"Although some 3D worlds and - of course many games - have been able to run on mobile devices", says Piggot, "for games-based learning environments, this has typically required a plugin to be installed - for the learning programme itself to be an app. Nitroworld now simply runs in the browser, and, we believe, is one of the first 3D games-based purpose-built learning platforms to do so." This means that Nitrospark's learning programmes can be easily accessed on all desktop computers and many modern iOS and Android devices.

Nitroworld, one of the world's first 3D games-based learning platforms, is the culmination of almost a decade's development. Nitrospark's customer portfolio includes BP, Castrol, Haymarket, Informa, NCR, and the Medical School at Dundee University. Piggot says, "We were pioneering and delivering games-based learning well before its current rise in popularity."

Nitroworld has full support for WebGL browsers, the emerging industry-standard technology behind web-based 3D graphics. "Aligning Nitrospark with standards-based rendering makes it simpler, faster, and cheaper for our customers to deploy powerful games-based learning programmes," says Piggot.

Other new features in this release of Nitroworld include a greater and easier ability to edit content. "3D objects can be created and edited very quickly", says Piggot, "and without any need to know 3D software in depth. Content creators can make these changes right from within the simulation itself. We've also introduced a range of under-the-bonnet changes, such as improved logging.

Although Nitroworld is feature rich, Piggot says that it can deliver games-based learning programmes and simulations at a cost that is comparable to, or better than, traditional eLlearning. "A core goal for Nitrospark is to make games-based learning financially accessible," says Piggot. "Other solutions have simply been too expensive, and every change to a learning programme has needed the input of a specialist developer. Nitroworld breaks these barriers down."