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Title: YouChooseAbuse.com: The serious game
Categories: Serious Game, Visual Novel, Simulation, e-Learning, Experiential Activity, Role-Play
Target Audience: Professionals, New Advocates & Volunteers
Objective: Domain Knowledge and Skills Practice
Gameplay: Facilitated or Independent, Solo or Group, Virtual or In-Person
Platform: Website Based - WordPress, WS Form, Phaser, RenJS
Gamification: AI chatbot, choose-your-own-adventure, badges
Assessments & Evaluation:
Stakeholders:
A few truths about technology and the nerds that love it: there are the types that are inspired to change the world with the newest developments, and there are those that will find a way to make a game out of any opportunity. Then there are those people who exist in the center of that Venn diagram - they are the pioneers of serious games. The definition of serious games could be considered self-explanatory, but they are also often considered oxymoronic. It has also been argued it is a tautology, as many gamers would consider themselves serious players. The use of games for skill development likely dates back to the dawn of civilization. Children naturally practice critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, and a host of other skills that will be explored further in this proposal for a new serious game. That is why encouraging play about serious issues shouldnât be seen as trivializing the topic because introducing lessons and challenges in safe environments allows players to become more knowledgeable and empowered community members.
A serious game is only one way to describe YouChooseAbuse.com; this project is a conglomeration of gamification components, a visual novel, experiential training, and e-learning. Beyond the traditional trajectory of serious game development, this project is interested in investigating how the dynamics of facilitation influence the engagement of this serious game. A defining characteristic of YouChooseAbuse.com is the intention to be adaptable to the needs of not only the leaders but also the players, as there will be an evaluation assessing independent and solo players compared to facilitated groups. In this short sample of the funding proposal, the existing body of work will be briefly reviewed, the goals of this project dissected, and the evaluation approach will be presented along with a closing section that includes predictions and expected results.
The overwhelming majority of literature relating to serious games highlight the benefits and strengths of the non-traditional approach to learning. Many emphasize engagement and flow, immersion and transportation. A significant finding that validates the use of serious games, particularly narrative-based ones, provides players with the vicarious learning that is comparable to direct experience. Frameworks have been designed and measured to promote best practices, including SGDA-IE exalting iterative evaluation (ben Amara, Mhiri Sellami, & ben Said, 2024), Activity Theory-based Model of Serious Games (ATMSG) that identifies and labels learning objectives. Gini et al. reported finding 33 serious games about gender-based violence. Many of the motivations behind the serious games about intimate partner violence were created with the intention to stimulate empathy and greater understanding. While that is a priority of YouChooseAbuse.com, there are policies and practices that professionals will need to perform their daily duties. Most serious games cater to younger demographics or casual members in the community, but YouChooseAbuse.com differs from existing programs in a few key ways.
A sub-category or sibling of serious games, visual novels are popular within some gaming communities and have been adapted to address serious topics. Admittedly, there does appear to be some redundancies in the utilization of serious games about interpersonal violence, as games like In Her Shoes and Voices and Choices are just some validated vehicles for education. The approach for this game differs because it attempts to combine the empathy-stimulating narrative-based serious games and visual novels, brain-training experiential activities, and easily-accessible e-learning. A defining characteristic of YouChooseAbuse.com is itâs adaptability. The primary goal guiding the development of this project has been to create a dynamic tool that never stops developing. Iterative improvements and customization features are meant to allow for complexity and flexibility. The game is playable in a variety of forms. Ideally, the game is facilitated, but the use of a guide-bot would serve as a virtual game leader in cases of independent play. The game was created to be played by groups, but solo-players can receive some of the same benefits by engaging with the AI-chats configured to play the roles of other players. The web-based platform of this project lends well to virtual facilitation, which is an avenue that will be compared with in-person facilitation.
Additionally, many of these games are conducted without facilitators, which is a critical component in the approach taken by YouChooseAbuse.com: The Serious Game. Alklind Taylor has developed a resource that highlights the importance of facilitators, specifically their capacity to be âmore engaged in the learning experience and can ensure that the learners practice in deliberate and reflective waysâ and serves multiple roles as âin-game facilitator, puckster, debriefer, technical support and subject matter expertâ (pg 1).
