The Challenge
In the food service industry, traditional training often fails to create lasting awareness of critical safety practices. With bacterial contamination causing significant health risks, our client needed an innovative solution that would engage their workforce and drive meaningful behavior change around:
- Hand washing protocols
- Temperature control requirements
- Proper food storage procedures
- Cross-contamination prevention
Standard text-heavy modules and basic quizzes weren't creating the impact needed for this essential training. Our challenge was to develop something that would not only capture attention but actually change behaviors in a measurable way.
Our Solution
We developed "Super Peccy: The Bacteria Invasion," a custom interactive eLearning game that reimagines food safety training as an engaging 2D side-scrolling adventure. Designed to appeal to diverse learning styles, this innovative approach transformed mandatory compliance training into an experience employees actively wanted to complete.
Game Mechanics
Players navigate Super Peccy through various food preparation environments using arrow keys, mirroring the intuitive controls of classic video games. As they move through the virtual kitchen:
- Bacterial contamination zones trigger visible microbial growth when entered
- Players must quickly identify proper safety protocols by pressing up to answer questions
- Correct answers build the character's "superhero meter" while reinforcing proper procedures
- Incorrect answers provide immediate feedback with a continuing option
- 8-bit sound effects and visual cues enhance engagement and retention
Each element was carefully designed to reinforce key food safety principles while maintaining the engaging gameplay loop that keeps learners invested in the experience.
Technical Innovation
What makes this project particularly noteworthy is its development within Storyline—a platform primarily designed for traditional eLearning, not game development. Our team:
- Created custom sprite animations that respond dynamically to user inputs
- Engineered a novel approach to character state management within Storyline's constraints
- Developed responsive bacterial visualization that reinforces cause-and-effect relationships
- Integrated comic book-style introduction and conclusion sequences
- Built custom audio integration for immediate feedback
These technical innovations demonstrate our ability to push standard eLearning tools beyond their conventional applications, creating truly unique learning experiences without requiring specialized game development platforms.
Results
The impact of this approach was immediate and measurable:
- 75% engagement rate (600 interactions from a target audience of 800)
- Significantly higher completion rates compared to previous training modules
- Enhanced knowledge retention demonstrated in follow-up assessments
- Positive learner feedback highlighting the enjoyable experience
- Requests from management for similar approaches to other training topics
The Expanse Approach
"Super Peccy and the Bacteria" exemplifies our core training philosophy: learning doesn't have to be boring to be effective. By combining solid instructional design principles with engaging gameplay and interactive storytelling, we transformed what could have been a forgettable compliance exercise into a memorable learning experience.
This project demonstrates how we:
- Identify specific learning challenges
- Design innovative, context-appropriate solutions
- Utilize existing technologies in unexpected ways
- Create experiences that learners actively want to engage with
- Deliver measurable results that impact real-world behaviors
Whether your training needs involve compliance, skills development, or knowledge acquisition, we apply this same creative problem-solving approach to create learning experiences that truly resonate with your audience.