The DESiG Project (Development Environment and Syllabus for Serious Games Implementation) aims to enable sustainable, flexible and qualitative access to game enhanced, syllabus-based activities for non-IT professionals through a Serious Game Development Environment (SGDE). The project builds upon the GALA experience of MAN, it has been submitted in 2013 and funded in 2014 by UEFISCDI Romania. The first phase of the project has focused on constructive as well as applied research targeting key aspects of SG development for desktop and mobile environments. Through the project, teachers and trainers will be able to create their own SG without support from developers, they will have access to game object repositories, and they will be able modulate their own assessment processes based on pedagogical constructs. The proposed approach increases efficiency, reduces costs and avoids redundancy in pedagogical and software developments through a join approach that targets both the desktop and mobile environments.
Figure 1. DESiG Conceptual Framework
The SGDE integrates multiple components and modules illustrated in Figure 1, including game object repositories. The SGDE acts as a middle layer between the tutor and the end-users, enabling a dynamic and interactive learning environment for the end-users, and clear insight and assessment of the learner’s progress for the tutor.
The components are developed using industry frameworks, such as HTML5/JavaScript and Microsoft .NET Framework, and also educational standards and specifications (LOM, SCORM, Experience API). This approach reduces the cost of further developments since every component becomes more flexible and easily customizable. The use of frameworks-based software components also helps speed up the development cycle. These components can be extended and customized for additional functionality. They can also be bundled together to form more complex components and full applications.
For more details: desig.ats.com.ro/index_en.php