All posts tagged: Training Design

Semiconscious Feedback – The new standard in E-Learning

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It’s been way too long! Sorry about that, I’ve had a very busy month and I’ll have some more news on that along with the outcome of the E-Learning Awards 2015 in a small post that will coincide with this. On with the gamification talk and this time I want to look at feedback. What is it, what does it look like in games and how can we adopt the same principles? I believe feedback in games is the best example we can use in our industry, the way games consciously and sub-consciously shape our decisions is very powerful. Let’s remember games are an escape from reality. Within this virtual world players know if the direction they take is the right one. Feedback given at the right moment gives them guidance. When wrong decisions are taken, they won’t reach the next level. Appropriate feedback at the right moment keeps them motivated. Gamers are a unique audience, they don’t worry about failure instead they learn, they learn how to master the controls, they learn how to …

Shortlisted for E-Learning Designer of the Year!

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A quick update just to let you know that I’ve been shortlisted for the E-Learning Designer of the Year award. The event is going to be held in London on November 25th. According to the website – The 2015 shortlist is our best yet and features entries from across the globe and from every sector!  Our 35 strong judging panel, co-ordinated by The eLearning Network and chaired by Tony Frascina, were faced with the colossal task of reviewing over 400 entries across 19 categories but have produced a truly impressive list of 145. There are currently five other great E-Learning Designers shortlisted for the award so I will let you know how I get on in November. Thank you to all of you who read this blog and who openly engage with me over social media, it’s a joy to write this and I am so glad I offer many of you creative inspiration. It’s always been my aim to look at the world of Learning from a different angle and I truly believe I’m only …

How we can use Turn Based Combat in E-Learning – Revolutionize & Gamify your Multiple Choice Questions!

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It’s been a long time (or so it feels) since I’ve written a post. Since the excitement I had writing my previous post on Pokemon, (available here if you haven’t seen it yet) things have been very busy for me. Along with all of the work I’ve had I also completed a charity trek which has taken away some of my time. But all is now well and although the work hasn’t slowed down at all I do owe it to everyone (including myself) to take another look at a game and see what we can learn from it. These periods of reflection increase my knowledge as well and allow me to look back at the work I’m producing to make sure it’s up to the level I expect of myself. Writing blog posts is one of the best self-study methods I have so I’m glad that you stick with me and enjoy coming on this adventure. I’m going to keep this post as a simple concept idea for how we can build an E-Learning …

What We Can Learn From Pokemon Red/Blue – Creating a Rivalry!

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This week I’m looking at what we can learn from Pokemon Red and Blue originally released on the Gameboy way back in 1999(EU). This is a weird one as you wouldn’t expect there to be a lot of things we could pick up from a game like Pokemon, but actually the opposite is quite true. Pokemon, apart from being one of the most popular games of all time (parents I’m sure you remember your children going through this period of time) had some pretty great features we can use in E-Learning. What is Pokemon Red/Blue The player controls the main character from an overhead perspective and navigates him throughout the fictional region of Kanto in a quest to master Pokémon battling. The goal of the games is to become the champion of the Pokémon League by defeating the eight Gym Leaders, then the top four Pokémon trainers in the land, the Elite Four. Another objective is to complete the Pokédex, an in-game encyclopedia, by obtaining the 150 available Pokémon. The nefarious Team Rocket provide an antagonistic force, …

What We Can Learn From Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

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Welcome back! This week I’m looking at a game called Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. I cannot tell you how much I love this game, I’ve been playing it for a little over 12 months and I still can’t get enough. I could continue writing about how amazing the game is, but… Actually that’s exactly what I’m going to do. There’s a lot we can take from Hearthstone for E-Learning, both from a design perspective and from an engagement perspective. So let’s hop back in, it feels good to do this type of post again…. What is Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft?  Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft is a digital collectible card game (CCG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment. It is free-to-play with unlimited paid content, and limited free content. Announced at the Penny Arcade Expo in March 2013, the game was released on March 11, 2014. Hearthstone is available on Microsoft Windows and OS X systems and on Windows 8, iOS and Android touchscreen devices. New content for the game involves the addition of new card sets and …

Straight from a game into your E-Learning Course – Bitesize Tip #3

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First of all a little news from me, I’m going to be moving to a new site very soon – this is due to happen by the end of this week. I’ll also be recording podcasts to be hosted over at the new site, the release of the first podcast will coincide with the launch of the site, so lots of exciting changes coming up very soon! I haven’t put out a bitesize tip in a while so whilst I’m writing a new feature post I thought I’d offer another example of some great instructional approaches in video games. This time I’m looking at a game called Trine 2 – a wonderful action, adventure, puzzle, platforming cross-grenre game. What I’d like to pay particular focus to in this game is the way the introduction unfolds. So as always let’s take a look at a brief overview of what Trine 2 is. What is Trine 2? Trine 2 is a puzzle platform video game, requiring the player to use the skills of the three characters, Amadeus the wizard, Zoya the …

What We Can Learn From Moral Choice VS Consequences in Games

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Welcome to another edition everyone! You may remember my post not so long ago on the differences between Choices, Decisions and Calculations which is available here. This week I’m looking at Choices VS Consequences and taking another approach to how we can use scenarios effectively in E-Learning development and Instructional Design. There is a distinction that has to be made between these two options and if you are designing an E-Learning course thought should be given to which route should be followed. It is very difficult to design for both, it can be done, but if you’re starting out focus your attention on creating an immersive experience in your learning using one of these approaches. I’ll be focusing on two games to help me illustrate how you can take advantage of these approaches, one of these is Heavy Rain, the other one is Chrono Trigger. As we’ll be only be looking at example pieces from these games I’ll keep their introductions short. Heavy Rain Heavy Rain is an interactive drama action-adventure video game developed by Quantic Dream and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in 2010. …

What We Can Learn From Shovel Knight *Retro Edition*

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It’s that time of the week again! This time I’m going retro – well, to some extent. I’m taking an in depth look at Shovel Knight this week which I’ve been playing on the Nintendo Wii U, released in 2014 the game has received universal acclaim for it’s style and gameplay. I’m paying particular attention to the way the introduction level has been designed, it’s absolutely genius. I haven’t seen a better example of an introduction level since Megaman X which I may cover in the future. Prepare yourselves to have your mind blown by some of the greatest level design and instructional design in a video game. What is Shovel Knight? Shovel Knight is a 2014 2Dside-scrollingplatform game, developed and published by independent video game developerYacht Club Games. The game was initially released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U, and ports of the game for Mac OS X and Linux soon followed. Ports for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita will be released in 2015. Shovel Knight Introduction Level   Ok, so I want …

Choices and Decisions in E-Learning – What We Can Learn From The Walking Dead (Video Game) Series

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There are no spoilers in this article for those of you who haven’t played the game yet, so do not fear! I’d like to start this post by thinking about what we really mean by choice and decisions, how these are formed and what most effectively sits in E-Learning and gamification of learning material. Do you currently use choice in your E-Learning modules? Are you focusing on simple choice such as clicking one button or another? Or are you looking deeper into the power and impact that choices can have on our learners. Of the posts I have done so far this one carries the most weight with me personally and I also think it is one of the easier gamification principles to start using immediately in your Instructional Design and E-Learning development. We will go on to look at the Walking Dead Game series which are one of the most immersive and emotional games I have ever played. Choice is very hard to actually define, there are a lot of meanings for what this …