Currently the game exists as a WordPress form built using the plugin WS Form. It is built using conditional logic to display the consequences of the playerâs selection. If the game is played solo (no groups) and independently (no facilitator), then the selection is purely up to the player to decide, or they can choose to let the roll of the dice decide. However, should the game be played with groups, it will be the responsibility of the group to deliberate to decide what selection to choose. If the game is being led by a facilitator, they have the option to assign selections.
To expand the gameplay features of this game, a game environment using Phaser3 is proposed due to the language used by Phaser is the language used in web development which lends to a smoother integration between the Phaser environment (to be referred to as âgameâ) and the WordPress form (to be referred to as âformâ). As the budget for the game grows, the game elements can be expanded to gradually replace the form until the entirety of functionality is played through the game interface.
Some identifiable information may be accessible through the game, particularly the user email and demographic details volunteered by the players. This risk can be mitigated by separating the forms that collect demographic details and send to separate database using USER IDs to cross-reference forms. Currently only the player email is required for game play, and is only requested to allow the users the ability to save and return to their game at a later time.
A critical feature of this game is the collection of data is built directly into the program. There are three primary categories the data will fit into: qualitative, quantitative, and meta. Qualitative questions will be embedded into the game, requiring the player enter at least a few words. Quantitative data exists in the quizzes that ask players to submit their answer based on a limited selection offered.
Engagement and enjoyment is critical for learning motivation, which requires the game to be more than a simple web form. The interactive features of the gameplay immerse the player in the virtual world.
H1: The serious game improves engagement compared to current training.
H2: Facilitated games will report higher rates of engagement and better outcomes compared to independently played games.
H3: There will be minimal differences between virtual and in-person facilitated games with groups.
H4: Games with groups will provide the most engagement and will report the highest outcomes.
There are a number of measures that will be presented during this evaluation, but the primary message of this program will be âengagementâ. In this context, engagement is meant to communicate enjoyment, interactivity, and challenges.
To get an idea of whether the serious game improves engagement during the training, the original training should be evaluated to determine a baseline. For approximately 6 sessions, post-training surveys could be provided to participants asking about their experience. The participants of the game would receive the same questionnaire to monitor whether the inclusion of the game resulted in better engagement.
The measure of effectiveness will not be neglected, as that will be another top priority. A pre-survey provided to DV organizations asked providers about their primary objectives and measures of effectiveness. A list of skills provided by {source} were also included to provide examples of skills that may be relevant to their mission. Respondents were asked to rank each of these skills as a âhigh priorityâ, âmedium priorityâ, âlow priorityâ, or âNot Relevant/I Donât Knowâ.
Game players will be given identical assessments pre- and post-game. There are 9 questions asking users to rank their agreement with statements using a slider. As is the case with most elements of the program, the data is currently collected through the game form, although there may be a time when the pre-and post-game questionnaires will become separate forms. Should that be the case, the demographic information will also be separated to its own form. The reasons for this relate to strategies to protect user data.
It is best practice to avoid collecting identifying details, but if it is unavoidable there are approaches that mitigate the potential risks of privacy violations. Firstly, the personal details should be collected separately, when possible. Personal data and de-personalized data can be stored in distinct databases connected by a random ID number to cross-reference. As a standard precaution, all form submissions and storage will be encrypted using 256 bit keys and authorized webhooks that bypass submission storage on the website, sending the data directly to the secure location.
One feature that requires extensive development is the possibility of integrating AI technology to expand the capabilities of the chatbot feature. Currently any dialogue is scripted and chats are ruleâbased. This is helpful to ensure the curriculum of the training is being upheld and basic competencies are being met. However, having more engaging interaction with opportunities to practice skills allow for a more robust learning environment.
A video walk-through of the game is planned, as well as an evidence-based Facilitator Training presentation. The primary goal of this program proposal is to recruit a âcadre of expertsâ to add legitimacy and credibility to this endeavor with advanced training and expertise that extends beyond a singular person.
In one game, the player can live the experience of a bystander, fall in love and discover virtual stalking, face economic coercion, suffer a mental health crisis, face potential arrest for domestic violence, move to a rural location, and receive threats of deportation.
