A Systematic Literature Review on Serious Games Methodologies for Training in the Mining Sector

High-risk industries like mining must address occupational safety to reduce accidents and fatalities. Training through role-playing, simulations, and Serious Games (SGs) can reduce occupational risks. This study aims to conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) on SG methodologies for the mining sector. This review was based on a methodology inspired by the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Three research questions were formulated to explore how SGs contribute to immediate feedback, brain stimulation, and training for high-risk scenarios. The review initially identified 1987 studies, which were reduced to 30 relevant publications following a three-phase process: (1) A search string based on three research questions was defined and applied to databases. (2) Publications were filtered by title and abstract. (3) A full-text reading was conducted to select relevant publications. The SLR showed SG development methodologies with structured processes that are adaptable to any case study. Additionally, it was found that Virtual Reality, despite its implementation costs, is the most used technology for safety training, inspection, and operation of heavy machinery. The first conclusion of this SLR indicates the lack of methodologies for the development of SG for training in the mining field, and the relevance of carrying out specific methodological studies in this field. Additionally, the main findings obtained from this SLR are the following: (1) Modeling languages (e.g., GML and UML) and metamodeling are important in SG development. (2) SG is a significant mechanism for cooperative and participative learning strategies. (3) Virtual Reality technology is widely used in safe virtual environments for mining training. (4) There is a need for methodologies that integrate the specification of cognitive functions with the affective part of the users for SGs suitable for learning environments. Finally, this review highlights critical gaps in current research and underscores the need for more integrative approaches to SG development.