Scenario-based serious games are a promising medium for providing direct experience and concrete contexts in military training environments. However, there are few research-based guidelines to support their learning design or account for why they include specific characters, environments, or activities. While the fundamentals of good instructional design and learning are enduring, the design of scenario-based serious games requires a different, holistic approach to leverage their great promise and inherent power.

This paper will describe an industry research and development initiative to produce an integrated methodology for designing scenario-based serious games while also providing a common lexicon for designers, developers, project managers, customers, users and stakeholders to communicate the role and relative importance of product elements and aspects. The methodology is based on a review of learning theories and methods that led to the identification of seven interconnected attributes of scenarios for serious games (Focus, Action, Relevance, Support, Anchoring, Evaluation, and Engagement). The SPeAR Design Methodology was then developed to provide a framework for implementation of the seven attributes through its four interconnected components: SPeAR Statement (Situation, Precipitating event, Action, and Results), Anchor, Scaffold, and Thread. The SPeAR Statement focuses design on active performance of the learning objective, while the Anchor provides the context, the Scaffold provides the support, and the Thread unifies the components into a meaningful learning experience. This paper will conclude with recommendations for continued research and implementation.