User-Centred Design in a Complex Environment
One of the project’s key challenges was the wide variety of users, ranging from highly technical staff to employees with little experience using digital tools. To address this, the development process relied heavily on co-creation and user research.
Through interviews, surveys, observations, and workshops, the team developed personas representing different staff profiles and involved them throughout the design process. Paper prototyping and iterative playtesting helped shape the gameplay, interface, and learning experience, ensuring the final product remained accessible and relevant to its intended audience.
Research, Training, and Long-Term Impact
Beyond the development of the serious game itself, the project generated valuable insights into the design of educational games for professional training contexts. Testing demonstrated measurable improvements in fire prevention knowledge, particularly for topics covered directly within the game.
The project also resulted in a roadmap for serious game development, documenting best practices for user involvement, co-creation, and educational game design. In addition, the game was connected to a Learning Management System (LMS), enabling organisations to monitor learning outcomes, support certification processes, and integrate game-based learning into broader training programmes.
By combining research, user-centred design, and applied game development, the project demonstrated how serious games can become effective tools for safety training and professional education.