The gamer generation is a dominant force in the workplace. Virtually every aspect of the way we work and play is being influenced by the video game industry. As Web, mobile and social media converge gaming principles and technologies are reshaping everything from entertainment to training.

The concept of play is central to our design of effective training solutions. In games, players learn how to act within dynamic systems; think procedurally within computationally rich spaces and engage in collaborative teamwork. Increasingly, we are applying interactive technologies from the game industry to our training and education solutions. Using the latest interactive entertainment technologies coupled with great game design, we produce training applications with immersive realism.

Code Orange is the definitive crisis management training game. It is a multiplayer game for up to 12 human players that focuses on the effects of a mass casualty incident on a busy city hospital. Code Orange offers an effective solution that allows key hospital personnel to take part in disaster preparedness planning and training more frequently, at a lower cost, and with minimal impact on patients and staff.  Full-scale “live” disaster training exercises are costly, difficult to organize and exceedingly disruptive to normal hospital operations.

Code Orange Players take key incident command roles in a virtual hospital that include hundreds of avatars representing patients and staff members, all controlled by the game’s artificial intelligence. To be successful in Code Orange, the player has to take a systematic approach to chaos control and resource management during a variety of mass casualty incidents. Code Orange helps players learn the protocols of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) and familiarize themselves with the procedures required for handling crises. HICS is an important component of NIMS, and NIMS compliance is a requirement for funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA).