That's the pitch Richard Boyd, chief executive of 3Dsolve, gives as he tries to sell simulations -- which the industry calls serious games -- to corporate executives who know more about stockrooms than soldiering.

Ten years ago, creating digital corporate simulations was nigh-impossible science fiction. Costs for the interactive software were prohibitive. Companies were reluctant to spend training dollars on the technology that drives the Super Mario Bros.

The eye-rolling has stopped. In the past two years, serious games have caught on -- in a big way. They evolved from an academic concept a decade ago to an industry estimated at $200 million to $400 million, said Elliot Masie, head of The Masie Center, a futurist think tank in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

"And it's got legs," he said.

In the Triangle, there are nearly two dozen companies involved in making complex learning games, according to the N.C. Advanced Learning Technologies Association, a trade organization formed in March. Although it's not the industry's biggest hub, this region is emerging as a national leader.

Virtual Heroes, 3Dsolve and American Research Institute are among local companies selling software that coaches corporate workers, tests soldiers and educates children. Much of the software is built on the back of entertainment software.

The growth of the serious game industry in the Triangle parallels the local video-game industry. A pool of artists and programmers and fresh talent from universities have brought publishers such as Electronic Arts to the area.

The best-known serious game, America's Army, relies heavily on technology developed in the Triangle. It is a $5 million project that the Department of Defense released in 2002 as a recruitment tool. It uses a game engine developed by Cary's Epic Games and contributions from Virtual Heroes, also in Cary.

Like most serious games, America's Army is targeted to learners south of 30.

"These are the people that are fighting our wars and managing our restaurants," Boyd, the chief executive officer of 3Dsolve, said. "You can't train them with a white-board talk."

Lt. Col. Chuck Hodges knows firsthand that classroom lectures don't always take. Last year, the professor of military science for Duke University's Army ROTC program began training his cadets in land navigation and basic infantry tactics using Darwars, a military version of the computer game "Operation Flashpoint."

After two semesters with Darwars, Hodges saw marked improvement in cadets' performance in field training. "I haven't played lost-cadet-in-the-woods all year, which is nice," Hodges said.

What makes simulations effective is they cause the brain to react the same way it would in real life, said Richard Kristof, president and CEO of American Research Institute in Morrisville.

"Knowledge makes up 5 percent of learning," Kristof said. "Ten percent is transfer of skills. Eighty-five percent is ability to adapt and apply that information."

Fans say serious games are excellent at connecting the dots between lectures and reading and real-life applications.

But companies that have commissioned outfits such as 3Dsolve for training applications are fiercely protective of their methodology and reluctant to talk about their inner workings. Boyd had more freedom to talk about the military simulations that his company created than about software for corporate clients.

"All of the [nondisclosure] agreements read like they went to the same law seminar," he said.

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