Proposing a Serious Game Design Model Towards Maritime Competency Development: A Case Study

In maritime domain, interactive and authentic learning environments are needed for competency development of seafarers. This study aims to propose and pilot test a serious game design model which is specific to maritime domain for enhancing the utilization of maritime serious games. In this study, Serious Game Design for Maritime (SGDM), a holistic model to support the design of maritime serious games is firstly proposed. Using the SGDM model, Maritime Leaders at Sea (ML@S), a 3D serious game to enhance the leadership and teamwork skills of young seafarers and maritime students, has been prototyped as a case study. ML@S is conceptualized as a module of the created Maritime Gamentor platform. The compliance test of ML@S proves that SGDM holistic model enables the preliminary design of ML@S in compliance with the STCW requirements and industrial expectations. Further maritime studies can follow the proposed methodology to design additional serious game-based modules for mentoring on maritime skills.