*3.2.2 Impact on human requirements*

In terms of human resources, the development of computerising gaming systems requires computer skills in addition to the game design skills required for any type of gaming system. Modelling platforms adapted to gaming simulation development offer dedicated interfaces to simplify the development process. Nevertheless, game designers must know how to use the platform. The benchmark platform for agentbased modelling dedicated to gaming simulation is Cormas [32, 33].

In addition to the needs at the development stage, computer-assisted games may also need a computer operator to be present during the gaming session itself. If the

<sup>7</sup> A workshop's duration (which includes briefing, game/simulation and debriefing) can also vary greatly. Some can be quite short (about 1.5 hours), others last half a day, a day or even several days, particularly when the workshop includes several games and several debriefings.

interface usability and the game design allow, entering data into the computer during the game can be carried out by a facilitator dedicated to this task. For example, in the Djolibois game, a "registration office" is situated at each end of the play area, with one computer and one operator (a person from the organising team) at each "registration office". The player informs the operator of their decisions, the quantities of wood cut at the "forest office" and the quantities of wood sold at the "town office". The operator enters the data into the computer model and informs the player of the results before moving on to the next player [34].

#### *3.2.3 Impact on development time and game time*

Computerised systems usually require more development time than their noncomputerised counterparts. Yet, the amount of time required varies considerably and the development of computerised gaming simulation can range from just a few weeks to more than a year.

Regarding the game time, computerisation reduces drastically the simulation time, particularly for performing calculations and data update. In many cases, the processing carried out by the computer during the calculation phases would be impossible without computerisation. Although the calculations and updates are faster, this does not necessarily mean that the games played with computerised systems are any shorter. There are computerised gaming systems where games last just as long as those of non-computerised systems (2 to 3 hours on average). There are also gaming systems whose games are very fast. This is particularly the case in configurations where several rounds of the same game are played during the same workshop. Each round simulates a scenario: the first round allows players to familiarise themselves with the game, while subsequent rounds may be played faster (sometimes they may last no more than 20 minutes) and allow to test several contrasted scenarios [35].
