North Carolina-based interactive learning solutions company and online world developer Virtual Heroes has developed an interactive training game for use by Hilton Garden Inn. The company developed a virtual Hilton Garden Inn hotel that features various scenarios for employees to practice interactions with guests.

Called "Ultimate Team Play," the actions that the staff takes in the simulation affects the mood of the virtual guests, implementing the Hilton Garden Inn brand's SALT (Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking) scoring system to evaluate the employees' work and assign them a 1-10 ranking.

Ultimate Team Play uses a branching dialogue system, allowing team members to select a response based on their perception of a guest's attitude. Guests are given value sets with varying degrees of anger, patience and flexibility, At the same time, team members must also manage their regular hotel duties, like telephone and check-in management.

Virtual Heroes uses Epic's Unreal Engine 3 to create collaborative interactive learning solutions and virtual worlds for healthcare, commercial and government applications. Its clients include Intel, Hilton Hotels, Discovery Channel Canada, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, George Washington University Medical Center, Duke Medical Center, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Army Special Operations Command and the America's Army game project.

Virtual Heroes founder and CEO Jerry Henghan said, "We are excited to use our advanced learning expertise, technology and artistic talent to help Hilton Garden Inn create the first interactive training game to be used in the hospitality industry. Ultimate Team Play leverages cutting-edge games-based technology in a realistic and immersive virtual Hilton Garden Inn environment where real-world hotel staff can further enhance their training and guest interaction."