iEMSs 2022 Conference - Brussels, Belgium

iEMSs 2022 - Session A.5

Gamification of participatory modeling and decision making: applicability and limitations

Stream    : A - Decision making and public participation in environmental modelling

Session Leader: Elena Bakhanova, Carissa Champlin
Description

The long history of using game design in simulation modeling and public policy contexts gives much promise for gamifying participatory modeling (PM). The use of serious games and incorporation of game elements in the traditional PM process commonly aim to increase engagement, reinforce risk-free experimentation, reflect on the diversity of perspectives through roleplay, and even facilitate the process of knowledge elicitation and exchange. Designing gamified activities is a craft that includes considerable play testing, trials and errors. Hence, reflection is needed on existing practices of gamified PM, usefulness of citizen engagement in game design and the ways of arranging it . In this session, while looking at diverse application cases and theoretical papers, we would like to reflect on the following questions: (1) what should be the criteria for using game design in PM, (2) what can help PM practitioners to experiment with game design and report on the results (including unsuccessful ones), and (3) what sorts of adjacent disciplines/approaches/methods combine well with gamification for a more enhanced PM process.