Immersive Technologies Strategies April 2013 E-Newsletter

1. In this Newsletter
 Recent activities and news update
 The De Montfort University Games Festival
 Gamification Workshops in Malaysia and Thailand
 Thaisim 2013 and ASEAN Workshop
 Call for Workshop Proposals GALA Serious Games Conference at Dassault Systemes HQ, Paris
 Invitation for EC-TEL eLearning Video Interviews
 ImReal Augmented Virtuality Video
 The use of Machinima for business communication – great examples
 Caspian Learning White Papers on Games Based Learning
 Totem Learning’s Launch Offer
 SoundSelf Kickstarter Project
 Unity Serious Games Web Site
 Upcoming Conferences and Seminars
 Heroes Gallery –Cathy Davidson, Rohit Talwar and Kevin Williams
 Slideshare Archives
Recent Activities and News Update
The last 2 months have been very busy with the organising and running of the De Montfort University International Games Festival
and gamification workshops in Malaysia and Thailand. My Research Fellowship contract at De Montfort University was completed
at the end of March and I am now seeking fresh challenges in the UK and internationally whilst continuing my partnership
relationship with Imaginary, the Serious Games specialists based in Milan.
I am now able to offer a customised “Gamification Workshop” in a variety of formats from half-day taster sessions to intensive
three day workshops which include some hands-on development exercises. The charge for these workshops is negotiable
depending on the numbers involved and any ongoing mutual business opportunities the workshops might generate.
An example of a two day workshop structure can be downloaded at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/gamification-workshop-
structure
De Montfort University International Games Festival Feb 25-28
Annette Crisp, DMU Senior Lecturer in Criminology with her avatar
De Montfort University held its first international games festival from February 25th to 28th in which 24 presenters from the UK and
Europe came together to showcase the practical application of games technologies and methodologies across a variety of
sectors……
Feb 25th – Culture, Heritage and Tourism Agenda
Feb 26th – Health and Wellbeing Agenda
Feb 27th – Community Empowerment and Engagement Agenda
Feb 28th – Creativity Technologies and Immersive Experiences Agenda
There were many highlights over the four day conference which was organised in partnership with De Montfort University’s
annual Cultural Exchanges Festival.
Day One saw David Friel of Virtualware,a leading Spanish serious games developer discussing ad demonstrating the use of the
Microsoft Kinect to fly over and explore tourism sites. Students from DMU’s Game Art Design course spoke about the 3D
visualisation of the Roslyn Chapel for an interactive tourist application. Eric Tatham and Nick Higgett from DMU illustrated
augmented reality applications on their Virtual Romans project. Kevin Williams, Founder of the Out of Home Entertainment Digital
Network Association (DNA), gave a fascinating insight into the future of immersive technologies for attracting visitors to retail
centres and theme parks. Steve Thompson from Teesside University shared his experiences of using immersive applications to
attract support for a tourism project in the North East of England.
In the afternoon session, Jacqueline Cawston, Projects Director at the Serious Games Institute, described serious games
applications to support cultural heritage in Shakespeare’s Stratford upon Avon and Nelson Mandella I South Africa..John Martin of
De Montfort University discussed a serious game called “Beat the Ministry” on the theme of Wartime Farming. The day closed
with Adam Russell of Birmingham based WallFour showing an innovative crowd interaction application.
Day Two on the theme of Health and Wellbeing, sponsored by Imaginary srl, began with a keynote presentation from Lucia
Pannese of Milan based serious games developers Imaginary on the topic of “Virtual Environments for Games Based reflective
learning. Imaginary are the development partners for the Europea FP7 “MIRROR” project. Lucia was followed by Jacqueline
Cawston’s presentation about the development of serious Game for health and initiatives within the Serious Games Institute.
David Friel of Virtualware,,the leading Spanish serious games developer discussed and demonstrated a Microsoft Kinect being
used for patient rehabilitation. Duncan Lawson of Instyle Fitness closed the morning session with a practical demonstration of how
virtual reality can be used as a catalyst for innovative health sector partnerships.
