Dirk the Daring taught us more than you think.....or did he?

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It's 1983 and an Orwellian future is only a matter of months away from where big brother would be watching.....but instead it is us that is watching...videos....lots of videos, probably a rental every couple of days and I am in the video store in my home town.

As a spotty teenager I was there for one thing and one thing alone........nope....not what you are thinking, I am not interested in the videos behind the counter in brown paper, or the display cases and ex rental for sale bin.

I am interested in the big gun......a laser disc....one encased in a cabinet of joy and the one they call. Dragons Lair. Oh yeah did I deposit a coin or two in that thing !! Dragons Lair was created by ex Disney Animator Don Bluth and revolved around the central character of Dirk The Daring and his quest to save the princess from a badass dragon. It didn't matter that it took ages to load between scenes, or how frustrating it was getting off that falling disc at the wrong level but this was just a beautiful piece of storytelling which let you learn from your mistakes and master the right moves to progress......okay it was fairly simple stuff....left, left....up...right...jump......but it was fun and engaging yet still click = next.

Fly on 10 years and I am working as a video games buyer for HMV, shipping games for the next generation (oh and they were) of consoles such as the Sega CD and the 3DO.......oh yeah next generation retro heaven.. The latter being the brainchild of EA Games founder Trip Hawkins. The concept was great for this system, it was really about opening up development to designers but while some titles were highly regarded it had its fair share of dead ducks because most of them were effectively just interactive movies with the same kind of game play used in Dragons Lair which as I had come to realise was pretty awful and so did the consumer as the console and its titles bit the dust.

The main reason behind this was that while the technology made it possible to create the experience it was badly produced and actually a good example of how video should not be used. If they had spent half as much time on the game play rather than trying to recreate a Hollywood epic then perhaps it would have evolved.....but it didn't and soon video was confined to rare appearances in special editions do trivial pursuit (p.s. Unless you are really, really......REALLY into Lord of The Rings never buy that version) and yay it came to pass that gaming and video didn't have any where to go......Dragons Lair is holed up in a garage somewhere and anyone with a 3DO etc is just waiting for Antiques roadshow in 2093 to bring it out of retirement..

So why am I on this subject, as fascinating as it is.......no it is !!

Well the other month at Learning Technologies I was all excited to see the next big thing but have to admit I walked away a little disheartened...again. You see for all the leaps and bounds that video and games have come on over the years what is still  missing is the experience that something like dragons lair gave you. It was connecting memory to action, it was feeling accomplished. So many companies are looking at video again and now games as a way of adding something else to learning but is it enough?

Games and gamification are adding something new, but .....and it is an opinion........but.....the first few examples I have seen just talk to the compliance hand and say "hey......want to add something exciting to your compliance training?.....want to make it more interactive?" Eh.....No I don't. I want Risk functions and the Regulators to wake up and admit to everything we have ever known  about mandatory training in that it adds nothing. At best a tick in the box at worst every reason that everyone has ever used that says eLearning is boring, dull, click, next and does nothing but numb minds........wooooo controversial??? Nope not really. 

Games do present a massive opportunity in learning but within the workflow. What if.....a game never ended. What if we created a manager second life which grows in line with a managers own personal development? What if a talent development programme had a game which tracked success, set challenges and awarded points as well as linking with a global network, pitting yourself against other leaders in other countries? Strategy games for directors, virtual contact centres set up in a call of duty type environment.....? Okay scratch that last one.....that's only when they ask you three simple "market research" questions about how many windows and doors you have in your house!!! 

Okay....so I am borderline ranting now....so I will get back to the point.......we need to stop thinking about games as an additional dimension to learning....that is why those interactive movie games never worked. You can't bolt a game engine on the side of a compliance module and think it makes a blind bit of difference. You have to build a game...that is all, do it well and people will learn from without being blatant about it.

Now who wants to build that leadership game?

That learning Dude

@LearningXDude