Mission-Based Serious Games for Cross-Cultural Communication Training

Appropriate cross-cultural communication requires a critical skill set that is increasingly being integrated into regular military training regimens. By enabling a higher order of communication skills, military personnel are able to interact more effectively in situations that involve local populations, host nation forces, and multinational partners. The Virtual Cultural Awareness Trainer (VCAT) is specifically designed to help address these needs. VCAT is deployed by Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) on Joint Knowledge Online (JKO) as a means to provide online, mission-based culture and language training to deploying and deployed troops. VCAT uses a mix of game-based learning, storytelling, tutoring, and remediation to assist in developing the component skills required for successful intercultural communication in mission-based settings.