The afternoon session began with David Burden’s presentation on the use of virtual worlds for healthcare. David is the Managing
Director and Founder of Birmingham based Daden Ltd., one of the longest established and leading virtual world specialists. The
final session came from Cat Oxley and Kate Owen of Great Ormond Street hospital who jointly told the story of how they
developed a training application in Caspian Learning’s Thinking Worlds to teach nurses the correct use of a hoist for immobile
patients.
Day Three took place in the community centre in the heart of DMUs Square Mile project. The keynote presenter was Steve
Thompson who showed how machinima was used in his community to engage the support of local people for a project known as
“The Great Adventure”. Lucia Pannese of Italian serious games developer Imaginary presented on “Green Mobility” and the use of
serious games to engage citizens in environmental projects. DMU Senior Lecturer Annette Crisp discussed the use of virtual worlds
and avatars on her Criminology course. Peter Shelton of the First Movement Charity in Derbyshire closed the morning session with
a presentation on Interactive Installations for adults with learning disabilities. Eric Tatham and Nick Higgett from DMU illustrated
augmented reality applications on their Virtual Romans project in the closing session in the afternoon.
Day Four on the festival was hosted at the Phoenix Arts Centre in Leicester and was sponsored by Dassault Systemes. The day’s
keynote presentation came from Helen Routledge of Totem Learning on their use of Immersive Technologies and serious games

2. for Education. Professor Martin Rieser from DMU spoke about Immersive and Locative Experiences and he was followed by a
former DMU graduate, now lead Artist at Codemasters, James Roadley-Battin who spoke about the challenges faced by today’s
entertainment games industry. Event organiser David Wortley spoke briefly about the Future of 3D Immersive Experiences before
DMU’s Lorenzo Picinali closed the morning with a presentation on 3D audio applications for the Blind.
The afternoon session was opened by DMU’s Professor Ernest Edmonds discussing the human factors in engagement and he was
followed by Sean Clark of Cuttlefish on bridging art and science. Tre Azam of MyndPlay gave a fascinating insight into the use of
brainwave technology for innovative serious games.The final presentation of the games festival was delivered by Dylan Menzies a
DMU Senior Lecturer on the topic of “Next Generation Environmental Sound Synthesis for Virtual Worlds.”
All the presenters have expressed a willingness to share their presentations and/or respond to further enquiries by using the links
above.
Gamification Workshops in Malaysia and Thailand
Gamification Workshop Presentation at Universiti Putra Malaysia March 2013
A four week trip to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bangkok in Thailand began with Gamification workshops at the Grand
Millennium Hotel in KL and the Universiti Putra Malaysia at Cyberjaya. Both workshops ran for two days and focused on the use of
gamification methodologies to address some of the challenges of 21st century learning.
The Grand Millennium workshop was delivered to corporate training specialists on behalf of the Global Knowledge Group who
provide event and education services to large organisations in the public and private sector across Asia. The Global Knowledge
workshop participants were senior training managers from corporate organisations. Their primary interest was in the impact of
technology on their training challenges and all had direct experience of some of the most common challenges faced by human
resources and training staff across the globe :-
 Generation Y Digital native’s demand for more engaging learning experiences
 Staff turnover and loss of training investment
 Shift from classroom based knowledge transfer to learner centric collaborative learning
 How to use emerging technologies to best advantage
 Role of serious games
The structure of the two day version of the workshop can be downloaded here. The cost of delivering the “Play with Purpose”
workshop ranges from £400 for a “Breakfast Boardroom Briefing” executive taster to £4500 for a fully customised three day
workshop which would include some hands-on development. Please contact me at david@davidwortley.com if you would like to
discuss these options further.
The second workshop took place on the campus of Universiti Putra Malaysia where the delegates were academic staff across
several faculties exploring the value of incorporating gamification and serious games within the university’s course offerings and
teaching practices. There was a very positive reaction and a lot of enthusiasm for further development of these practices.
