Bottom-Line Performance Inc. (BLP) specializes in custom eLearning, game-based learning and mobile solutions. President Sharon Boller strategically emphasized games (which are also her passion) as a viable learning solution for our clients years before they were the latest trend in corporate learning. That dedication paid off last week, as Formulation Type Matters, a game we developed for Dow AgroSciences, was named a finalist in the 2013 Serious Game Showcase and Challenge in the “Business” category.
The game is just one example of the custom learning games we create for our clients.
“We were intrigued by the possibility of an interactive game format as a learning tool,” said Marc Fisher, Global Technology Transfer Leader at Dow AgroSciences. “The finished course resonated with our sales reps and engaged them in the learning experience in a way our other solutions had not yet supplied.”
Formulation Type Matters is a scenario-driven game where sales reps are transported to the Hinterlands, a fictional island where their interactions with customers in their territory positively and negatively impact their sales. Fisher noted that the game intentionally does not control the learner’s path, much like they would encounter in typical customer interactions.
“Formulation type has a major impact on a product’s performance,” said Fisher. “The game provides a fun, engaging and challenging way to learn this highly technical information, and reinforces the availability of downloadable fast facts guides as resources on this topic for new hire sales. We are extremely pleased to have this learning game in our toolbox.”
The Serious Games Showcase & Challenge began in 2005 to “stimulate industry creativity and generate institutional interest towards the use of digital game technology and approaches for training and education.” The Challenge partners with the organizers of the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) and the National Training Systems Association (NTSA). A panel of industry experts select the winners in each category, while participants in the annual I/ITSEC conference will vote for the “People’s Choice Award.”
The BLP team will showcase Formulation Type Matters at the 2013 I/ITSEC conference in Orlando, December 2-5, 2013 in Orlando. The conference is attended by 20,000+ professionals in the serious games/simulations industry annually.
