About us

The Serious Games Society (SGS) is the think tank where the future of games for learning can be discussed and put into practise.

ABOUT US
Mission​

The SGS has been designed to bring together the cutting edge institutions, companies and individuals researching on and developing Serious Games. We focus on helping members in connecting and benefiting from the wide range of resources available in the Serious Games space.

The SGS aims at being the reference point on Serious Games and gamification at the scientific, technological and professional level.

The SGS’s core purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence in the field of Serious Games. The SGS sustains research and technology transfer in the multiple disciplines involved in SGs design, development and deployment. The SGS provides a platform at European and international level for generation, sharing and co-ordination of SG-related R&D activities. The SGS promotes the development and use of effective Serious Games in various sectors (instruction, cultural heritage, business, health, etc.) and contexts of use (formal education, corporate training, leisure time). We aim to improve the quality, and increase the value of Serious Games.


Vision

SGs are becoming a valid tool for learning and training. Educators, trainers, consultants etc. will be able to exploit reliable information and services to select the most suited games for their specific needs and objectives. SGs will be able to adapt contents and presentation modalities to the different user needs and preferences. This will be achieved thanks to methodologies and tools dedicated to the design, authoring, configuration/ adaptation and use of SGs. A comprehensive framework of services (including learning analytics, dialogue management, virtual characters’ emotion management, etc.) will be available in a cloud, for efficient and effective development of SGs, featuring extensive interoperability. Such services will provide adaptivity, personalization, user profiling and coaching, automatic dialogue and virtual character management. The SGS’s engagement is towards the birth and uptake of a science of SG analysis, design and utilization.

History

The Serious Games Society was born from the GALA Network of Excellence, a multidisciplinary consortium of 30 partners from all over Europe. It comprised universities, research centers, SMEs and large enterprises.

The GALA project was funded in the 7th Framework Programme from October 2010 to Septembber 2014.

The Serious Games Society was born in 2013 from the GALA Network of Excellence, a multidisciplinary consortium of 30 partners from all over the EU. It comprised universities, research centers, SMEs and large enterprises. In the same year, the SGS founded the International Journal of Serious Games and the Games and Learning Alliance Conference (GALA Conf).

The GALA project was funded in the Seventh Framework Programme from October 2011 to September 2014.

The SGS founding members are: Alessandro De Gloria, Francesco Bellotti, Riccardo Berta (Università di Genova), Igor Stefan Mayer (Delft University of Technology), Sara De Freitas (Coventry University), Johann Riedel (Nottingham University), Rosa Maria Bottino (CNR-ITD), Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge (Bremen University), Sylvester Arnab (Coventry University), Rob Nadolski, Wim Westera (Open University of the Netherlands).

Past members of the SGS board are: Jannicke Baalsrud Hauge (KTH Stockholm), Riccardo Berta (Università di Genova), Manuel Ninaus (University of Innsbruck), Remco Veltkamp (Utrecht University).

Prof. Alessandro De Gloria, of the University of Genova, coordinator of the GALA NoE, has been the SGS Founding President, and he is the SGS Emeritus President.

Received public funding

In year 2021 SGS received € 1,000 from the European Union for the participation to the Gamers4Nature Erasmus+ project (Agreement number: 2020-1-PT01-KA201-078789).

Current board members

Francesco BELLOTTI
Francesco BELLOTTI President
University of Genoa, Italy
Iza MARFISI
Iza MARFISI Communication
Le Mans Université, France
Johan JEURING
Johan JEURING
Utrecht University, Netherlands
Vanissa WANICK
Vanissa WANICK Communication
University of Southampton, UK
Manuel GENTILE
Manuel GENTILE
National Research Council of Italy
Francesca DE ROSA
Francesca DE ROSA
Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation (CAPTRS), USA
Want to know more about serious games?​
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