Thaisim 2013 and ASEAN Workshop
Professor David Crookall working with Thaisim workshop delegates
The annual Thaisim conference on games based learning and educational technologies is one of the very few conferences that I
would automatically include in my calendar if at all possible. The enthusiasm of the delegates and the level of interactivity in the
sessions is unparalleled anywhere in the world. This is due to a very large extent to the involvement of Professor David Crookall
from Nice university in France. David is a highly experienced practitioner in the use of games in education and has been
developing all kinds of games-based learning activities for many years both with and without any technology.
Thaisim began with the 1st ASEAN region workshop for leading teachers and students across the ASEAN region. This took place at
the Cholapruek resort in Nakhonnayak, outside Bangkok. Around 100 delegates were chosen from across the whole of South East
Asia. All of the games exercises run by David were paper based and collaborative but the workshop did include a technology
enhanced session developed to help with a forestry management project and designed to be used by farmers as a tool to support
sustainable development.
The Thaisim 2013 conference began immediately after the ASEAN workshop and was located in Bangkok. Images and videos from
both the ASEAN workshop and Thaisim 2013 can be viewed at http://www.davidwortley.com/conferences.html. The conference
concluded with an awards ceremony at a major exhibition venue in Bangkok and featured a beautiful vocal tribute to the ASEAN
workshop by a young student – see http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/thaisim-certificate-ceremony-student-tribute-to-asean-
workshop
Call for Workshop Proposals GALA Serious Games Conference
Microsoft Research Program Manager Donald Brinkman at VS-Games 2012 in Genoa
I have agreed to act as the chair for the workshop sessions at this year’s GALA conference which is to be held on the campus of
Dassault Systemes HQ in Paris from October 23rd to 25th. Last year’s conference included an excellent practical workshop run by
Imaginary and some super keynote presentations including a fascinating insight into a gamification of further education project
from Microsoft’s Research Program Manager Donald Brinkman.

3. I will be running a gamification workshop at the GALA conference and I welcome any proposals for practical and interactive
workshop on serious games and gamification themes. Please email any draft proposals to me at david@davidwortley.com. .
The GALA conference brings together industry and academia and this year’s event in Paris is an excellent opportunity to
experience some leading edge 3D immersive technologies being developed by Dassault Systemes.
Invitation for EC-TEL eLearning Video Interviews
HP Training Manager Devan being interviewed in Kuala Lumpur
The European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC TEL) is due to be held in Paphos, Cyprus in September. Details of
the conference and registration can be found at http://www.ec-tel.eu/. I am working with Imaginary to develop a short video
compilation of industry’s views of some of the challenges of 21st century learning and the role of technology in addressing these
issues. I would like to invite readers of this newsletter to take part in these interviews which we can organise via a skype video call.
The questions we will be seeking views on are shown below :-
1. What is your name, job title and organisation ?
2. How many staff are you responsible for training ?
3. What sector does your organisation operate in ?
4. What skills do you need to develop for them ?
5. What technology do you currently use to enhance learning ?
6. How do you support distance learning ?
7. What technology do you use to enhance face to face learning ?
8. Do your your trainers act as knowledge disseminators or facilitators for peer to peer and/or self-directed learning ?
9. What impact do you see Generation Y having on training ?
10.What is your biggest challenge in learning and development today ?
11.What do you think will be the next technology you will employ to enhance learning in your organisation ?
12.In the longer term, are there any emerging technologies that you see as having a major impact on Technology Enhanced
Learning ?
13. How can you ensure that your learning activities have a long-lasting impact?
If you would like to share your views on these issues, please contact me at david@davidwortley.com
ImReal Augmented Virtuality Video
Opening screen of ImREAL Project Video
The ImREAL is a European project funded under the Framework 7 program. ImREAL aims to close the gap between the “real
world” and “virtual world” by developing a simulated learning environment that focuses on simulation systems for interpersonal
communication in multicultural business environments.
