Use Game Design to Solve Real-World Problems
A hands-on, customized Serious Game Design workshop with Gabe Mac.
Bring your team a real challenge.
In this four-hour workshop, participants learn how game designers look at systems: through players, goals, rules, actions, feedback, motivation and game mechanics.
Then they apply those tools directly to your organization’s problem, work in teams, and rapidly prototype new approaches.
This is not another passive training session — and it is not a “points, badges and leaderboards” gamification seminar.
Designed for 10–30 participants. In-person workshops available in Atlanta / North Georgia and by arrangement elsewhere.
“This takes the BS out of Gamification.”
“This workshop is the equivalent to the first semester of a Game Design Master’s program, in a few hours.”
What youR TEAM will learn
THINK LIKE A GAME DESIGNER
The Game Beyond at DLD Women in Munich, Germany
Game designers build systems that people voluntarily enter, learn, explore and respond to. Those same design tools can be used far beyond games.
Participants learn how to work with:
• GOALS — What outcome are we trying to create?
• RULES — What constraints and structures shape behavior?
• ACTIONS — What can the participant actually do?
• FEEDBACK — How does the system respond?
• PLAYERS — Who is participating, and what motivates them?
• MECHANICS — What patterns of interaction influence behavior?
• CHOICE — Where can people make meaningful decisions?
• SYSTEMS — What happens when all of these elements interact?
By the end of the workshop, teams have used these tools to explore and prototype responses to a real challenge.
“It was a very good presentation, Gabe is a great talker and really knows how to gain the attention of the audience. It was a pleasure taking this workshop. Now I’m gonna get deeper into Gamification.”
LEARN IT. EXPERIENCE IT. APPLY IT.
TEACH
Gabe introduces a practical Serious Game Design framework built from more than 20 years of teaching, speaking and applied creative work.
EXPERIENCE
The workshop itself uses teams, challenges, time limits, game mechanics, rapid exercises and participation. You learn game design by experiencing it.
APPLY
Teams work on a real organizational problem and build an early concept or paper prototype.
DEBRIEF
Teams share what they created, examine what behavior their system might produce, and discuss how the ideas could be tested and improved.
Q&A
The four-hour format leaves dedicated time for questions with Gabe and discussion of how the method could apply elsewhere in the organization.
ONE METHOD. DIFFERENT PROBLEMS.
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Design training people actually want to participate in.
Explore how goals, challenge, feedback, choice and motivation can make learning more active and engaging.
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Design better customer engagement.
Look at customers as players in a system and explore how mechanics, feedback and meaningful choices can influence participation.
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Solve problems like a game designer.
Turn a complex challenge into players, goals, rules, actions and feedback — then prototype alternatives.
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Item descriptionMove from passive learning to active experience.
Use game-design thinking to create systems where learners act, experiment, receive feedback and progress.
MORE THAN A GOOD AFTERNOON
Participants leave with:
• a repeatable framework for looking at systems like a game designer;
• a shared language for goals, rules, actions and feedback;
• exposure to behavioral and gameplay mechanics;
• a Game Beyond worksheet / cheat sheet;
• experience applying the method to a real problem;
• early prototype ideas where appropriate.
The goal is not to leave with a finished product.
The goal is to leave seeing the problem differently — with a practical method the team can use again.
NOT A CANNED WORKSHOP
Before the session, Gabe learns about your organization, audience and challenge.
Each workshop includes client research, relevant case studies, and adaptation of the deck and exercises so the examples support the problem your team is actually trying to solve.
The core Game Beyond method stays consistent.
The context changes for you.
MEET GABE MAC
Gabe Mac is a game designer, educator and international speaker with more than 20 years of experience teaching game design, new media and interactive design.
He has taught at institutions including HKU, HAN University of Applied Sciences and Media College Amsterdam, and has worked on interactive and game-design projects for organizations including Microsoft, Ben & Jerry’s and Domino’s.
His work has included award-winning projects such as Microsoft’s Silver Line Society, winner of a 2011 Silver SpinAward for Best Gaming Concept.
Gabe has spoken internationally at conferences including DLD - Munich, Le Web - Paris, Picnic - Amsterdam, Webcom - Montreal, La Red Innova - Madrid and the Monaco Media Forum.
The Game Beyond is the methodology and platform through which he teaches teams how to apply game-design thinking beyond games.
THE HALF-DAY WORKSHOP
• Approximately 4 hours
• 10–30 participants
• In-person, team-based format
• Customized to your organization
• Client research and deck adaptation included
• Exercises, workshop materials and take-home worksheet included
• Dedicated Q&A
• Follow-up consulting available separately if required
SOME PREVIOUS COMPANIES THAT HAVE TAKEN THE WORKSHOP
WHAT PROBLEM COULD YOUR TEAM REDESIGN?
Tell us what your organization is working on.
The first step is a short conversation to see whether the Game Beyond workshop is a good fit for your team, challenge and event.
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