From Entertainment to Seriousness
How to translate Entertainment Games into Simulation Games
Maria Freese, Heide K. Lukosch, Simon Tiemersma
In this paper, we discuss how the development of simulation games can benefit from successful elements in entertainment games. Therefore, we will describe the entertainment game Citadels (Faidutti 2000) and inform about the related development process of the simulation game MachiaCELLi. MachiaCELLi is a physical simulation game that is being used in the interface between research and policy making. The focus of our contribution is on the analysis of the game mechanics of Citadels, our considerations and transfer of selected mechanics to MachiaCELLi, as well as the adjustments of the learning mechanics, and the inclusion of a debriefing phase. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations for future work.
In diesem Beitrag wird diskutiert, wie die Entwicklung von Planspielen von erfolgreichen Elementen in Unterhaltungsspielen profitieren kann. In einem ersten Schritt wird daher das Unterhaltungsspiel „Ohne Furcht und Adel“ (Faidutti 2000) beschrieben und anschließend über den Entwicklungsprozess des Planspieles MachiaCELLi informiert. MachiaCELLi ist ein analoges Planspiel, das an der Schnittstelle zwischen Forschung und Politik eingesetzt werden soll. Der Schwerpunkt unseres Beitrags liegt auf der Analyse der Spielmechanismen von „Ohne Furcht und Adel“, unseren Überlegungen und der Übertragung ausgewählter Mechanismen auf MachiaCELLi sowie der Anpassung der Lernmechanismen und der Einbeziehung einer Debriefing-Phase. Der Beitrag schließt mit einer Diskussion der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse und Empfehlungen für zukünftige Arbeiten ab.
1. Introduction
Today’s society is characterized by a large number of complex systems. Complex systems are systems constituted by many actors that must collaborate with each other to guarantee an optimized use of the functions of the specific system. This often is challenging, due to different priorities as well as divergent goals and complex and uncertain problems (De Bruijn, Herder 2009). An example of such complex system is the domain of biotechnology. Within this domain, the project T-TRIPP1 aims to contribute to a translation between scientists, risk assessors and policy makers to guarantee a safe development of innovative technologies. To be able to achieve this aim, innovative methods are needed. One of such innovative methods are simulation games that can be used to bring different actors together, and to analyse complex systems (Duke 1974).
The present paper is structured as follows: First, we describe the entertainment game Citadels (Faidutti 2000) and analyse its mechanics. After this, the transfer of selected game mechanics to the physical simulation game MachiaCELLi is presented. Therefore, we describe the development process of this game. Next to this, we describe the adjusted learning mechanics as well as the inclusion of a debriefing phase into the game play process. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations for future work.
2. Development of a simulation game
When designing a simulation game, one can apply various design approaches. One of such approaches is formulated as Triadic Game Design (TGD) Philosophy (Harteveld 2011). This approach distinguishes between the three worlds of reality, meaning, and play, when designing simulation games. Yet, TGD represents a rather high-level design approach. Our work aims at translating the valuable aspects of TGD into a practica
