Immersive Virtual Reality-based Serious Game for Fire Drill Education

It is imperative to have discourses and research around the topic of fire since the cost of the occupant’s inability to handle and evacuate during the fire has resulted in multiple losses of both property and human lives. This is highly relevant to the Faculty of Engineering Universitas Gadjah Mada, where around 7000 people utilize Smart and Green Learning Center (SGCL) on daily basis. The occupants need to taught how to act upon the case of fire. This research aims to develop a Virtual Reality (VR) fire drill on SGLC building of the Faculty of Engineering Universitas Gadjah Mada and compare it to the traditional method, the Faculty’s official safety induction video. VR is chosen because it offers a comparatively more immersive and realistic fire environment and can better simulate the real world. The game is designed with the MDA (Mechanics, Dynamics, Aesthetics) framework to construct the overall model of the game with the gamification elements inside. The key gamification element in this game is the reward system which consists of stars given to the players based on the evacuation completion time and the level unlock system which unlocks a level when a player finishes the previous level while blocking the access for players who haven’t. To ensure the efficacy and usability of our approach, we undergo three different tests: Black Box Testing, System Usability Scale (SUS), and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). In the Black Box Testing, all the features and functionalities of the game work well as per the pre-defined criteria. The game obtains an SUS score of 71.47 which indicates the game is easily playable by the users. This is also supported by the UEQ scores, where the game is considered attractive, efficient, and provides great positive stimulation. Compared to the traditional method, our VR-based game is therefore more preferrable by the user. The result of the learning outcome indicates that our VR-based approach is on par with the video.