The latest video developed by Imaginary, the projects serious games development partner, is designed to give a quick insight into
how “augmented virtuality” can provide an alternative approach to the development of interpersonal communications in
multicultural business environments and act as a growing corporate knowledge repository.
The video is accessible on YouTube at http://youtu.be/fywNuRZztUY
The use of Machinima for business communication – great examples
Screenshot from Steve Thompson’s presentation on the use of Machinima to secure project funding
Machinima is the use of video games and virtual worlds technologies to create videos which represent and communicate activities
and ideas that would be impossible, impractical or too expensive using traditional means. One important application of machinima
is its use to inform or persuade viewers without spending large sums of money.
One of the most popular platforms for recording machinima is the virtual world Second Life which I used some years ago to create
a virtual tour of the Serious Games Institute that could be accessible anywhere in the globe. That video is available to view on my
slideshare page at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/serious-games-institute-tour
Steve Thompson of Teesside University is a very skilled user of Machinima and Second Life as a platform for social enterprise
projects in the North East of England. Steve presented some of his work in this area at the DMU Games Festival and his full
presentations are available online at http://bit.ly/st-dmu http://bit.ly/st-dmu2
I have posted a video Steve created with the support of leading politicians and community champions that illustrates how
effective this approach can be – see the Supermayor video at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/machinima-example-project
The ImREAL video produced by Imaginary is another good example of Machinima best practices and if you would like to discuss its

4. use in your own organisation, you can contact Imaginary’s Valentina Ionadi at valentina.ionadi@i-maginary.it .
Caspian Learning White Papers on Games Based Learning
Screenshot from Caspian Learning Case Study
Caspian Learning have won numerous awards for their games based learning development platform Thinking Worlds. As one of
the longest established and most respected companies in the sector, Caspian has a very useful repository of white papers and case
studies on game based learning. They are now making these available free of charge to anyone registering on their web site at
http://www.caspianlearning.co.uk/whitepapers
Totem Learning’s Launch Offer
Totem Learning has recently offered a launch promotion to develop a customised serious game at a very affordable cost for small
to medium businesses. Totem were recently formed as a result of the management buy-out of one the industry’s most reputable
games based learning companies – PixeLearning and bring with them highly experienced staff and a very strong development
team.
You can find details of their launch offer at http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/totem-learning-personalised-serious-game-offer
or by contacting Victoria Rose at victoriajanerose@gmail.com.
SoundSelf Kickstarter Project
Soundself Web Site Banner
Accessible technologies such as social networks, virtual worlds and creative development tools make it possible for independent
and small developers to produce highly successful commercial serious and casual games. Funding for these projects is available
through “crowd sourcing” and social network communities such as Kickstarter. Soundself is an innovative development project
that will allow users to control personalised graphic animations with their voice.
The business model of kickstarter project offers different types of packages to investors depending on how much money is
pledged. To get an idea of how this works visit the Soundself Kickstarter page at
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/soundself/soundself?fb_action_ids=10151601444839532&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_sou
rce=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
Unity 3D Serious Games Web Site
One of the most popular and successful platforms for games development is Unity 3D which is free to download for non-
commercial use. Unity has been adopted as something of an industry standard, not least because of the visual realism that can be
achieved within the platform.
