the Good Evil GmbH

Factsheet

Developer:
the Good Evil GmbH
Based in Cologne, Germany

Release date:
26.04.2022

Platforms:
Meta Quest
SideQuest

Website:
https://marla.tech

Regular Price:

Description

"Grab your safety helmet, put on your harness and head out to sea. 35km off the coast of Rügen lies the offshore wind energy farm where you can put your skills in fault diagnosis and maintenance to the test. Armed with a multimeter, screwdriver and cleaning rag, you will accompany Alex to a wind energy plant. Together you master the eight steps of fault diagnosis. After the successful mission, you are suddenly on your own. Now you can prove yourself as a "Master of Malfunction" and fix the next fault professionally." In the virtual reality game MARLA, players step into the role of a service specialist for wind energy who has to fix a fault on an offshore turbine. Before they take a boat to the wind farm, virtual mini-models are used to explain the turbine functions. Once at the wind turbine, they learn that a fault has occurred in the turbine's hydraulic braking system, which they must find and fix so that the turbine can be put back into operation. In the machine room high up in the nacelle, they check possible causes of the fault. During this process, the virtual specialist "Alex" is always at their side as an "educational agent". She explains the tasks to the players and provides assistance if they encounter difficulties. In addition to the pedagogical agent, the players have access to a virtual help view, which they can use to identify components and their functions. After the successful troubleshooting with support from "Alex", the players can immerse themselves once again in the everyday working life at the offshore plant in a second game run without support, this time to gain further experience in troubleshooting on their own.

History

THE IDEA - In studies on fault diagnosis competence, it is observed that young skilled workers* are not sufficiently proficient in a structured approach to fault diagnosis. They lack experience. The problem is also perceived by teachers in vocational schools. They would like to see didactic material with authentic application scenarios on complete plants for teaching purposes, so that they can better train fault diagnosis skills during their training. The aim of MARLA is to trace the cause of various complex faults in the hydraulic braking system of an offshore wind turbine. A systematic and logical approach is required. With the help of VR technology, they immerse themselves in a virtual experience and test their knowledge directly on an offshore turbine. All this happens completely safely for people and equipment. The players try out their skills in a protected, virtual space. Danger to life and limb or possible damage to the wind turbine by errors of the trainees can be excluded.

"When performing the virtual tasks, the game players gain experience in the strategic approach to fault diagnosis and can subsequently transfer this to their everyday working life. At the same time, the trainees experience the consequences of their attempted solutions," says project manager Dr. Pia Spangenberger from the Technical University of Berlin. "For the teacher, VR technology in turn creates more room for maneuver in planning and conducting lessons." In the VR Game, the trainees slip into the role of a wind energy specialist who has to fix a fault on an offshore turbine. Before they transfer to the wind farm by boat, the mission and basic operation are explained to them at the beginning. On the offshore turbine, they go through the individual steps of fault diagnosis. In the engine room at the top of the nacelle, they check possible causes of the fault and rectify it. If there are difficulties, the virtual colleague Alex is at their side.

"The virtual colleague Alex acts as a pedagogical agent, which stands by the players with advice and assistance and supports them in the systematic error diagnosis. In the beginning, she takes on the role of a model who explains relevant steps and activities. As the game progresses, the trainees increasingly take the initiative themselves. ", says learning psychologist Dr. Felix Kapp, who was responsible for the evaluation in the project for the Technical University of Berlin. "The trainees are not only motivated while playing in MARLA. The experience in VR is also an excellent way to follow up on it in continuing instruction." In addition to the didactic planning and design of the game application, the implementation in an appealing and meaningful game environment was also important to those involved in the project. The development and design of the application was in the hands of the project partners, the Game Studio the Good Evil.

"As game developers, it was important to us to enable simple handling in the very complex activities of fault diagnosis," says game developer and managing director of the Good Evil GmbH Linda Kruse. "At the same time, the operating concept is closely based on reality, so that even beginners* can quickly find their way into the game. In this way, we were able to ensure that MARLA is a lot of fun for the players in class and in their free time." The initial evaluation results indicate that this has been successful and that the target group enjoys MARLA. As part of various scientific studies and target group workshops, nearly 200 trainees and students were actively involved in the development and tested the application. The results provided important information for the development of the game and showed the potential of MARLA in terms of knowledge acquisition, increase learning motivation and the possibility to experience an offshore wind turbine as a place.

The VR Game is embedded in an overall didactic concept for developing the fault diagnosis competence of trainees. After playing the game, teachers can take up and deepen the learning content on fault diagnosis with the help of concrete tasks in the classroom. On the website, they will find a handout with didactic recommendations and teaching suggestions, a learning booklet for their learning group, and assistance on technical issues relating to the use of VR glasses in the classroom. In order to provide points of reference for the use of the game in the classroom, the developed game content was coordinated with the learning objectives in the framework plans of the training occupations in the field of metal and electrical engineering. The VR game was already used at vocational schools during the development phase. The final application is now available for download.

THE CREATORS - Developed the game and the associated material a research network funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The partners are the Technical University of Berlin. (project management and scientific support), Game Studio the Good Evil GmbH (game development), the Koblenz Chamber of Crafts (dissemination) and the Osnabrück-Emsland-Grafschaft Bentheim Chamber of Crafts (dissemination). The vocational students of the Hein-Moeller School in Berlin and the specialists of RWE Windpark Arkona were also involved in the conception. The development of the accompanying material was supported by the Wissenschaftsladen Bonn e.V. With the project, the team contributes to the Green New Deal and the Digital Transformation by linking digital innovative technology and the goals of sustainable development in the field of vocational education.

Features

• Train your error analysis skills
• Experience the everyday life of a service specialist like Alex
• Enjoy the Baltic Sea on the virtual offshore wind energy turbine

MARLA - Masters of Malfunction Credits

THE GOOD EVIL GmbH
Concept & Development of MARLA [Game-Design, Art-Design, Programming]

DR. PIA SPANGENBERGER + NADINE MATTHES
Technical University of Berlin: Department of Didactics of Civil Engineering and Landscape Design

DR. FELIX KAPP + PROF. DR. MATTHIAS RÖTTING + MORITZ NIEBELING
Technical University Berlin: Department of Human-Machine-Systems

MARKUS KYBART
Chamber of Crafts Osnabrück-Emsland-Grafschaft Bentheim, BTZ Vocational Training and Technology Center

KRISTINA SCHMIDT
Chamber of Crafts Koblenz, Digital Crafts Competence Center

Contact

Press inquiries
press@thegoodevil.com

Twitter
https://twitter.com/thegoodevilcom

Discord
discord.gg/mvAujSP

LinkedIn
https://linkedin.com/company/5103783

Web
https://thegoodevil.com