Intelligent Behaviors of Virtual Characters in Serious Games for Child Safety Education

Abstract

The child safety education is a very urgent task in China. It is necessary to teach children to recognize unsafe factors and learn how to escape from a dangerous situation. According to the psychological characteristics of children and constructivist learning theory, 3D serious game is an effective tool to assist child safety education in primary and secondary schools. In this chapter, we summarised some of our explorations in this field. We proposed a concept of the danger zone to simulate users' risk-taking behavior; introduced Non-Player Character's (NPC) role to increase user engagement; and developed a cognitive model that could simulate the intelligent behavior of virtual agents. We also tested cases of escaping from waterside area and earthquake. Results showed that children enjoyed this new safety educational method and learnt what a danger zone is and how to escape from the danger zone effectively.