As games are a normalised component of learning and development, the language around the use of games has fragmented and there is no single way to talk about this amazing toolset! 

Gamification, for example, can be used as an all encompassing phrase to mean any game approach, or it can mean the most basic Points Badges and Leaderboard (PBL) functionality. Serious games can become confused as games are meant to be fun, so why are they serious?

If you’re talking about the use of games within your organisation it’s important to be aware of the spectrum of options available to you. We hope the definitions below are helpful. 

AAA Games: These games are incredibly high quality and have significant marketing budgets. AAA games are what you probably see your kids playing on the XboxOne or the PlayStation. They are games that have sold, or are predicted/targeted to sell, over one million copies. AAA games usually cost in the tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars and take 3-5 years to  produce. So unfortunately AAA games are typically out of budget for most L&D teams. However there are lots of features and inspiration that can be taken from them! 

Indie Games: Independent video games (commonly referred to as indie games) are video games created by individuals or small teams without video game publisher financial support. Indie games often focus on innovation and rely primarily on digital distribution. It is worth noting that Indie games can be published on nearly any platform. 

Mobile Games:  Much as the name suggests, a mobile game is played on a mobile phone, smartphone or tablet. This does not include games played on dedicated handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or switch. With the rise of smartphones and cross platform development as well as the trend towards microlearning, ensuring your game runs on a mobile phone is becoming more and more critical. Of course alongside that, Learning Management Systems need to adapt to become more mobile friendly. 

Serious Games: A serious game is a game designed for a specific purpose other than pure entertainment often to raise awareness or to change behaviour. The "serious" adjective is added to refer to the products intended use beyond entertainment and also for the industry it is used by, industries like defence, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion, and politics. It’s important to note that a serious game can run on pretty much any platform - the term is more focused on the approach to game development for learning than any technology it runs on. 

Virtual Reality Games: Games that use a Virtual Reality headset such as the Oculus Rift (OR) or smartphone via Google Cardboard and where the game world is presented to encompass your entire field of view – even your peripheral vision. These games aim to place you at the centre of the experience so when you turn your head you turn in the game world too! These games often incorporate visualisations or simulations as control mechanisms and are incredibly immersive! Virtual Reality is used by AAA games as well as serious games. 

Alternate Reality Games:  Alternate Reality Games (or ARG’s) provide an interactive narrative based in the real world via the use of mobile platforms and everyday technology such as email and smartphones.. Narratives occur in real time and are intended to feel more real and immersive to a player as they play themselves in the scenario rather than assume another’s identity. See I Love Bees (a promotion for Halo 2) and Find 815 (promoting the television show Lost).

Augmented Reality Games: Augmented Reality Games (also known as ARG’s) are a live view of the real-world but with augmented or additional/modified elements. These modifications are made through sound, images and video and serve to enhance the users perception of the environment viewed through a camera, usually from a smartphone or through special glasses. Information presented to the user is overlaid directly onto the real world.

Gamification: Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and processes in order to encourage people to adopt them. The technique can encourage people to perform chores that they ordinarily consider boring, such as completing surveys, shopping, filling out tax forms, or reading websites. Gamification applies individual game design mechanics to non game systems.