Case Study: Build a high-end internal E-learning development team capable of offsetting its operating cost with external revenue.

Usually, internal training departments are pure cost centers. We set out to change this.In 2007, our internal corporate training department, internal to a Fortune 300 company, brought in $250,000 in revenue by building high-end E-learning materials for external clients.

The following instructional game represents the skill level of teams I have recruited, built and developed. The excellent graphic design here was created by David Butler. Skillful Flash Actionscript game programming was provided by Tony Nguyen.

The game reinforces the original series on HBO. There was some confusion regarding which premium channels carried what series. It was a smashing field success, so much so that we had to limit play time, as the audience was playing the game repeatedly - no one said it wasn't designed to be fun!

The concept is themed on a Hollywood paparazzi driving down the strip taking photos. The strip is dark until a particular show logo is photographed with the camera cursor, causing that area to become brightly lit and colored.

Game-based learning adds the powerful extra dimension of psychological excitement. Just as people bond when in exciting situations, i.e. going snowboarding, or in battle, learners bond with content to an additional degree when they presented with material in exciting, fun situations.

Here's the opening screen of the game:

 

Here's a half-lit strip. The star is the cursor that learners use to 'shoot' pictures, in this case the ROME logo. This provided arcade, 'twitch' gaming fun without the usual guns, or other work-inappropriate themes:

 

Here's the camera flash going off as the learner shoots the entourage logo:

 

Here's the post-camera shoot board, showing which series' the learner got a shot of, and how many points ($) each is worth:

 

Learners were able to watch a number of mini-movies from the series' depending on their score, after they 'cashed out' in the previous screen. This further reinforced the content: