Design a place for Serious Games at WUR

DESIGN A PLACE FOR SERIOUS GAMES AT WUR

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). This Hub aims to develop a multi-disciplinary understanding on serious games and to develop the following activities: - Program monthly 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

The WUR Game Hub aim to foster possible collaboration as writing literature review, opinion paper, MSc thesis supervision and participate to projects call.

Kick-off meeting in June 2021
To sign up, or get more information: federico.andreotti@wur.nl