The following serious games have been created by students at The Nottingham Trent University as part of their Computer Studies and Digital Media Technology courses. In the module Serious Games, the students have a project brief where they work with the research team to create a game that can be of added value to a research project. This page showcases the very best of the games developed by the students from both the 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
For the past 2 years the project in question was VESVET, a project developing content to enhance soft skills in students enrolled on Vocational Education courses in several European countries. These products were designed and developed by the students. They had input and guidance from the University’s Interactive Systems Research Group and the wider VESVET Erasmus + project team.
The NTU VESVET team have advised the students on how to develop their game ideas with a focus on the target users (Vocational Education and Training course students in Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal and Turkey), on accessibility, on languages, and on core VET skills and competences as defined in the VESVET project.
A summary description of each product together with links to the software can be found below. To run the Windows games please first extract the zip file to a local folder and then run the executable (.exe) file. Any Android APKs will require install permissions on your Android device.
Disciplinary Action
Designed and built by: Tomasz Dobrowolski
Disciplinary action is a game designed to train management communication skills using a set of role play tasks. As the player, an office manger, you will need to deal with a number of situations with your staff and carry out a number of tasks requested by the board. Throughout the tasks you must try to keep both the board and your workforce happy. You can choose between aggressive, direct, open and friendly conversation styles, which you must select to match the social cues being given by the member of staff you are dealing with.
You must work through the tasks, and you will get feedback on how you are doing as you go.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here and as an Android APK installer here.
Retail Reputability
Designed and built by: Joe Betterton
In this game, the player is a worker in a supermarket who has to deal with various questions from customers and problems in the supermarket as they go about their daily business. The customers will react according to the player’s responses. Can you choose the best ways to deal with the customer’s problems? The game runs in English, Lithuanian, Latvian, Turkish and Portuguese.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Word Jumper
Designed and built by: Thomas-Luke Duffin
In this game the player must jump up the platforms without falling off. Collecting coins opens questions which can be set using a simple text file that must be linked prior to playing the game. This makes the game highly versatile – meaning that a teacher can include any question set produced in a simple format as detailed here. The game shows a question and selects four answers – the correct one and three others randomly from the answers list.
The game is versatile and currently available in English, Welsh and German, but the developer is happy to merge additional languages with a pull request here. Please get in touch with Tom via GitHub if you want to use the game in your own language.
The Windows build of the game (May 2021) is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Retail Manager
Designed and built by: William Parker
In this game the player must use and develop their vocational problem solving competences by navigating the supermarket and helping the various customers and staff within. Feedback is given throughout the game based on performance and a final score is achieved at the end. The game will also familiarise the player with situations that may arise in the retail vocations. The game supports English, Lithuanian, Latvian, Turkish and Portuguese.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Maccy and Jaccy
Designed and built by: Dawid Kolodziez
In this game two players must work together as a team to collect the jewels from the environment. Focussed on communication and teamwork competences, the game creates an environment where players can test their abilities to reach a common goal. The game supports German, English, French and Spanish languages.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Adaption
Designed and built by: Sean Haddick
Your problem solving skills will need to be top notch to get high scores on this game. Players must work to solve the puzzles quickly to get the best scores. Practice makes perfect! This is not for the faint hearted!
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Communications Down!
Designed and built by: Dominic Cotterill
Communication and problem solving skills are required to complete this collaborative game. One player has the specifications for the PC parts. The other has to build the PC. The team must make sure that the parts included are compatible to build a working PC and win! Players will also learn a thing or two about PC components. Only English language available.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
The Wonderkid!
Designed and built by: Charles Bradley
In this game the player must use and develop their competences whilst undertaking a first season as a professional footballer. All sorts of challenges must be undertaken, and the right choices might win you the league! The Wonderkid can be played in English, Lithuanian and German. The game works on competences including teamwork, autonomy, problem solving and creativity.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Fix the Machine
Designed and built by: Ryan Garner
A game designed to work on teamwork and communication skills. One or more players is the expert with a guide to solving the puzzles. The other player is the engineer – tasked with solving them by following the instructions of the experts. Can the two (or more) players work together to describe which symbols should be connected together, which order the symbols should appear in the list or the correct sequence of symbols? This game will take practice to perfect!
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Car Mechanic Studio
Designed and built by: Konrad Barakowski
In this game the player must change the brake pads on a car by selecting the correct multiple choice options. The game is based on a single task from a vocational training environment (that of a car mechanic).
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
World Escape Room
Designed and built by: Sylvia Nwokoro
In this game, the player must solve the geographical questions and riddles to score points.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Puzzled
Designed and built by: Ewan McGranachan
In this game the player must use and develop their puzzle solving competences by solving obscure challenges. The game is partially complete (only the jug challenge is implemented) but the game supports all project languages.
The game is available as a windows executable (zipped) here.
Copyright Notice
All of the above games have been developed by the stated authors with input from The Nottingham Trent University and the VESVET Erasmus + project team. They may be used as is for training material but may not be altered or uploaded elsewhere without the authors’ permission.
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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