Video games to be developed to educate students

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) and Ubisoft, a French video game publisher, have collaborated to develop and distribute video games for educational purposes targeting diverse audience ranging from school students to adults all over the world, as an attempt to create a more efficient and fun learning experience.

While UNESCO focuses on sustainable development and utilising education for building peaceful and sustainable societies across the world, Ubisoft researchers are keen on developing games that promote collaboration and cooperation rather than violence and competition.

Speaking with DNA, Dr Anantha K Duraiappah, Director, UNESCO (MGIEP) said that the idea is to keep the fun and educate as many people as possible.

Zigor Hernandorena Juarros, Senior Project Manager, Fun Learning Department, Ubisoft, emphasised the idea of making video games available for all regardless their economic or health status, "Not everybody can afford a console or the video games, ideally they should be free and the idea is to make personal computers or webpage friendly games, while maintaining the triple-A quality and graphics," he said.

The games will be also be developed keeping in mind mentally challenged children. When asked about how the idea surfaced, Juarros recalled the time when he had to visit his son's school and realized that in the last 100-200 years a lot has changed around the world, except the teaching process which is still done using a blackboard, at the most a smart board, but he wants to change that and thinks that creating the games would help change the way the world has been inculcating education into children, but this time with a lot of fun.