://www.gamedays2012.de KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 33

32. Social Serious Games
The integration of Social Media allows:
 Influence game play from outside (creativity, individuality, assessment)
 Add content
 Personalized game experience
 Viral effects
Influence Influence
by SN-data and metrics by interaction patterns
 Ego-Network  Short-time reactions
 User profile data  Assessments
 Opinions,
votes
Image sources: https://www.facebook.com/johannes.konert, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/technology/internet/29face.html KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 34
and research project GENIUS HessenModellProjekte, LOEWE (design draft)

33. Social Serious Games: Influence System
Focused and implemented influences
Influence Influence
by SN-data and metrics by interaction patterns
 Access to ego-network  Single choice and multiple choice
 Access to profile data  Text input, gap text
 (both normalized)  Content upload (images, audio)
 Combinations of all
(including list extension)
 positioning-tasks*
… (extendable)
*derived from expert interview conducted with CEO Thomas Wagner, KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 35
Reality Twist GmbH, Game Studio, Munich on 24.04.2012

34. Finally
“First playable prototypes
are expected for 2013.
Stay tuned…”
Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net (ponsulak) KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 36

35. Social
Media
Serious
Games
Social Serious
Games
Social
Games
THESE ARE SOCIAL SERIOUS GAMES
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 37

36. Questions & Contact
Thank you for your
 Attention,
 Questions and
 Feedback.
Connect on www.linkedin.com/in/johanneskonert
KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 38

37. Appendix: References
[Chen2007] Chen, J., 2007. Flow in Games ( and Everything Else ). Communications of the ACM, 50(4), p.31-34. Available at:
http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1240000/1232769/p31-
chen.pdf?key1=1232769&key2=3643268821&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=111187921&CFTOKEN=25517040.
[Constant1996] Constant, D., Sproull, L. & Kiesler, S., 1996. The Kindness of Strangers: The Usefulness of Electronic Weak Ties for Technical Advice.
Organization Science, 7(2), p.119-135. Available at: http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~kiesler/publications/PDFs/Constantkindness.pdf.
[Crumlish2009] Crumlish, C. & Malone, E., 2009. Designing Social Interfaces: Principles, Patterns, and Practices for Improving the User Experience (Animal
Guide), Yahoo Press. Available at: http://www.amazon.com/Designing-Social-Interfaces-Principles-Experience/dp/0596154925 [Accessed May 8, 2012].
[Damon1984] Damon, W., 1984. Peer education: The untapped potential. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 5(4), p.331-343. Available at:
http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0193397384900066.
[Granovetter1973] Granovetter, M.S., 1973. The strength-of-weak-ties perspective on creativity: a comprehensive examination and extension. The American
Journal of Sociology, 78(6), p.1360-1380.
[Jarvinen2010] Jarvinen, A. (2010). Social game Design for Social Networks. PlayGen., from http://playgen.com/game-design-for-social-networks/. [Accessed
January 22, 2011]
[Julien2011] Julien, J., 2011. Social Media Interaction Pattern Library. The Jordan Rules. Available at: http://thejordanrules.posterous.com/social-media-
interaction-pattern-library [Accessed May 8, 2012].
[HistoryGames2012] History of Games Timeline. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2012, from http://www.historicgames.com/gamestimeline.html
[Kaplan & Haenlein] Kaplan, A.M. & Haenlein, M., 2010. Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media. Business Horizons,
53(1), p.59-68. Available at: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0007681309001232.
[Konert2011] Konert, J., Richter, K., Göbel, S., & Bruder, R. (2011). Knowledge Sharing in the classroom - A social network approach for diagnostic
assessment and learning together. Proceedings of the 11th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT). Athens,
Georgia, USA: IEEE. Retrieved from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5992341&tag=1
[Loreto2004] Loreto, I.D. & Gouaïch, A., 2004. Social Casual Games Success is not so Casual. Word Journal Of The International Linguistic Association.
[Mohammad2009] Mohammad, A.L.S., Guetl, C. & Kappe, F., 2009. PASS: Peer-ASSessment Approach for Modern Learning Settings. In Advances in Web
Based Learning-ICWL 2009: 8th International Conference, Aachen, Germany, August 19-21, 2009, Proceedings. Springer-Verlag New York Inc, p. 44
[Nalebuff2007] - Nalebuff B., Brandenburger A. Coopetition — kooperativ konkurrieren. Mit der Spieltheorie zum Unternehmenserfolg. In: Boersch C, Elschen
R, eds. Das Summa Summarum des Management. 1st ed. Gabler; 2007:217-230.
[ONeill2008] - O'Neill N. What exactly are social games? Social Times. 2008. Available at: http://www.socialtimes.com/2008/07/social-games/ [Accessed
January 18, 2011].
[PlayGen2010] - PlayGen. Social Games - Make Games with PlayGen. PlayGen. 2010. Available at: http://playgen.com/social-games/ [Accessed January 3,
2011].
[Stepanyan2009] Stepanyan, K., Mather, R., Jones, H., & Lusuardi, C., 2009. Student Engagement with Peer Assessment: A Review of Pedagogical Design
and Technologies. Advances in Web Based Learning–ICWL 2009, 367–375. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-03426-8_44
[Westera 2007] Westera, W., & Wagemans, L., 2007. Help me ! Online Learner Support through the Self- Organised Allocation of Peer Tutors. Abstracts of the
13th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning & Training (pp. 105-107). Berlin: ICEW GmbH. Retrieved from
http://hdl.handle.net/1820/2075
Dipl.-Inform. Johannes Konert KOM – Multimedia Communications Lab 39