In times of social media, people of all ages are consuming interactive, snackable content, and when the same audience switches to learning content for organisations, normal content is not enough to keep their attention. However, game-based learning solutions break the cycle made by the traditional training formats. 

According to Renub Research, the global game-based learning solutions market is growing at a rate of 20.85% every year and is expected to reach a value of $97.73 billion by the year 2033.

The learning requirements have evolved in terms of engagement, participation, and format. Now, the new generation of employees does not prefer training that forces them to sit through passive content consumption and learning formats that are mostly in slides. Gamification services step up to change the training for modern employees according to their tastes. 

In this article, we will take a deep dive into gamified learning solutions to understand the advantages, disadvantages, best practices, and the future it holds. 

What are Game-Based Learning Solutions?

Game-based learning solutions are used for educational and job training purposes. The program encourages workers to make chain decisions, solve problems, deal with consequences, learn from mistakes, and then make better decisions. The experience is conducted with game design principles, game mechanisms, and relevant gameplay for different job roles.  

Learning gamification platforms offer learners a variety of options in terms of scenario-based modules, simulations of real situations, branching scenarios, competitive quizzes with peers, and immersive virtual environments for high-stakes training. 

Advantages of game-based learning solutions

1. Increase in engagement and completion

While most other e-learning and offline training formats require learners to sit back and absorb given knowledge passively, learners often struggle to keep their attention on the screen to complete sessions or even engage sincerely. But on learning gamification platforms, learners engage actively in games, or they lose progress, which serves as a motivation to do better in each session. 

2. Long-term retention of concepts 

When the employees apply the knowledge in simulations from gamified eLearning solutions, they are instantly met with its consequences, and if the result of that action does not meet expectations, they change the method and try again till one attempt brings successful results. That is why active engagement has better retention of the concept than watching lectures. 

3. Safe practice of many skills

Many types of skills can have major consequences in case of wrong action or strategy, and gamified learning solutions can ease the process of high-stakes training by providing a safe environment where they meet outcomes similar to real life in simulations. This method is helpful for customer handling, compliance training, field safety procedures, and decision-making in various situations. 

4. Instant feedback after action

In most e-learning formats and traditional learning, the learners have to wait for a feedback session with the instructor, and because the same process is applicable for other learners as well, the feedback is delayed and vague for making changes for betterment. But this issue is targeted by gamification services. Here, the program instantly responds if the action was right or not, along with the reason behind it. 

5. Faster training completion 

Learners who often struggle to pay constant attention in recorded lectures or reading through decks prefer gamified eLearning solutions because the format is easy to engage with actively, while in different programs, learners end up skimming through content without reading with interest. It is easier to interact with this method; that is why the course is completed quickly.

6. Emotional depth in content 

The content of game based learning solutions has emotional depth in its learning content, such as tension, curiosity, achievements, and even failures, driven by the knowledge application power of the learner. An employee will retain the information better if they connect learning with emotions because it is easier to remember what was felt than what the slide deck stated. 

Disadvantages of game-based learning solutions 

1. High development cost

It is expensive to build a learning gamification platform because a whole team is required to work on the project, including instructional designers, game developers, animators, UX designers, and subject matter experts. The team works to create a program that serves value to the organisation and its people. The process consists of creating blueprints, getting approval, and running various tests. 

2. Long development time

This is the biggest disadvantage of gamified solutions. The gamified learning solutions are made up of simulations and other virtual content, which takes longer than most organisations expect. A simple branched scenario practice might take months to finish. If the organisation needs a training program in a short time, game learning solutions would be an unreliable choice. 

3. Game overshadowing learning

This is a very common problem for organisations that adopt gamification services; the learners become heavily invested in the fun parts, and the final purpose of the program is almost forgotten. Points, levels, leaderboards, and animations can divert the learners from absorbing the knowledge for skill development. 

