SEATTLE SERIOUS GAMES TRADE MISSION

The West Midlands is sending a Serious Games delegation to Seattle to meet with those organisations interested in this emerging industy.
They have a combination of events and meetings arranged for their visit of the 21-23 of May, 2008.
The organisations attending and schedule are listed below. If you would like to join us for any of the events or to arrange an individual meeting with one of the organisations involved, please contact dan.licari@bcu.ac.uk.

PARTICIPANTS

 

- Slam Productions
Slam is a video game development company exclusively aimed at the casual and family orientated market. We aim to develop new content based on recognized family friendly brands that include TV game-shows, TV personalities toys and other casual content.

 

   
- Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Health have developed an online simulation software platform known as the Virtual Case Creator (VCC).  The VCC enables teaching staff to produce highly interactive virtual patient scenarios that develop problem finding and problem solving skills within a virtual environment.  VCC learning is supporting over 2000 students each academic year within the Faculty and is the focus of a number of regional, national and international development and evaluation initiatives. Two funded NHS projects have just begun and the development team are preparing to migrate the VCC resource and their understanding of simulation pedagogy into a 3D Virtual World platform in the near future.

In 2000 Nigel Wynne was appointed as a Lecturer in Nursing at Birmingham City University following a career in Acute Medical and Intensive Care Nursing within the NHS. He is the VCC project lead and now has the role of Senior Academic in Learning and Teaching within Health. Nigel manages the Faculty’s Learning Technology Group and is leading on a range of health care and teacher training focussed simulation and serious games projects. A member of the National Learning and Teaching Experts Group, Course Leader for the Society for Simulation in Health Care (2008) and adjunct Faculty to the University of Pittsburgh, Nigel has presented his work at a range of forums over the past 2 years. He is currently exploring feasibility of setting up an evaluation and development consortium of HEI’s and NHS Trusts in order to promote Serious Games and Multiple Modality Simulation with health care education.

 

     

- Digital2.0
Digital 2.0 exists as a consultancy to concentrate on the strategy and deployment of serious games. Internal tools are currently being created to assist in the strategy and deployment of games in organisations  - Are you GAME ready? ©. The tools will help companies understand if they are ready to adopt games in the organisation, if they are then to be aware of potential barriers and match the organisation to a suitable technology partner. The tools will also measure success and uptake of a serious games developed for an organisation.

Jude Ower, is founder and owner of Digital 2.0, a Serious Games consultancy. Jude has over 7 years experience within the Serious Games market working at all stages of development from research, creating a solution for an issue, requirements gathering, game design, project management, testing and deployment. 

 

- Pixel Learning
PIXELearning is a games-based learning (a.k.a. 'Serious Games') company which specialises in applying computer game/simulation approaches to business education, vocational and management skills development.

 

 - Birmingham University 
The University of Birmingham's Human Interface Technologies Team was launched in 2005.  An academic partner in the UK's Human Factors Integration Defence Technology Centre (www.hfidtc.com), one of the HIT Team's major research themes is serious games technologies.  The research seeks not only to exploit available games engine and content development tools for human-centred experimentation, but also to develop guidelines to help make the technology - and its adoption throughout numerous sectors - "appropriate for human use". 

 The HIT Team's Director, Prof. Bob Stone, is an award-winning "Virtual Reality Veteran", having been involved in the interactive 3D arena since 1987.  Bob is also the Research Director of the HFI DTC, an Academician of the Russian Higher Education Academy of Sciences and a Royal Academy of Engineering Professor in Integrated Systems Design at the University of Plymouth.

 

    

 - Digital Native Academy
DNA is developing a Game Lab through Advantage West Midlands funding.

Game Lab is undertaking research into labour market supply and demand issues within the games sector with a view to understanding how the regions academic institutions respond to the skills needs of the games industry.

Game Lab is undertaking the development of a range of serious games prototypes to showcase where games based solutions can help to overcome social and educational problems and encourage the use of games technologies within new sectors.

 

DELEGATION SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 21

08:30am Seattle Overview & Enterprise Seattle

10:00am Depart for Microsoft

10:30am Session One (Simulation & Training)

12:30am Networking Lunch

02:00 - 03:00pm Meeting at Nintendo Headquarters

05:30pm Reception British-American Business Council

 

Thursday, May 22

08:30am Depart for the University of Washington

09:00am Session Two (Health / R&D) at UW HIT Lab and INTEL Research Labs 

12:00pm Networking Lunch

01:30pm Open for Meetings

 

Friday, May 23

08:30am Debrief @ EnterpriseSeattle offices

10:00am Open for Meetings

06:00pm Flight departs Seatac