UK Serious Games Trade Body Announces Action Plan

The founding board members of British trade body ANGILS (Alliance for New Generation Interactive Leisure and Simulations) have met for the organization’s inaugural board meeting, in an attempt to promote and support the burgeoning serious games market. ANGILS was originally founded in 2003 as a non-profit network group for those interested in the use of games and related technologies in non-games industry applications. The organization re-organized itself in October 2006 into a full trade body offering membership to both individuals and organizations. Martine Parry, CEO said: “There are a number of commercial and educational first-adopter applications of serious games that include: personalized learning, exer-gaming and corporate education. Representing many of the leading serious games clients and suppliers we are in a position to identify the ‘big rocks’ – the pressing needs of organizations and educational establishments that drive adoption – and then to assemble working parties lead by specialists in their fields to focus on mapping pragmatic solutions.” “We need to drill down to present the value of serious games to the commercial and educational markets to widen our understanding of how to position them: from engagement through productivity to mission-critical outcomes. This is the main aim of the working parties”, she added. Jim Piggot, CEO of serious games developer TPLD and founding member of ANGILS said: “There are many organizations chartered with a wide range of aspects related to Games Based Learning (GBL). However we believe that ANGILS will provide a catalyst to help identify and resolve the business issues impeding the growth of the industry." Further information, including the organization’s report on the dynamics of the market in Europe for corporate learning games, can be found at the official ANGILS website.