The Virtual Gaming Simulation Team

Once you have determined the idea the virtual gaming simulation will focus on, your next step is thinking about the logistics of designing the virtual simulation and the team members that will be involved in the development process. Choosing your team is important to the virtual simulation success.

One of the first steps is to talk with your management team to brainstorm about workload, available resources, and the available budget. For many institutions, there is a limited budget to create virtual simulations. Therefore, educators may need to apply for internal and external grants. The management team may be able to assist you in this step by sharing various grant opportunities and connecting you with individuals to support your goal.

Resource Availability

Reflect on what resources are available to you at your institution (e.g., human resources and equipment) and the budget allocation. The goal is to design a realistic simulation that students feel immersed in the scenario and should be authentic to their clinical experience. To infuse realism within the virtual simulation, you want to choose team members that have experience in the simulation topic, equipment that is used in practice, and a location that mimics the clinical experience.

Team Members

Each phase of the development process will involve different team members. When outlining the scenario, you want to invite diverse educators, experts, and students for their knowledgeable input on the scenario topic. For example, if the virtual gaming simulation is focused on a community home health visit with a client with diabetes, you want to choose educators who teach community nursing, experts in diabetes, and students who have clinical practice in community health. The storyline process will be further discussed in Chapter 2.

Filming and Editing Team Members

Once the first draft of your script is completed, the next step in the development process is filming. The focus changes to the various roles of actors, videographers, editors, and instructional designers. Who you invite and/or hire will depend on resources available at your institution and the budget.

At Centennial College, there is a Theatre Arts and Performance program, a Broadcasting and Film program, and a Script to Screen program that educators can collaborate with when creating virtual simulations. These programs also collaborate with external institutions. Professional actors playing the roles of the clients, care partners, family members, and healthcare providers can enhance the realism of the virtual simulation. Depending on your budget, you can also hire your student actors or ask members of your team to volunteer their time playing smaller roles in the simulation. Acquiring actors will be further discussed in Chapter 3 and filming and editing production in Chapter 4.

Other team members to consider during the filming process are make-up artists and moulage specialists. Once again, your institution may have programs specializing in these areas. For example, Centennial College has a Make-up Artistry course that could help to create moulage effects for the simulation. Depending on the focus of your scenario, you may want to create the illusion of jaundice, or have a client with an open wound, or transform a manikin body part onto an actor to imitate pregnancy or the presence of a tracheostomy.  Moulage will be further discussed in Chapter 4.

Simulationist Team Members

Review your script to determine what type of equipment you will need to make the scenes life-like, mimicking the clinical environment. If the client will be on a monitor, think about hiring a simulation technician. If the nurse is going to use documentation or medical equipment (i.e., medical notes, medical images, lab values), think about having an image or incorporating the text on screen. A simulation technician or videographer can help highlight this design element within the virtual gaming simulation.

Another step in the development process is to determine what platform you would like to host your virtual gaming simulation. You can choose a free, open access platform (e.g., Pressbooks, H5P, Affinity) or develop your own platform. Virtual simulation platforms will be further discussed in Chapter 5.

Reflecting upon the topic of your virtual gaming simulation, the logistical steps involved, and your budget can help you to determine who you will invite on the team as team members or consultants.