The long-term aspirations for this game include adoption across multiple settings. While domestic violence agencies have been the identified partner for this project, there may be no limit to the target population for this activity. Of course advocates and volunteers require the most intensive, specialized training, nearly every profession has the potential to engage with victims of intimate partner violence.
The utilization of this training tool with law enforcement has very real use cases as every player is expected to learn about policies and practices, interpersonal skills, resource search and referral, not to mention the emotional and psychological factors that add complications.
Specific experiential activities that are expected to be completed include identifying relationship red, yellow and green flags, roleplay a hotline worker, create a safety plan, and plan a rideshare for the closest shelter 3 hours away.
While I am sure many readers are familiar with this fable, my Social Work Mentor Dr. James Brown introduced a story I had never heard early in my undergraduate curriculum that depicted a concept that become so integrated it changed my career trajectory. The story goes a Social Worker has been gallantly pulling baby after baby from the river. Exasperated and exhausted from endlessly pulling babies from the river, the Social Worker realized they needed to go up river to investigate why a factory line of babies require rescue.
This story also reminds me of another exercise many readers may have tried before. As an experiment, the next time you speak to another person, ask them âwhyâ and wait for their answer at least 5 consecutive times. The most likely scenario is the annoyance of your conversation partner, but it illustrates an important reminder you can always go deeper.
These helping profession clichés may seem trite, but they explain universal truths. Continue along the trail of thought and you may arrive at restorative justice. That is because the reality of accountability is complex - put simply.
An unpopular truth about gaining a better understanding of bad behavior is approaching the bad actor with a baseline of mutual respect, an acceptable alternative to the unconditional positive regard many practitioners are encouraged to practice.
The case for alienating abusers could easily be argued, but even as a survivor of intimate partner violence it is impossible to ignore the potential for insight that offenders could provide. Follow this train of thought and you will soon arrive at the place of restorative justice.
It is only relatively recently stakeholders have considered the true purpose of the justice system. Punitive policies have been perpetuating injustice for generations. When you speak to the frontline workers directly charged with engaging with societies monsters, they will largely explain how their perpetrators started as victims. It is hard not to have some compassion for the victim that exists in so many of the most egregious offenders.
The presentation of these facts are not intended to elicit sympathy for offenders, but is meant to illuminate the underlying issues.
To uncover the hidden answers that are buried within societyâs most deplorable, one has to first ask. The nature of restorative justice requires a playing field that offers a baseline level of dignity and worth as a person. This is such an integral concept in Social Work it was codified into the NASW Code of Ethics, which have served as not only my professional guidelines but were instrumental in providing the language that allowed me to articulate the values instilled since childhood.
This project is an ideal candidate for the capacity building initiative. While the concept is relatively developed, the foundation is at the pivotal milestone to receive the investment needed to take this game from a dull web form to an engaging interface that allows for more dynamic control of the character and story.
Currently there are 15 scenarios that highlight the intricacies of diverse and intersectional experiences.
A crucial feature of this game will be the ability to create more paths for the game to travel. Currently there are not many conditional components that allow for advanced personalization. Ideally, the game will be developed so previous inputs have direct consequences in the game.
One of the defining features of this experience is the addition of a barrier, another aspect of the game that can be directly adapted by facilitators to highlight the perspectives that further their learning objectives.
The creation of accompanying materials to supplement this game include a Facilitators Guide features over 100 easy to reference pages that promote discussion questions and challenge some assumptions. While the effectiveness of game play with and without a facilitator will be a topic for further research, the game is adaptable to be playable in multiple configurations. That is, either facilitated or independent, solo or in group, and virtual or in-person.
Four groups of skills were presented as targets in the implementation of serious games. The groups include Personal Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Ethical Decision Making and
To get an idea of how relevant those skills are to the potential users of this game, a pre-survey was created to invite organization to share their current training approaches and objectives. The survey participants were asked to rank each skill as âlow priorityâ, âmedium priorityâ, âhigh priorityâ and âI donât know/Not relevantâ.
The idea for this game was sparked by an assignment exploring deliberative tensions and engagement streams. Serious games were presented as an example of âthick participationâ that require high levels of mental power.