When Notre-Dame erupted in flames in 2019, many feared that all the details of the centuries old cathedral would be lost to history and that any effort to restore the building would fail to capture the many unique features that wowed millions of visitors every year.
The story goes that an unlikely helping hand came to the rescue in the form of Ubisoft, the French video game studio behind the runaway success story that is the Assassin's Creed series. Each incarnation of the game is set in a different historical world, allowing players to explore everywhere from Ancient Egypt to Renaissance Italy. The anthology has won millions of fans across the globe thanks in no small part to the incredibly accurate and life-like replicas it features of real-world buildings, allowing players to scramble over the Pyramids of Giza, London’s Bank of England, and Florence’s Uffizi Gallery.
With Notre-Dame – captured in all its glory – at the heart of its 2014 Revolutionary France entry, Ubisoft were quick to offer the 3D-modelled designs it captured as part of efforts to restore the cathedral.
Whoever said “never let the truth stand in the way of a good story” might have been onto something. As it happened, while 3D modelling proved critical in the reconstruction of Notre-Dame, the real helping hand came from US software firm Autodesk, which developed a full 3D model of the cathedral. It created the model by comparing laser scans of the structure taken pre-fire and comparing them with scans after the fire, combining them to create a 3D BIM model of the 12th-century building.
Yet the very fact that Ubisoft believed its technology held an answer is a telling reflection of just how far the gaming industry has come in shaping how we view and interact with the world around us.
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Potential beyond gaming
Contributing over £10bn to the UK economy and growing steadily by 15% annually, the gaming sector is a booming industry that’s constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with its technology. From expansive open-world games to immersive platforms like Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), gaming technology is among the most cutting-edge available. Its potential beyond entertainment has long been overlooked, but now we’re seeing a shift as organizations start to use this technology to solve real-world challenges.
In healthcare, we’re starting to see the latest developments in VR technology being used to assist real-time surgeries and improve precision, while sophisticated databases developed for the game Football Manager are being used by real coaching staff to understand player profiles.
The creative and inventive application of gaming technology in real world environments has the potential to not only help tackle productivity and efficiency challenges head on, but invites us to look for solutions in unexpected places to power the future of business.
These are just a few ways businesses are infusing their strategy with gaming innovation.
How large scale virtual worlds help us map complex real worlds
The biggest open world game to exist is No Man’s Sky – a game that is the size of 18 quintillion planets, which tallies up to 31,7000,000,000,000,000,000,000 km2. The scale of building virtual worlds is literally galactic, and the technology developed to build these worlds can also be used to create digital twins of existing environments, down to the micro detail.
Digital twins have long been used in corporate environments to manage warehouses, businesses and even entire cities, but the advent of AI enhances their capabilities. With AI, digital twins can make predictions about events that will impact its physical counterpart, using real-time data to support decision making and avoid potential disruptions.
This is perhaps most critical in the world of supply chains, where disruptions cost the UK £12 billion in lost sales every year. Indeed Amazon - one of the world’s most expensive and intricate supply chains - has adopted AI and simulation technology to support the function of its highly complex automated warehouses, uncovering increased efficiencies, reducing costs, and improving performance.
Taking inspiration from large scale virtual worlds for computer games, business leaders can leverage AI-powered simulations to broaden their periphery and anticipate how external factors, like extreme weather or political unrest, might impact their operations. This foresight is crucial in today’s fast-paced interconnected world, where the ability to rapidly anticipate disruptions and adjust strategy accordingly is essential for navigating the complexities of global business.
Using the concept of “multiple lives” in a business setting
In the gaming world, mistakes help players improve and think tactically to get to the next level. In the business world, however, companies don’t have “multiple lives”.
When it comes to major projects that uphaul company systems, or expand into new markets, decision makers need to carefully weigh risks and make decisions with confidence but this is difficult to do when consultants only paint one half of the picture.
Gartner estimated that 55% to 75% of all ERP projects fail to meet their objectives, and a major reason for this is because decisions are made in functional silos without anyone having the bigger picture in sufficient detail. For example, manufacturers of robotics systems will tell you the productivity benefits of automating a specific aspect of the warehouse or a particular operational task, but they will struggle to prove the ROI the whole warehouse will deliver, or how a wider roll out across the supply chain will impact your business.
By using an AI-powered digital twin early in the transformation program however, businesses can apply this concept of “endless lives” to a business setting, and can use real-time data to test and rehearse how different decisions impact their business in a safe and controlled environment. Businesses can stress test organizational systems, and see what would happen if they were to plug in automation at different stages. With this foresight, business leaders can identify potential issues and plan to fix them or avoid them accordingly, as well as get a better idea of ROI before making an investment.
Levelling up your team with new abilities
It’s also true that the more advanced you get in a video game, the more your avatar needs the right experience, tools and abilities to overcome obstacles. It’s the same for businesses, in that teams need the right tools and training to overcome complex and evolving challenges in order to take their company to the next level, as well as advance in their own careers.
In highly technical disciplines such as surgery or aviation, the latest advancements in Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR) software play a crucial role in training. These simulations allow professionals to practice complex surgeries or operate vehicles in a risk-free environment, helping them hone their skills and build confidence before setting foot into the operating room or cockpit.
From a business operations transformation perspective, using AI and digital twins of business operations is akin to levelling up with X-ray vision. One gains the ability to see into the future and understand if investments made now are likely to deliver on their promise in future, and how best to navigate to the best available outcome.
These technologies are designed for enhanced user experience, and when used in a business setting can enhance stakeholder engagement, collaboration and alignment in decision making by enhancing visibility but also creating a safe space to refine skills and strategy.
Powering up your business for the future
In today's fast-paced, interconnected world, businesses face growing complexity and uncertainty. To stay competitive and address critical challenges - whether boosting productivity or leading the way in AI and automation - organizations must explore emerging technologies across various sectors. The gaming industry, in particular, provides powerful examples of how cutting-edge technology can bring new levels of confidence to strategic investment decision making, and gaming-inspired user experiences deliver much improved stakeholder engagement and collaboration. As more industries adopt similar approaches, they stand to unlock new levels of efficiency, creativity, and growth, propelling their businesses to new heights.
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