Novonics TTL used the Serious Games (SG) approach to develop an engaging critical thinking training solution. The notion of Serious Games refers to the use of state-of-the-art gaming technologies for developing complex instructional solutions. Serious Games can be effective both from the pedagogical and business perspectives due to the possibility of developing sophisticated training at a fraction of the costs traditionally associated with highly immersive courseware. In most cases, a serious game can be described as an instructional simulation with the look and feel of a game and implicit instructional events and processes. To develop instructional scenarios, the TTL uses Machinima technology, which is a new form of creating video vignettes in the virtual reality of a game engine, in this case, Half-Life 2.

In concert with the Science of Learning and critical thinking research underpinnings our critical thinking training prototype targets a specific set of cognitive skills and employs the following instructional techniques and game elements: