Gamifying evacuation drills

Abstract

Serious Games have fostered the training methods and are increasingly used for such purposes. A fire in a public building, such as a hospital, care centre or clinic, is by any point of view a dramatic event. Emergency planning is crucial to prevent and minimize damage and victims. Despite the improvement on safety measures, many occupants and employers in this type of buildings still lack adequate knowledge and training on how to behave in such hazardous situations. EVA is presented as a possible solution, which is based on the concept of Serious Games that can be used as a training tool by safety professionals. A preliminary prototype was developed and some tests were carried out, providing further insights into the human behaviour understanding and presenting promising results. Further research and development are still to be explored, which are discussed in the concluding part of this paper.