Coming of age? Serious games market is gaining momentum.

• Author: Jean, Grace
• Position: TRAINING AND SIMULATION

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BALTIMORE -- The "serious games" industry, after years of trial and error, is beginning to capitalize on the lucrative alliance between education and entertainment.

Defining what constitutes a "serious game" is an ongoing debate. But as the market matures and burgeons into other sectors, people are starting to understand the concept of using game technology for non-entertainment purposes, say experts.

"We think the market has matured to the point where now when you talk to people in Boston or California and say serious games, they'll say, 'yeah, I get it,'" says Jerry Heneghan, chief executive officer for Virtual Heroes, a game development company based in North Carolina.

Big defense companies are realizing that they need dedicated teams to chase down projects in which game design might play a role.

"They don't want to look like they're behind the curve," says Ben Sawyer, co-founder of the Serious Games Initiative, a grassroots organization that supports the use of gaming technology in non-traditional sectors. "Now big corporations are saying, 'We have a games group and a virtual worlds group.' Before long, it's going to be pervasive. On the way there, there's going to be a lot of jockeying going on."

Large defense contractors that were once spectators of serious games now are partnering with game developers and in some cases, acquiring gaming companies.

"The fact that they're jumping in--I think that's the ultimate assessment," says Sawyer. "Basically they're saying, 'this is here to stay.'"

The global popularity of virtual communities such as Second Life, and the advent of social networking websites such as Facebook, has added a new dimension to the serious games debate. The excitement surrounding these technologies has created fresh opportunities for the gaming industry, says Doug Whatley, founder and chief executive officer of BreakAway Ltd., a game development company based in Hunt Valley, Md.

"We get calls everyday from around the world, whether it's mining, or accounting, or auditing. Everybody's looking at how to apply gaming to solve their problems," says Whatley.

Online worlds have demonstrated how people can communicate and collaborate in a virtual environment. Those same technologies can be used to help large organizations conduct their business and solve problems, says Heneghan, whose company developed the successful online game, "America's Army."

Agencies have approached Virtual Heroes about creating...