Serious Games Showcase & Challenge @ SPARK STEM FEST
Where play meets purpose and fun meets function!
Dive into the world of “serious” gaming. Games that go beyond entertainment; games that educate, train, simulate, and solve real-world problems. Whether it’s in education, defense, medical rehabilitation, or any field where learning and skill development are key, games have the power to make a difference.
The SGS&C annual exhibit and competition are held as part of the Interservice / Industry Training, Simulation & Education Conference (I/ITSEC Dec 1-4) held in Orlando, FL. This video shows a quick view of all 2024 finalists!
Follow the links below to play some of our prior finalist and winning games.
Game Links and Descriptions
AI’s Anatomy
Created by the Wilson Center’s Serious Games Initiative for the Wilson Center’s Tech Labs.
The game AI’s Anatomy was designed for a session of the Wilson Center’s Technology Labs, a six week closed-door seminar series on AI provided for executive and legislative government staff in the United States. The specific session that this game is for focuses on bias in AI systems, and challenges participants to think of not only how bias can be embedded in systems but the consequences of bias in AI.
Players must help B3T4 learn how to correctly identify people in need of higher medical care. In each round, the player and B3T4 can refine the model by adding more and more data. In the task of training the AI to “sort” patients, players can see how an algorithm can sharpen the picture — but also how easy it is to add bias into a system.
Players do not know this going into the game, however the game takes inspiration from a core reading of the seminar by Obermeyer et al., called “Bias and how it is embedded in machine learning/AI systems”. In this, the authors discovered how an algorithm trained on healthcare data (such as the cost of healthcare, number of visits per year, etc.) was racially biased due to the historical underutilization of the healthcare system of Black Americans.
To Play
AI’s Anatomy is a free, multiplayer, web-based game, and can be accessed from any browser.
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/interactive/ais-anatomy
- Click link to lauch site
- To play solo, simply click “create new room” and then “ready”.
- Once you have entered the game, B3T4 will provide further instructions and guidance on how to proceed forward. If you get stuck at any time, typing “help” in the chatbox will provide tips.
CoronaQuest
Created by Education, Youth and Culture Department – Etat de Vaud- Switzerland for students of any age.
CoronaQuest is a learning game which helps inform students of protective and hygiene measures and actions that can help make return to school less stressful and safer for students.
Learners are taught skills to help them return to school safely, learn effective hygiene skills, and build social and emotional learning skills.
Learners play cards which are counterattacks (or solutions) to the challenge cards played by their competitor, the Coronavirus, which is the computer player. The cards the learner can play counter the direct effects of the COVID-19 such as illness, symptoms, even grief or side or subsequent effects such as unemployment, loneliness, sadness, lack of social contacts, boredom and many more.
To Play
CoronaQuest is a free, web-based game, and can be accessed from any browser.
- Click link to lauch site
- Click “Play” to play the game.
Culture Quest
Created by Thermo Fisher Scientific for academic researchers and scientists.
The game’s purpose is to teach scientists about recombinant proteins’ role in cell culture differentiation. Aspects and obstacles of cell culture are described within the captions of game levels. Lab levels are designed as mazes to complete to advance on to future levels. Each level is timed and players “win” by completing the maze successfully, and quickly. A player has the opportunity to save his/her time on the leaderboard at the end of each lab level.
Recombinant proteins are an important part of cell differentiation experiments. The types of recombinant protein required depends on the type of cells scientists are working with. This digital game is designed to educate scientists on the recombinant proteins needed to differentiate stem cells into various cell types. Players can conquer any of the (9) available cell lab levels. Each level is timed, and there is competition to complete the level the quickest to get the player name on the leaderboard.
To Play
Culture Quest can be accessed from your browser.
https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/c/a/culture-quest.html
- Click link to enter landing page that includes the following, review information as desired:
- An overview of the objective of the game
- An introduction to recombinant proteins
- A teaser video previewing the game levels and game play
- Steps to follow to explore the game
- Click “Play game”
- Choose “Start Tutorial Lab” to learn game play as well as the multiple steps of the cell culture process, or
- Choose “Lab levels” to conquer any of the (9) available cell lab levels.
- Players can pick any lab they want to play. Levels can be re-played as many times as they’d like.
Deepfake Elicitation
Made by BridgeFour for Employees in all sectors, with an emphasis on critical infrastructure and defense, or organizations who have serious security concerns and thus take awareness training seriously.
