The 2014 EU Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) lays down obligations for the EU Member States to establish a maritime planning process, resulting in a maritime spatial plan by 2020. Consultation should be carried out with local, national and transnational stakeholders. Stakeholder engagement in MSP is complex because of the great number and diversity of maritime stakeholders and the unfamiliarity of some of these stakeholders with MSP and its potential impact. To facilitate stakeholder engagement in MSP, the 'MSP Challenge' table top strategy game was designed and played as part of several stakeholder events in different European countries. The authors study the efficacy of the game for stakeholder engagement. Background and evaluation data of nineteen game sessions with a total of 310 stakeholders with different backgrounds were collected through post-game surveys. Furthermore, the efficacy of the game for stakeholder engagement processes, organised by competent MSP authorities in Scotland and Belgium, is studied in more detail. The results show that the board game, overall, has been a very efficient and effective way of familiarising a great diversity of stakeholders with MSP and to create meaningful interaction and learning among stakeholders in formal planning processes. However, the case studies also show that contextual factors-the level of familiarity with MSP and participants' perception to sustainability-influences the efficacy of the game.
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The authors analyze the complex interplay between rail infrastructure development and railway station area development in the Netherlands through the method of gaming-simulation, or serious gaming. The serious game SprintCity was developed in order to better understand and manage the dynamic interrelations between rail infrastructure and urban development of the Delta Metropolis in the Netherlands. So far, the game has been played in nine independent game sessions, with a total of around 70 stakeholders as players. The authors describe the design of the game in some detail and present the preliminary insights and results. Data before, during and after the game sessions are gathered through in-game participant questionnaires, data logging, observations and transcripts of end-of-game (debriefing) discussions between participants and the facilitator. The main conclusion is that the current prototype version of the game is supported by the stakeholder-players, significantly enhances the development and use of the underlying infrastructure-space model and generates questions for further scientific and policy research.
This study furthers game-based learning for circular business model innovation (CBMI), the complex, dynamic process of designing business models according to the circular economy principles. The study explores how game-play in an educational setting affects learning progress on the level of business model elements and from the perspective of six learning categories. We experimented with two student groups using our game education package Re-Organise. All students first studied a reader and a game role description and then filled out a circular business model canvas and a learning reflection. The first group, i.e., the game group, updated the canvas and the reflection in an interactive tutorial after gameplay. The control group submitted their updated canvas and reflection directly after the interactive tutorial without playing the game. The results were analyzed using text-mining and qualitative methods such as word co-occurrence and sentiment polarity. The game group created richer business models (using more waste processing technologies) and reflections with stronger sentiments toward the learning experience. Our detailed study results (i.e., per business model element and learning category) enhance understanding of game-based learning for circular business model innovation while providing directions for improving serious games and accompanying educational packages.
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In recent years, disasters are increasing in numbers, location, intensity and impact; they have become more unpredictable due to climate change, raising questions about disaster preparedness and management. Attempts by government entities at limiting the impact of disasters are insufficient, awareness and action are urgently needed at the citizen level to create awareness, develop capacity, facilitate implementation of management plans and to coordinate local action at times of uncertainty. We need a cultural and behavioral change to create resilient citizens, communities, and environments. To develop and maintain new ways of thinking has to start by anticipating long-term bottom-up resilience and collaborations. We propose to develop a serious game on a physical tabletop that allows individuals and communities to work with a moderator and to simulate disasters and individual and collective action in their locality, to mimic real-world scenarios using game mechanics and to train trainers. Two companies–Stratsims, a company specialized in game development, and Society College, an organization that aims to strengthen society, combine their expertise as changemakers. They work with Professor Carola Hein (TU Delft), who has developed knowledge about questions of disaster and rebuilding worldwide and the conditions for meaningful and long-term disaster preparedness. The partners have already reached out to relevant communities in Amsterdam and the Netherlands, including UNUN, a network of Ukrainians in the Netherlands. Jaap de Goede, an experienced strategy simulation expert, will lead outreach activities in diverse communities to train trainers and moderate workshops. This game will be highly relevant for citizens to help grow awareness and capacity for preparing for and coping with disasters in a bottom-up fashion. The toolkit will be available for download and printing open access, and for purchase. The team will offer training and facilitate workshops working with local communities to initiate bottom-up change in policy making and planning.
The growing use of digital media has led to a society with plenty of new opportunities for knowledge exchange, communication and entertainment, but also less desirable effects like fake news or cybercrime. Several studies, however, have shown that children are less digital literate than expected. Digital literacy has consequently become a key part within the new national educational policy plans titled Curriculum.nu and the Dutch research and policy agendas. This research project is focused on the role the game sector can play in the development of digital literacy skills of children. In concrete, we want to understand the value of the use of digital literacy related educational games in the context of primary education. Taking into consideration that the childhood process of learning takes place through playing, several studies claim that the introduction of the use of technology at a young age should be done through play. Digital games seem a good fit but are themselves also part of digital media we want young people to be literate about. Furthermore, it needs to be taken into account that digital literacy of teachers can be limited as well. The interactive, structured nature of digital games offers potential here as they are less dependent on the support and guidance of an adult, but at the same time this puts even more emphasis on sensible game design to ensure the desired outcome. The question is, then, if and how digital games are best designed to foster the development of digital literacy skills. By harnessing the potential of educational games, a consortium of knowledge and practice partners aim to show how creating theoretical and practical insights about digital literacy and game design can aid the serious games industry to contribute to the societal challenges concerning contemporary literacy demands.
This project covers multiple avenues of work on regional, national, and international policy discourse around the entertainment and creative (e.g. artistic) video game sector. Historically, policy makers have been wary of supporting the video game industry, but the diverse and modern video games industry deserves support and investment to build its presence in education, society, and business. Directing this support for the greatest impact requires informed decisions.This work continues the successful research of the Gaming Horizons project and its publications and activities.
