Serious games are a well-developed participatory research approach to learn about, discuss and explore complexity. By playing a game that mimics part(s) of the real system, stakeholders explore the potential impacts of their actions, while sharing their knowledge and understanding of the functioning of the system at hand. One of the most successful examples of game research is the companion modelling approach (ComMod), which aims to facilitate social learning about complex social-ecological systems among diverse actors. ComMod estabilished certain rules among reserachers on how to apply this method responsibly. Others Dutch universities such as Delft (Delft GameLab) and Utrecht (Utrecht Game Research) have made place to discuss gaming. In Wageningen serious games are widely used in many different disciplines, but no common place has been designed for connecting researchers who apply this method. The WUR Games Hub aim to create a dialogue among scientists to foster a common understanding on how to design, apply and assess this method. This Games Hub plan to assemble a small group of researchers at WUR (PhD students and Postdocs from different chair groups and PhD schools). This Hub aims to develop a multi-disciplinary understanding on serious games and to develop the following activities: – Program regular meetings for discussion or game presentation – Invite guest researchers to share their games – Develop a protocol from the design to the assessment of serious games – Discuss games as a transdisciplinary tool for bridging science and society and as a transformative learning tool for education.
—- Game Research at lunch:
- 12th of May 2022 from 12:30 to 13:30 – Gaia first floor. Curiosity-Driven Exploration with Marcello Gomez Maureira, Leiden University Gameplay 3D open-world video game: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3474698
- 24th of May 2022 from 12:30 to 13:30 – Gaia first floor. The Game of Games with Ton Spil, Twente University Board games: https://www.utoday.nl/news/61773/Playing_the_Game_of_Games
- 1st of June 2022 from 12:30 to 13:30 – Gaia first floor. Playing with the trouble with Jessica Duncan, Wageningen University Games as a method for transformative collaborations: https://www.unusualcollaborations.com/playing-with-the-trouble
More information
- Game Hub webpage
- Game Hub Teams-site
- Federico Andreotti (federico.andreotti@wur.nl)
- Jillian Student (jillian.student@wur.nl)
