Planspiel-Literaturdatenbank des ZMS

Abstract: Climate change is becoming more visible, and human adaptation is required urgently to prevent greater damage. One particular domain of adaptation concerns daily mobility (work commute), with a significant portion of these trips being done in individual cars. Yet, their impact on pollution, noise, or accidents is well-known. This paper explores various cognitive biases that can explain such lack of adaptation. Our approach is to design simple interactive simulators that users can play with in order to understand biases. The idea is that awareness of such cognitive biases is often a first step towards more rational decision making, even though things are not that simple. This paper reports on interactive simulators of potential factors of resistance, and illustrates their explanatory power on various scenarios. These simulators can be played online, with the goal to provide users with food for thought about how mobility could evolve in the future. Work is still ongoing to design a user survey to evaluate their impact 

Abstract: In this study, the authors introduced the learning effects of gaming simulation in which students experience “the world lacking something.” This study developed a lesson in which students experience a world without science or scientific communication as a gaming simulation of the world lacking something. Hypotheses in this study are as follows: 1) Through the games, students can realize the difference between the real world and the world lacking science, 2) By experiencing “the world lacking something,” students can realize the social significance of science. In the lesson, the students experienced the world lacking something, which was completely devoid of the formative aspiration of science and very different from the real world where discussion was not possible for the students. Thus, the students could realize the difference between the real world and the world lacking science. So, it can be said that Hypothesis 1 was backed up. Furthermore, the students learned two things through the lesson: (1) the significance of science as a medium for democratic discussions with others, (2) the significance of science for enabling them to judge democratic decisions. From the above, by experiencing the world lacking something, the students could realize the social significance of science. So, hypothesis 2 is backed up. In the near future, in order to extend the results of this study, it is necessary to examine what would happen if students did not usually have interest in science. 

Abstract: Sexually transgressive behaviour (STB) causes serious health problems for, among others, students of higher education. The persuasive card game TALK THAT TALK was designed to promote ethical bystander behaviour in STB situations and contribute to a social transition to less sexual violence. To this aim, the game facilitates Intergroup Dialogues between female and male players. A controlled experiment was conducted to evaluate the game. The outcome variables of the experiment were obtained from the literature: Willingness to Intervene, Awareness of prevalence of STB, and Bystander Responsibility. Quantitative and qualitative analyses, including validated questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, were employed to measure the game’s effects. Participants evaluated the quality of the game (session) and game experience positively and reported that meaningful intergroup dialogues about STB situations took place during the game session. As a result, in the experimental group a significant increase of the three outcome variables was observed, whereas in the control group a non-significant decrease was found. We concluded that the game TALK THAT TALK has the potential to promote ethical bystander behaviour in STB situations by facilitating an intergroup dialogue between female and male participants. Future research should establish if the results can be generalised to a more representative sample of participants and if the game effects may be improved when institutes for higher education include the game in large-scale intervention programmes against sexually transgressive behaviour. 

Abstract: These environmental and social challenges of the Anthropocene require us to imagine and implement alternatives to the current global economic organization. Accounting in biophysical flows (material, energy, land use, …) is one grid of analysis providing insights on the alternatives’ sustainability (strong sustainability and ecological economics frameworks). These tools are indeed relevant to highlight systemic effects (interdisciplinary understandings, spatial and temporal scales) on resources and important pressures to consider for the transformation of territories. If this biophysical flow vision may be very useful, it however remains for expert use only. However, one of the challenges of transition territories is to involve the populations in participatory processes in order to put their knowledge, wishes and specific capacities for action in synergy. Among the several participatory tools, serious games have long since proven their ability to sensitize to sustainability issues, facilitate learning and support changes. This paper presents an exploratory work to get insights on how playing with material and energy flows, fostering biophysical accounting and systemic vision learning to support stakeholders in territories’ transitions. A first work on literature aims at understanding how resource flows are involved in existing sustainability games. We then present three experiments we made to play with material and energy flows analysis: one first game focusing on biophysical accounting, two games aimed at pointing out systemic effects on resources and three workshops in which an energy flow analysis diagram was discussed with stakeholders in a territory involved in resource management participatory process. 

Abstract: The idea of translating citizen participation processes into hybrid games is ubiquitous. This decision is usually justified by the possibility of simplifying complex issues and using real data. However, hybridization as a combination digital and physical space offers another advantage that has not been highlighted so far: By creating a digital threshold, it enables a highly accessible transformation from participants to players. In citizen participation processes, a wide range of social groups encounter, thus the reduction of (social and gaming) inhibition is even more important for broad participation. While these benefits of the digital space are of great relevance, especially for the start of a game, the physical space creates an equally large opportunity of transparency and direct exchange. Particularly in mobility transformation, there is a need to sensitize citizens for the topic and make sure that they are engaged to get honest and thoughtful responses, so creating transparency is especially important. Based on the development of the citizen participation game UTurn, the authors took a closer look at the problem of participation as well as its solution by establishing a threshold. The following article therefore aims to shed light on this very establishment of a threshold experience in hybrid citizen participation processes and to debate its potentials and hurdles. 

Abstract: Economists have demonstrated a positive correlation between management quality and the country's economic performance. In turn, business simulation games have shown their educational effectiveness in developing management skills crucial for African countries. However, its use is still nascent. Although they present different characteristics favorable to its implementation, for example, The African Continental Free Trade Area, the Digital Transformation Strategy Project for Africa (2020-2030), and The Pan-Africa Games Group, they also present singular characteristics such as the predominance of the informal sector, political instability, and high corruption rates. These factors influence the designing and adoption of the Pan-African Business Simulation Games Framework suitable for this specific context. This proposal aims to contribute a gaming framework to support collaborative development and appropriation by the end-users and Multi-User with content representative of their contextual diversity. The successful EVER project and Bootcamp created by the Mozambican firm ITIS, which adopted a lean startup methodology to add local content in Business Games, can inspire the Pan African Business Simulations Games - PABSG. 

