Keynote by Catherine Rolland (KTM Advance, France)

“Do not fear the Plumber”

What do Tetris, World of Warcraft, Assasin’s Creed and Fold It have in common? And what can they do for Requirements Engineering? They are all games, video games. Either created for fun or for more serious purposes, each of them has marked the history of the video game industry and illustrated the various uses one can have of it. If consumers have quite quickly been attracted by this engaging tool to the point of making it the first cultural good worldwide, its industry is still under development and the width of its potential not yet exploited.

A video game is a complex mix between informatics, graphical arts, technics and game design. Either made by one person or a team of more than 200 experts, the success of a game is still difficult to predict/determine. Numbers of methods and methodologies for its creation are being conceived, tested, adapted and a huge effort is done in order to industrialize its production. Influences from other areas where industrialization has long been proven and optimized can be of key value but challenges have still to be met in order to keep a space for creativity, design and playability in these processes.

With the infatuation of Serious Game and Serious Gaming, more and more illustrations of the use of games in very diverse areas are being described. Successful conception of adapted games, discovery of adequate use, concrete benefits’ evaluation… are among the challenges still ahead for several domains. Nevertheless the game itself has proven its efficiency in enhancing the finding of new solutions. Thanks to the space of freedom the game offers, the player explores, he tries, fails and finally unleashes his imagination. The conditions created by the game, encourage different thinking, which is key for innovation.