“We use gaming technology for serious purposes”
Hey! Got business focus?
We do — Serious Games!
With many years in the industry now, having acquired a number of scars and all sorts of t-shirts representing different platforms, languages and technologies — we are confident in our abilities to provide a huge range of services and products to our clients. We've produced an array of cool stuff for web, mobile, desktops, games, serious games, business software… the list goes on!
So what do you DO?
“Anything” would generally be the response. Keeping in mind our honest belief — that with enough time and money, we can produce almost anything — we have ended up doing some really cool projects and worked with great people. The problem is, that every time we have tried to grow and expand, we've struggled.
Focus focus focus…
We wanted to grow. We wanted to take on more amazing projects and build a team of awesome people. Dan and I took a step back and looked at everything… What should be the one thing we focus on? After a process of elimination, concentrating on our strongest skills and prioritising what we WANTED to work on, we concluded Serious Games.
…and everything falls in to place
It’s truly amazing — that bit of focus and everything becomes easier. We instantly had a clear message which people responded to.
Serious games though?
OK — this isn't anything new. I remember playing learning games on my ZX Spectrum — and definitely on the BBC Micro at school. I first got involved in developing 3D serious games back in 2006 — making a couple of proof of concepts for the Royal Navy, which lead on to larger projects..
Now, I know a lot of people have a problem with the term ‘Serious Game’, “It’s not a game”, “It’s a simulator”, “It’s a learning tool”, “It’s an experience”. I fully appreciate those responses, — and do agree to a certain extent. Let me clarify our focus:
“We use gaming technology for serious purposes” — Blueflame Digital Ltd
This is a much clearer message. So we might not exactly be making games all the time — however, we’re taking advantage of gaming technology and gaming techniques to give users a more engaging experience. With the aim to retain more information for longer, and to actually learn something without realising. I do think we are missing a new word here — serious games isn't right all the time — but can we think of a better term?
Let’s break down the different areas we are covering here…
Driving simulation and more
One of our first projects in our new era of serious games, was to write a game platform for a blue light driving simulation — ‘Bluetrac’. The key here wasn't to teach people to drive — it’s not to replace real world training, it’s here to enhance training. Our system gives the users a simulated experience of a situation for the first time in a circumstance where they can make mistakes over and over.
We created a fictional town based on central London, with AI traffic that react to the driver’s actions. You also have to keep an eye on pedestrians walking the streets.
The product has been designed to be viewed on a 200 degree wrap around screen, with 3 axis motion chair and force feedback steering wheel.
Virtual and augmented realities
VR and AR are hot subjects at the moment, with big companies competing for the up and coming arenas. This tech isn't new — it’s had a pretty rough ride for decades — but it looks like the actual hardware tech is becoming commercially viable to meet the end user’s expectations.
We absolutely love Google Cardboard — the portability, accessibility and simplicity. Knowing it’s limitations gives us the power to make some really interesting projects. Years of making games and apps for mobile devices gives us a huge advantage. We've not only made commercial projects, but enjoy creating fun ones on the side :) We've also used Oculus Rift (a future post will explain more), and we can’t wait to get our hands on the new headsets coming out early next year.
On the AR front, we've been using the Epson Moverio BT-200 smart glasses, as well as mobile devices. Stay tuned for our AR adventures!
Research & Development — Innovate!
Fitting square pegs into round holes for the right budget… We are often commissioned to find or take a specific technology, to see if it will fit a certain requirement, push it’s limits or just find out it’s capabilities. Problem solving is in our blood — so finding great solutions is our game (even if it isn't always easy)! Gaps in the market have meant we've had to make our own tech — both software and hardware. Being exposed to really interesting problems has forced us to be very innovative and generated further exciting projects.
Experiences and visualisations
King’s Court is an example of one of our side projects (which we will talk about in detail at a later date). The project sums up how serious games can bring a subject to life gain interest. We were given an artist’s impression of King’s Court in Gillingham, Dorset — dated around 1272, with the aim to recreate the scene as a 3D game. The project started as a portfolio project — but we also wanted it to help the community, so we planned the project with the local museum with the idea that they could benefit from our efforts. We teamed up with Mike South of Storm The Gates Ltd who has worked on the bulk of the environment, and Nick Galaxy for the additional characters and animals. This will become an excellent portfolio piece for all involved!
The project is due to be rolled out in several stages — it’s still a work in progress and as of writing here’s a quick screen shot:
The first stages are a PC based, FPS style experience, combined with a touch screen display for visitors of the museum. Future phases include enhancing the whole environment with more detail and a virtual reality version. Watch this space!
Web back-end and statistics
Our years of experience with web technologies isn't lost on serious games — far from it. For most serious games, it’s crucial to capture performance metrics and statistics. We've written our own statistics manager — Statman — which is perfect for serious games on multiple platforms, online and offline. You can find out more here http://statman.co
To the future and beyond… !
We work with such awesome people, who ALL believe in the same vision — that serious games can change people’s lives. We have an exciting future ahead of us, and can’t wait to share that journey with you!