Deepfake Elicitation puts you in the shoes of a social engineer attempting to elicit information from an employee of a shipping company. The goal is to get enough information to create a deepfake clone of the CFO, in order to execute a malicious wire transfer of $2M. You will use social engineering techniques, such as Reciprocity, the Hourglass Technique, and the Deliberate False Statement, in order to get what you need without arousing suspicion. All the while, Hax the Hacker Cat will be watching over your shoulder, encouraging, educating… And sometimes just messing with you.
Deepfake Elicitation is intended to teach security intuitions through interactive, engaging gameplay and memorable characters. In the era of AI-enabled social engineering attacks, understanding the tactics and techniques that will be used against us is absolutely vital. By playing as the attacker, we will learn how to think like those who would use these tools against us… Plus it’s just more fun!
To Play
Access Deepfake Elicitation from your browser.
- Click link to start game play
- Elicit specific information from your target in order to prepare a malicious wire transfer. Do not raise suspicion, and complete the attack by choosing the right options during a live phone call (where you play the deepfake clone of the CFO).
- Play by simply clicking the text bubbles at the bottom of the screen to select your actions and progress the narrative. In Stage 2, your choices are timed.
The Plastic Pipeline
Made by The The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars Serious Games Initiative with the China Environment Forum for college age and older players.
Ocean plastic pollution is a global crisis; but what can we do? The Plastic Pipeline takes players through points on the ‘lifecycle’ of a single-use plastic product to empower them to learn about policies being used to fight it. Help stem the tide of pollution and save our oceans.
The Plastic Pipeline had several learning goals that informed the game design and process. The first learning goal was to help players understand the issue of plastic pollution and solutions being enacted worldwide. Beyond knowledge gains, we wanted to help players feel empowered and motivated about plastic pollution and environmental policy after playing the game. Our research suggests that these goals are being met, and we’re excited to take it further. Beyond that, we wanted to make research come to life in an engaging way, especially around a topic where there seems to be no solution in sight. We used the ‘lifecycle’ of single-use plastics, from creation to consumer to waste, to help organize this research and unblack box the various touch points where policy can be used to decrease plastic pollution. The goal is to walk away feeling there is a solution to a very daunting problem.
The China Environment Forum conducted policy research that brought together research from US, Europe, and Asia. This research tapped into existing research and leading experts from Pew Charitable Trust, ClientEarth and Ocean Conservancy to understand the landscape of policies. But CEF also engaged and amplified the voices of NGOs and activists on-the-ground in some of the most vulnerable regions, like Southeast Asia. We worked closely with the Vietnam Zero Waste Alliance, Vietnam Zero Waste Education Network, Break Free From Plastic networks in Asia, and many others to do on-the-ground outreach. The game thus served as a nexus point for bringing together–and making accessible–this very complicated policy space.
To Play
The Plastic Pipeline is a web-based game, and can be accessed from any browser.
https://plasticpipeline.wilsoncenter.org
- Click the link to launch the game
- To go directly into play, select “Play the Game” either from the top navigation menu or the button
- Once the game loads, select “start” where you will be introduced to the game, its concept, and play. You can also read some of the supportive research, educational resources, and impact overview from classroom testing in US and Vietnamese college classrooms
StoryQuest: The Fall of the Berlin Wall
Made by QuestSim powered by UltiSim Inc.for high school students.
This 3D adventure learning game immerses students in the world of journalism. Students take on the role of journalists covering the fall of the Berlin Wall to take their stories back to their papers in the USA for publishing. High school students can interview ten characters from diverse backgrounds who live in East and West Germany, promoting a strong sense of inclusivity and respect. During their interviews, students are encouraged to ask deep questions and gain the confidence of their interviewees, fostering a culture of mutual respect and understanding.
StoryQuest is not just a game but a potent educational tool for students to delve into the fall of the Berlin Wall and the art of asking insightful questions and crafting a report. By the end of the game, students will have gained a profound understanding of the historical event and refined their journalism skills, instilling in them a sense of achievement and knowledge.
Embark on the journalistic odyssey of a lifetime where you, the player, don the hat of an intrepid, new reporter. Your first day on the job, you are assigned to uncover the truth behind a pivotal historical event, the fall of The Berlin Wall, where you must conduct interviews with 10 unique individuals. Using their accounts, you must piece together their narratives and craft a compelling story that sheds light on the past. Are you ready to get reporting?
To Play
StoryQuest is played in the browser. It does require a password, provided below.
https://storyquest.berlinwall.questsim.com
- Password: 1SmallStep
- Your goal is to successfully interview all ten people, unlock all of the artifacts, and produce a story about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Video Link
SGS&C Overview Serious Games for Education Virtual Event
2024 Finalist Games Overview Video
Education Games 2006-2019 Video
