Transferability of Voice Communication in Games to Virtual Teams Training for Crisis Management

A crisis is an emergency event that can lead to multiple injuries and damage to property or environment. Proper training of crisis management personnel is vital for reducing the impact of a major incident. In search for knowledge on how best to implement communication for virtual environments for training, communication in online games was studied. Findings on voice communication in online games were researched and formulated as a set of statements. By asking participants in an empirical study of crisis management, the statements were either confirmed or refuted. Results show that multiplayer games are highly similar to the requirements for crisis management training in virtual environments. Approximately two-thirds of the statements proved coherent in both domains. The practical significance of this work lies in the provision of design implications for a virtual environment for crisis management training. Thus, this paper contributes to demonstrating the transferability between these domains. Finally, the paper reflects the results in theories of communication and engagement.