With the increasing mobility and connectivity of technological devices in smart cities, games are also used to address urban challenges like citizenship or equality. In my thesis, I argue that the design of many of these game solutions does not fit the challenge they try to address. For example, Pokémon Go ultimately became more a social facilitator than a pure for-profit app, while Geocaching for education purposes has proven ineffective. In order to assess the efficacy of the design of these solutions and suggest future improvements, I introduce an interdisciplinary method called ‘The Action Space Analysis’ which can be used to measure and judge how well the design fits with a challenge. First, I suggest a perspective on game design focused on the acceptance that whatever possible actions are contained in the game, some player will play them. Secondly, the city challenges are understood as the pursuit of a city model, an understanding of how you want the city to be. The action space analysis takes a game design and uncovers all possible actions of the game to check and score how well these actions fit the city model pursued. This checks how present the possibility is of players performing the desired actions from the city model. I check this for Geocaching, Ontdek Overvecht, Cities: Skylines, and Pokémon Go. The action space analysis works as validation method that allows designers to improve their games, critics to analyse city solutions better, and municipalities to pass informed judgment on suggested solutions.
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This post will deal with The Inclusive City Game Talk Show held on the 23rd of November 2016 at Wijk & Co. in Utrecht Overvecht. Like the preceding event in Amsterdam, the talk show was moderated by Utrecht University’s Michiel de Lange and it brought together local and national experts (such as municipal workers or representatives of local initiatives) and game designers. Unlike the previous event, the focus was on localizing the more general background of creating city games for newcomers in the environment of Overvecht. The talk show took place during the game jam of Games for Cities as well, thus the evening functioned as a dialogue with local experts, an initial presentation of game ideas and a chance to comment on their design. Sketching the general background were Michelle Provoost and Nina Hälker. Finally, Ekim Tan was present to discuss the game jam game design process. Due to the more specific localization of a neighborhood (instead of the whole of Amsterdam) the focus of this talk show was on how games can be used to approach an influx of newcomers in a specific neighborhood.
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The IMPULS-2020 project DIGIREAL (BUas, 2021) aims to significantly strengthen BUAS’ Research and Development (R&D) on Digital Realities for the benefit of innovation in our sectoral industries. The project will furthermore help BUas to position itself in the emerging innovation ecosystems on Human Interaction, AI and Interactive Technologies. The pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact on BUas industrial sectors of research: Tourism, Leisure and Events, Hospitality and Facility, Built Environment and Logistics. Our partner industries are in great need of innovative responses to the crises. Data, AI combined with Interactive and Immersive Technologies (Games, VR/AR) can provide a partial solution, in line with the key-enabling technologies of the Smart Industry agenda. DIGIREAL builds upon our well-established expertise and capacity in entertainment and serious games and digital media (VR/AR). It furthermore strengthens our initial plans to venture into Data and Applied AI. Digital Realities offer great opportunities for sectoral industry research and innovation, such as experience measurement in Leisure and Hospitality, data-driven decision-making for (sustainable) tourism, geo-data simulations for Logistics and Digital Twins for Spatial Planning. Although BUas already has successful R&D projects in these areas, the synergy can and should significantly be improved. We propose a coherent one-year Impuls funded package to develop (in 2021): 1. A multi-year R&D program on Digital Realities, that leads to, 2. Strategic R&D proposals, in particular a SPRONG/sleuteltechnologie proposal; 3. Partnerships in the regional and national innovation ecosystem, in particular Mind Labs and Data Development Lab (DDL); 4. A shared Digital Realities Lab infrastructure, in particular hardware/software/peopleware for Augmented and Mixed Reality; 5. Leadership, support and operational capacity to achieve and support the above. The proposal presents a work program and management structure, with external partners in an advisory role.
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.
Stedelijke regio’s streven naar een duurzame mobiliteitstransitie. Deze ambitie staat echter op gespannen voet met het hoge autobezit- en autogebruik. De stormachtige introductie van lichte elektrische voertuigen, oftewel LEVs (denk aan e-scooters, e-steps, e-(cargo)bikes en micro-cars) leek een belangrijke ‘gamechanger’ te zijn. Deze LEVs zijn namelijk klein en efficiënt, zijn nagenoeg emissievrij, bieden mogelijkheden voor het verbeteren van het voor- en natransport van het openbaar vervoer (OV) en worden bovendien door hun gebruikers als prettig ervaren tijdens het reizen.Tot op heden maken LEVs deze beloften echter onvoldoende waar. Bij de introductie, thans met name in de vorm van deelsystemen, komen diverse uitdagingen aan het licht zoals: 1) verrommeling en overlast door verkeerd gepareerde LEVs, 2) ongewenste substitutie van loop-, fiets- en OV-verplaatsingen en beperkte impact op autogebruik en 3) en zorgen over de verkeersveiligheid en beleving, met name op de (al steeds drukker wordende) fietsinfrastructuur in Nederland. Deze problemen komen mede voort uit de snelle introductie waardoor gemeenten achter de feiten aanliepen en geen gericht beleid konden voeren. Langzaam komen we nu in een periode van stabilisatie en regulering maar een doorontwikkeling naar pro-actief LEV beleid is nodig om de potentie van LEVs voor de mobiliteitstransitie te ondersteunen. Het LEVERAGE-consortium, bestaande uit sterke partners uit de triple helix, gaat daarom aan de slag met deze vraagstukken. De centrale onderzoeksvraag is:Wat is de potentie van LEVs voor de mobiliteitstransitie naar bereikbare, duurzame, verkeersveilige, inclusieve en leefbare stedelijke regio’s en hoe kan deze optimaal worden benut door een betere integratie van LEVs in het mobiliteitssysteem en het mobiliteitsbeleid en door een effectieve governance van de samenwerking tussen publieke en private stakeholders?Om deze vraag te beantwoorden heeft het consortium een ambitieus en innovatieve onderzoeksopzet gedefinieerd waarbij veel nadruk wordt gelegd op de disseminatie en exploitatie van kennis in de beleidspraktijk.Collaborative partnersProvincie Noord-Brabant, Metropoolregio Arnhem-Nijmegen, Gemeente Eindhoven, Gemeente Breda, Gemeente Arnhem, Ministerie I&W, Rijkswaterstaat, Arriva, PON, Check, Citysteps, Cenex, TIER, We-all-Wheel, Fleet investment, Goudappel, Kennisinstellingen en netwerkorganisaties, HAN, TU/e, CROW, Connekt, POLIS, SWOV.