Abstract: Learning sustainability is closely linked with transformational competencies. Exploring formats and corresponding experiential methods are conducive to acquiring sustainability-related competencies. Simulation games are formats involving elements of experiential learning and qualifying for simulated realities of sustainable transformation. Research designs addressing experiential learning for sustainability are to adopt their logic and inherent principles. Considering simulation games in a paradigmatic way enables realizing their transformational potential for learning sustainability. This contribution advocates establishing a research design for experiential learning through simulation games driven by grounded theory, and embedded into an analytic and systematic reflection on teaching and learning. 

Abstract: We receive enormous benefits from automobiles, but at the same time, we can cause accidents or be the victims. The accident risk is huge, and most people cannot afford to pay for it personally, so most drivers subscribe to car insurance, but most placeholders don't understand the rules. Car Insurance Game (CIG) is a gaming simulation in which players role their lives as drivers for ten years. It follows the grade system, a characteristic idea of the Japanese automobile insurance system. Players must decide whether to use their insurance, accept a premium increase for the following years, or compensate themselves. In two-way accidents, they also match with the other party over the responsibility ratio. Throughout these processes, participants will understand the significance of automobile insurance and will be able to act correctly in the event of an accident in the future. 

Abstract: Collaboration is a critical factor for a team to be successful. Current practices to measure collaboration potential include methods that are outdated, cumbersome or error prone, and therefore often inapplicable in many settings. Games have been increasingly applied to assess a variety of skills and the popularity of multi-player games makes them a strong alternative for measuring the collaboration potential of a team. We propose Mirrors in Smog City, a novel serious game in which the final score is explicitly conceived as a proxy for the collaboration potential of the players. This multi-player collaborative game is designed for simplicity and accessibility, so that it can be used by very diverse teams in many settings, with minimal on boarding. Although the current prototype still needs a thorough evaluation, our preliminary assessment has concluded that the current design seems to be well-suited for assessing the collaboration potential of its players. Apart from the small sample size, a thorough evaluation will also need to include a benchmark with an objective and, if available, standardized method for assessing collaboration potential. 

Abstract: Designing local energy transitions is becoming an important question for local governments all around Europe. Negative perceived impacts of energy projects on local communities have frequently sparked opposition. Citizen resistance is often fed by feelings of recognition, distributive or procedural injustice. To give policymakers insight into these, (hidden) injustices, we designed the “Just Solar Panels” serious game. The game aims to make players experience how it feels to be participating in a participatory process from the perspective of different archetypes. The player are expected to balance daily personal tasks, needed to stay happy with processing and acting upon municipal information in a limited amount of time. The stated aim is to maximise points that represent general wellbeing The roles and tasks are designed in a way that are unfair in a non-obvious way. This mimics reality where citizens with the same information and opportunities to participate may not be able to do so because of systemic injustices. The game was played in three sessions with students, academics and industry and policy experts. The debrief was focused on eliciting experienced inequalities between players in the game and relating these to reality. The game successfully allowed players to experience injustices and relate these to reality, increasing their understanding of how seemingly just participatory processes can be unjust. In the future, the game should be further developed to enhance its use as a tool for learning and building capacity for change in organizations towards a more just local energy transition. 

Abstract: The digital revolution has created many intangible assets that are difficult to value. Human capital includes the skills, knowledge and experience that employees possess. However, the attribution of human capital to employees is ambiguous, leading to accounting distortions. This paper makes people aware of intangible human capital such as digital know-how, and proposes an M&A gamification tool as a stand-alone human capital valuation method. It is a quasi-negotiation of a business debate in which the sell-side and the buy-side each present a "strategic FCF" that is advantageous to their own side, claiming and disproving it. You can learn how to change to a negotiation axis that is advantageous to your own team. Stage 1 uses a business plan simulator to develop negotiation strategies, and Stage 2 plays an M&A negotiation game. More than 50 negotiation cards will help you spark a bargaining idea. We aim to improve M&A negotiating power by repeating pseudoM&A negotiations. Finally, use the scorecard to analyze your negotiation skills. You can clarify the strengths and weaknesses of your bargaining power and improve it. In addition, it is possible to calculate the single value of specific human capital using the green field method, and it is possible to propose a method for evaluating digital intangibles in the Web 3.0 era. In this research, we applied a gamification approach that provides "learning that never gets boring," "enjoyable learning," "exciting learning," and "acquisition of living knowledge," even for difficult themes. 

Abstract: Different works (projects, articles, etc.) have demonstrated the interest of Naturebased Solutions (NbS) to reconcile flood management and sustainable development, particularly in a context of climate change. However, their concrete implementation has to face different obstacles, in particular the lack of knowledge on these solutions or on their efficiency for flood management. This leads to the need to include NbS in a global, participatory and integrated vision of risk management. This is the challenge set by the MANA project, which aims to design an approach, a model and a tool to raise stakeholders' awareness of NbS for flood risk management. We propose in this project a game ‘SimMANA’ which combines role playing game and computerized simulation based on Agent based-model (MANA-Flo model). Sim-MANA is designed for 5 to 15 players, and requires a game master. It does not require any initial knowledge or skills, although it can be played by experts in the field of flooding, or by a mixed team (experts and non-experts). It places players in charge of a city council for a period during which they must make decisions related to land use planning and flood control (flooding and runoff) in an urban area. This article presents the game, the model and the first results obtained.