Harry’s Hard Choices is a serious game for self escape in a mine emergency. The story is based on the NIOSH paper-based scenario by Vaught, Hall and Klein (2009).
The game features a complex and realistic mine disaster. As the story unfolds, a carbon monoxide detector has gone off somewhere on a belt line in an underground room and pillar coal mine. Harry has to lead his 9 person crew to safety.
Harry’s Hard Choices addresses key best practices to keep workers safe during an emergency, while also satisfying guidelines of US 30 CFR Part 48 training for new miners and annual refresher training.
The game addresses numerous required training subjects:
- Evacuation/Sheltering/Fire Warning
- Self-rescue/Respiratory Devices
- Recognition and avoidance of hazards
- Prevention of accidents
- Worker health and safety
- Introduction to the work environment
- Mine gases/ventilation
- Roof / ground control
- Transportation controls
- Communication systems
Our software tracks all player decisions and creates a playable log file that allows the trainer to discuss key discussions and consequences.
The trainer can move the timeline and show workers where they were, where the fire was spreading, and show the consequences of decision.
You can compare cohorts to see the difference your training makes.
The game features a variety of tools the worker needs to master from map reading to gas meters to donning self-contained breathing apparatus. A clipboard pops up to explain why key decisions need to be made. The physics in the game is real. Fires spread at the same rate as a real fire under the same ventilation controls. Gases build up and spread. Ground support fails.
Characters in the game present Harry with dissenting opinions. As the game continues, the characters react to decisions, their morale changes, the become fatigued as they continue walking. They can lose faith in their leader and wander off.
Each decision is given positive or negative points depending on whether it was a good or bad decision. Time is of the essence and the clock keeps track of how long it takes to make decisions.
The game has three levels of difficulty. Start with the basic level for new workers and test your mine rescue team with the advanced level.
At the end of the game a scoreboard is displayed. Your workers can compete with a leaderboard to see who is the safest miner, the safest crew, shift, or operation. The competitive nature of workers makes the gamification a powerful aspect to motivate interest in safe behaviors and the desire to learn more about safety issues.