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Serious Games For Successful Project Mgmt


Via: RANJ Serious Games – Sharkworld: A Project Management Game

Sharkworld is an intense experience of the exciting daily activities of an international project manager.

The game allows aspiring project managers to experiment with project management in a setting where game and the real world are flawlessly intertwined.



The game is played via both the online and mobile channels.

Projects develop in (accelerated) real-time (24/7) so players have to keep up with a fast pace and act and intervene immediately.

Additionally Sharkworld is propelled by an underlying suspense story. The story is set in Shanghai, where a high-tech large scale shark aquarium is being built on an Olympic location. A Dutch installation company got the job but their last project manager on site has mysteriously disappeared. The Sharkworld player has to take his place. To successfully finish the project he needs to cooperate with for example the Chinese customer, the Chinese authorities and the workers on site. The game interacts with players in many different ways: through websites (both fictional and real), cut scenes, e-mail, newspaper articles, chat, voice-mails and text messages (on the players own telephone).


Sharkworld allows aspiring project managers to experiment and gain experience with key aspects of project management in a highly entertaining and motivating setting. This online game creates a convincing virtual environment in which a project is developed in real time, urging the management trainee to interfere when things go wrong, or preferably, before they do. Several suspense scenarios increase the entertainment value of the game.

Sharkworld covers not only economic aspects of project management like planning and budgeting, but also social aspects, such as conflict management, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills. Sharkworld is available in English.

In November 2008, Sharkworld was the top award winner of EIGA – European Innovative Games Awards.

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About RANJ Games

RANJ is the Sanskrit word for "to entertain".

RANJ Serious Games BV is a creative studio specialized in the development of Serious Games based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Founded in 1999, RANJ applies game technology to “serious” industries, focusing on four Serious Games Market segments: education, business & corporate training, healthcare and marketing & communication.

Over the past 10 years RANJ has refined its Serious Games development expertise, transforming problem solving challenges into appealing and entertaining gameplay.

Business models:

Work-for-hire
Strategic partnerships for development and publishing
Licensing existing engines and IP

Patent product/concept:

Large portfolio of existing IP based products in the field of Serious Games
Serious Games solutions to specific problems
Online browser based isometric engine

Technology:

One of their game engines is a multi-user isometric flash engine. Features:
Browser based online
Based on Flash ActionScript3
Isometric levels
Integrated mini games
Elevation and layers
Data sharing
Fade out of objects in line of sight (occlusion)
Chat