Making Games Not Work: Paradoxes Embedded in Game-Based Training and Concepts for Overcoming Them

An interest in game-based training solutions is natural. All one has to do is watch someone fully engaged in a modern game to see the potential of harnessing that attention for training. However, the reality of game-based training has not fully satisfied these expectations. This paper explains two paradoxes that must be overcome for games to support training. These paradoxes are a result of the realities of the basic human condition clashing with the requirements of learning theory. 80th paradoxes arise from the concept of "engagement" that is central to games. The first comes from a more robust definition of engagement, which is the condition of Flow or Optimal Experience. Flow is the state game developers want to see in users. One aspect of Flow is loss of sense of self as the individual becomes immersed in the experience. The paradox arises because this loss of self directly contradicts the learning requirement of self-reflection. The second paradox comes from theories of play, which state in part that play requires a level of individual freedom. The contradiction arises when game-based play must be harnessed to an organizational training program or regimen. The paper will discuss these paradoxes in the context of an effort to design a game-based training modality to train combat medics and will close with a review of compensating strategies identified by the designers. The paper will provide information important to anyone interested in conceptualizing and designing game-based training.