Coventry-based Serious Games Institute could help firms through the recession

Sep 30 2009 by Anna Blackaby, Birmingham Post

“When a man wants to buy something he will get what he wants as quickly as possible and pay as little as possible.

“It’s not a pleasurable experience – the online technology has been developed to help you place your order and the intelligence is built around remembering what it is you like to buy.

“There is a different kind of shopping which has not really been properly developed – I call it ‘experiential shopping’ or ‘women’s shopping’.

“It’s the equivalent of going to the Shires in Leicester and meeting your friend, seeing what’s new, trying things on and socialising.

“That hasn’t been a possibility until now so we are a complete thought leader in the area of virtual commerce.”

One example of this is a virtual farmers market, developed by a Serious Games Institute virtual tenant, which allows the shopper to wander around various stands and view a 90-second clip of the farm owner talking about the produce for sale.

As well as retail, manufacturing firms could also gain a lot by looking into serious games and how they can help them interact with customers and showcase their products, according to Mr Wortley.

“When you look at the more traditional industries, serious games can be used by manufacturers to show designs in 3D and clients can have a look at their technology in the virtual world,” he added.

“These are the things that will give traditional industries competitive advantage.”

The Serious Games Institute is holding an open day on Friday from noon until 3pm where local firms and organisations can find out more about the work going on at the centre.

Email Rsgi@cad.coventry.ac.uk  to book.