Skip to main content

Serious Play Conference To Recognize and Certify Outstanding Serious Games


“Our aim is to create an award program for Serious Games that is the high watermark of success"

The Serious Play Conference, taking place August 23-25 at the DigiPen Institute of Technology, has just announced the International Serious Play Awards,  recognition program honoring outstanding examples of Serious Game titles that deliver high quality of engagement and measurable training or learning opportunities in the education, corporate, government/military, healthcare and consumer markets.

Any organization or individual that has created or  contracted for a Serious Game or simulation using commercial off the shelf (COTS) platforms is eligible to enter the International Serious Play Awards Program.  Universities may also submit student projects.  Games given away free may apply for a reduced entry rate.

In addition to being eligible for game awards, all titles entered into the 2011 Awards Program will be eligible for Serious Play Certification.  Serious Play Certification is designed to offer customer assurance that a Serious Game offers a high standard of performance, having passed a rigorous examination by an advisory panel of experts.  All games certified will be given a Serious Play Certification certificate and 2011 Seal of Approval. The certification will be valid for three years.
“Our aim is to create an award program for Serious Games that is the high watermark of success,” said Clark Aldrich, conference director. "We’re looking for programs that deliver a high level of engagement to their audience, superior learning and demonstrate measurable results.”

Winners will be announced during Serious Play Conference : Tuesday – Thursday, Aug. 23 – 25, 2011 at DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond, Wash.

To submit your entry, please visit http://seriousplayconf.com/awards/

About Serious Play Conference

The First-Ever Serious Play Conference will be attended by heads of corporate, military and healthcare programs using Serious Games for mission-critical training, senior educators, top simulation and education developers, and strategic vendors providing hardware, software and applications for the serious games sector.

The conference will be held in Seattle Aug. 22 – 25 and be hosted at DigiPen Institute of Technology, recently named one of the top game design schools by the Princeton Review. 

Clark Aldrich, author of five industry books on Serious Games and a Serious Games consultant, is conference director. Game industry veteran Sue Bohle, president, The Bohle Company in Los Angeles, whose agency helped build GDC and currently supports Penny Arcade Expos, will help produce the event.

Serious Play is being designed to move the discussion around Serious Games to a higher competency -- the productive level. Speakers from organizations and individuals already leveraging Serious Games for training and education will share critical success factors; game designers will advise on how to take advantage of emerging platforms and operating systems; project leads and vendors will describe best practices for measuring results. 

"Serious gaming has become an integral part of the world today. In the future, simulation will become an increasingly essential tool in more and more aspects of our lives, from safely and cost effectively running machinery to predicting disasters and their effects”, Claude Comair, founder and president of DigiPen, said.