Say farewell to the book blues – IMC AG is producing serious games for scoyo.de
Saarbrücken, 27 February 2009 – IMC AG, Europe’s leading supplier of learning technology, has opened up yet another growth area. On behalf of scoyo GmbH, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, the software company based in Saarbrücken is developing so-called serious games, which are intended to complement teaching carried out in schools. The target group is pupils in the first three years of secondary school who are studying German as a first language. Dr Kathrin Bergenthal, director of content services at IMC AG, explains: “Using our story-based learning approach, we are able to tap into the youngsters’ audiovisual habits. By so doing, e-learning can lend itself to classic entertainment formats such as cartoons, sitcoms and radio plays.”
Serious or educational games represent a valuable complement to traditional teaching media because they create a direct involvement between the pupils and the teaching material. The programme of study is contained within stories and represented as an animation. There is a whole variety of different exercises and games, which offer the pupils stimuli that can both reinforce and take learning further.
Innovative approach
“With the introduction of the so-called ‘G8’ (an eight-year fast-track curriculum) at secondary schools, the need for additional support during the first three years has increased dramatically,” explains Dr Ralf Schremper, CEO at scoyo GmbH. “That is why we have developed a unique concept that enables us to bring an element of fun to learning among this age group using interactive modules. Our website scoyo.de is specifically aimed at encouraging youngsters to discover the world of learning for themselves. This can take place in their free time, without any classroom pressure and, of course, with no adverts.” According to Schremper, the product will be available via subscription. The flat rate for use of the whole platform, including all contents, costs €9.99 per month for one year, €14.99 per month for six months and €19.99 per month for three months.
By visiting the website scoyo.de, the youngsters can delve into many different thematic areas, including the world of the “Urbanos” developed by IMC AG. In the run-up to the project, extensive market research was carried out by IMC before decisions were made regarding the characters and storylines. IMC AG is developing more than 200 modules for the thematic areas, each lasting 15 minutes. The stories all involve a motley group of friends, who are all in the same year at school and who love nothing more than spending their free time together at the sports centre, the youth club or in town.
A great challenge
The combination of animation and e-learning content has set our production team a series of great challenges. “We have appointed a total of 60 team members for this project. Traditional cartoon animators, illustrators, GUI designers and programmers are working in close partnership with each other on this complex and intricate project. Flash and flex technologies are being pushed to the absolute limit in the process,” explains Bergenthal.
Content production for IMC AG is not new territory. However, CEO Dr Wolfgang Kraemer understands that a new dimension in the company’s development has been reached. “This project represents for us a strategic expansion into the edutainment sector. Not only are we able to excel in project management, learning technology and didactic design – but also in the art of entertainment on a high level. In our opinion, serious games will very quickly find their way into the business sector, as they lend themselves very easily to almost all areas of corporate life – training, professional development and recruitment. It is our intention to play a part in this development.”