Unity have recently launched a serious games web site – see http://unity3d.com/company/sim/
Upcoming Conferences
Below is a list of forthcoming conferences – also accessible at http://www.davidwortley.com/events.html
Date Event Name / Description Location Web URL
May 8 SGI Second Wednesday Seminar - Smart Cities: Coventry, UK http://www.eventsforce.net/c
New Digital Technologies and Computer u/278/register
Modelling
May 13- VANZ 2013 Conference - Virtual Australia and Sydney, Australia http://www.vanzi.com.au/
14 New Zealand Infrastructure
May 20 - Digital Shoreditch - one of the Uk’s leading Shoreditch, London http://digitalshoreditch.com/
26 digital games and creative technologies events
May 27 - Fifth International Conference on Creative Valencia, Spain http://www.iaria.org/confere
June 1 Content Technologies nces2013/CONTENT13.html
May 27 - Third International Conference on Business Valencia, Spain http://www.iaria.org/confere
June 1 Intelligence and technology nces2013/BUSTECH13.html
May 29- E-Learning Africa 2013 Windhoek, Namibia http://www.icwe.net
31
June 5-7 ACCESS 2013 International Congress on Singapore http://www.accesscongress.o rg/
Advances in
Citizen, Cyberspace and Environment Safety &
Security
June 10- *EUROMEDIA'2013* University of Lincoln, UK http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/ho me
12
17th Annual International European Media
Conference 2013
June 12 SGI Second Wednesday Seminar - Our Health: Coventry, UK http://www.eventsforce.net/c
Using Digital Technologies for therapy and u/278/register
awareness raising around health issues
June 18- 10th E-Learn Expo Moscow Conference - Moscow, Russia www.elearnexpo.ru
19 Modern Technologies for Training in Companies
and Educational Institutions

5. June 24- ISAGA 2013 - Experimental Interactive Learning Stockholm, Sweden http://www.isaga2013.net
25 in Industrial Management
July 13-21 Euracademy event - Culture and Landscape Loski Potok, Slovenia http://www.euracademy.org
contributions to Rural Development
July 16-19 The 9th International Conference on Intelligent Athens, Greece http://www.intenv.org/
Environments
Aug 20-22 Serious Play Conference Digipen University, USA http://seriousgamesmarket.b
logspot.co.uk/2012/11/save-date-
2013-serious-play.html
Aug 26-28 SGSC Conference 2012 Singapore http://www.seriousgamescon
ference.org/
Aug 26-30 ISDE 2013 - Digital Earth Symposium Borneo Convention http://www.isde2013kuching. com
Centre, Kuching,
Sarawack
Sept 11- VS-Games Conference Bournemouth, UK http://www.vsgames2013.o rg
13
Sept 17- ECTEL Conference on Technology Enhanced Paphos, Cyprus http://www.ec-tel.eu/
21 Learning
Sept 25- 4th International Conference on Serious Games Trondheim, Norway http://ddsgsa.net/sgda
27 Development and Applications
Oct 23-25 GALA Serious Games Conference Dassault Systemes,11 http://www.galaconf.org/
Paris, France
Nov 4-5 Games for Health Europe Utrecht, Netherlands http://www.gamesforhealthe
urope.org
Heroes Gallery – Cathy Davidson and Rohit Talwar
Cathy Davidson
I first met Cathy Davidson at a workshop on games and immersive technologies in Daejong, Korea several years ago. Cathy was
one of the keynote presenters at the conference. Since that time, I have followed her passionate contributions to bridging science
and the arts through the HASTAC community. Cathy is a genuine global thought leader whose positive influence will be felt across
the globe.
Rohit Talwar
Rohit is the editor of the Futurescape newsletter. I have known his work over as number of years. He is a very respected
futurologist and, like Cathy Davidson, is a very influential global thought leader whose views on the impact of technology on
business and society I share..
For more details of Rohit’s work, visit his FastFuture web site
Archived Presentations, Images and Videos
I am archiving as many of my previous presentation, videos and event images as possible. You can access these from my web site
at :- http://www.davidwortley.com/conferences.html or visit my Slideshare page at :- http://www.slideshare.net/dwortley/
If you would like any presentations, videos or documents circulated to my network, I am happy to provide this service free of
charge for any material relevant to readers of this newsletter. If you are interested, contact me at david@davidwortley.com.
Best Regards
David Wortley FRSA
Founder of Immersive Technology Strategies
Email : mailto:david@davidwortley.com?subject=General Enquiry
Skype: davidwortley
Second Life : Hobson Hoggard
Web: http://www.davidwortley.com
New Book: www.gadgetstogodbook.com
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