4. Not suitable for every training

Gamified learning solutions cannot be a fit for every type of learning, while they work meticulously for decision-making skills, changing behaviour skills, compliance processes, and process-based training. Information-based training requires slides and decks for learners to read and absorb the important knowledge; game features in documents can act as a distraction rather than a helpful component. 

5. Connecting outcomes with ROI

The outcomes of gamified eLearning solutions are easy to detect. Nearly all the data is projected on the learning management system, where the learning and development team experts can collect it for measuring, but the difficult part is connecting the data to real-life changes in employees. One cannot just assume that one simulation changed the whole perception of the learner. 

6. Maintenance and updates

From the above points, it is clear that gamification services are expensive and time-consuming to develop. But after the development process, maintenance or addition of new content to keep the training up to date is another nuance because addition requires changing scenarios, edits in branched storylines, and game logic, which disrupts the ongoing training and adds extra cost, and most organisations cannot afford this after development investment. 

Gamified learning solutions for different industries and roles

Among the hundreds of job roles in various industries, gamified content is not a fit for every one of them. Some training can be done without slides or recorded lectures and provide better results, while others might necessitate learning that is interactive and requires constant practice with real-life scenarios. 

Below, we have mentioned some job roles that flourish with gamified content:

5 Practices to Get the Most Out of Gamification Services

Gamified eLearning solutions require planning to deploy and receive impressive results at the time of training completion. Here are the most talked about and preferred practices to get value worth from game-based training programs.

• The training programs cannot serve a value to the organisation if the learning and development team does not connect the content with a problem that needs to be addressed. When training is connected to factors like high error rates, low compliance scores, poor retention, and weak sales conversions, the L&D team can measure performance before presenting the analysis to leadership and decide on the future of training in the company. 

• The gamified learning solutions mostly consist of simulations, scenario-based modules, and virtual challenges, and that is why this format of learning works best when organisations pair their existing learning content with gamified content for practice and absorbing knowledge or spaced repetition content. 

• For most years, training has been a classroom experience or recorded class access at home, and due to that, the shift to gamified learning platforms can feel disruptive or unwanted to many users. That is why learning and development professionals should communicate with the learners at the time of deployment that a new format is being introduced and how it adds value to the company and learners as well, and failing, then trying again is the preferred method of this training. 

• The learning gamification platform stores data about various details like progress, drop-off points in content, and behavioural data. If the learning and development team lets data sit after measuring ROI, the company will never get its investment's worth. So sharing this with the team manager would help the manager identify underlying issues and address them accordingly for higher ROI.

• When it comes to measuring the return on investment for gamified elearning solutions, most organisations mostly revolve around completion rates, but that only proves learners were present, and ROI is measured by the actual return that is brought by behaviour changes, drop-off in error rates, complication incidents, and customer satisfaction rates. 

The future trends for gamified learning 

The market of gamified learning content is changing faster than some industries can keep up with. The addition of generative AI has led to various learning and training reforms, especially when it comes to adaptive content and custom learning strategies.

AI-powered platforms track learners' activities and performance in different scenarios and then encourage them to fix weak points in the process with appropriate actions. 

The pricing structure of the game-based learning solutions has always been a point where organisations and L&D reconsider the whole process, but with the introduction of AI, things have changed. Using AI in the development process, it creates intellectual content with the help of instructional design, keeps the price reasonable, and does not compromise quality. Similarly, new technologies like AR/VR and mobile-first training are enabling immersive learning environments for employees with self-paced programs. 

Conclusion

Training the entire workforce is a difficult process of choices, and the L&D (learning and development) team, along with the HR department, takes the initiative to search for different options while considering learners' requirements. When the process of choosing brings game-based learning solutions, the team needs to evaluate the format from all angles: advantages, disadvantages, and implementation practices. Only then can organisations make firm decisions about whether or not gamified services fit them.

If the process of determining the line between best and just works, or if the company definitely needs a different format, it seems to blur. Industry digital learning providers like Acadecraft can get the job done for you with one session with a consultant expert. If you want to know more, you can contact Acadecraft today!