Vessel Game

IDEAS is a member of the development team for VESSEL Damage Control Trainer (VDCT).

It’s an immersive, computer-based game environment that provides training on vessel damage control skills while reinforcing crucial skills:

• Decision-making
• Communication protocol
• Situational awareness
• Shipboard navigation

The Office of Naval Research sponsors VDCT’s development. Playing the game demonstrably and significantly improves recruits’ performance at the U.S. Navy’s boot camp, Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois.

VDCT provides a guided discovery experience. Recruits explore a virtual ship environment and perform damage control missions while receiving in-game instructionally supportive guidance and feedback.

Critical errors have consequences, while correct actions lead to progress in achieving mission goals.

VDCT won the award for “Best Game in the Business” at the 2009 Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), Serious Games Showcase & Challenge.

The Serious Games Showcase & Challenge’s goal is to identify innovative game-based technologies and solutions that improve training across all segments for people, groups and systems.

After a multistep evaluation process, experts selected the top 12 entries in three categories. These entries would showcase at the annual I/ITSEC (www.iitsec.org) conference in 2009 in Orlando, Florida.

A panel of nearly 60 distinguished serious game experts from academia, government and industry chose the winners.

Contributors in Development

Raytheon BBN Technologies led the VDCT development team.

The following parties contributed:

• IDEAS
• Alion Science and Technology
• Intelligent Decision Systems, Inc.
• The University of Central Florida
• The National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing

We created the story that supports the game’s instructional design and played a key role in producing its sound assets.

Read “Designing and Developing Effective Training Games for the US Navy,” M&S Journal, spring 2023 edition.