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Grøn Dyst 2016

413 98 Serious Game: Energy Transition C. Treglia1, and R. van der Veen1 1Student at the department of Industrial Design, Technical University of Eindhoven The authors of this project believe in designs that support people who embrace societal issues. This project concerns the development of a serious game concerning the implementation of green energy in the Netherlands, in view of the Paris agreement for 2020. Green choice is more than just a choice; it is an ethical choice from both environmental social perspectives. Through research on this project it was found that, stunningly, the green energy share in Netherlands is still only 4% of the total energy consumption. But which factors make the transition from conservative energy resources to green alternatives difficult? And what does it take for someone to structurally change his/her energy-use? Several experts were consulted concerning these topics. In addition to the fact that a large number of organizational rules and regulations impede new changes in a big system, it was found that the intrinsic motivation of everyone involved in the area of energy transition has an impact. Through different design iterations, we came to the idea of a serious game. Through an expert meeting with Maarten Robben (serious game designer, Frisse Blikken) and through research concerning the effect of serious games (Léon de Caluwé) we were convinced that this would be a very good medium to trigger discussion, raise awareness and touch upon the personal as well as professional responsibility of policy makers, citizens, big energy suppliers, municipalities, the government, NGO’s and smaller green start-ups. The designed game is a physical game that will be played around a big table. Participants will play the role of different stakeholders; municipality, the government, a big energy company, small green-start ups, technology developers and a NGO. A Judge w ill regulate the game where needed. The different stakeholders are given a common challenge: Increase the green energy share from 4% towards 20% within 4 years. The game triggers the stakeholders to discuss, negotiate and to make decisions. Every 30 minutes of the game stands for 1 year of policy making. The game provides many variables, difficulties and questions that will always trigger the participants to reflect on what they’re doing. The game visualises decision making, but more importantly, it visualizes the effects of their decision making. The game touches upon the environmental aspects, but also on the geopolitical level. Participants can buy, sell or trade windmills, solar panels or access to oil taps (coming from parties like Russia, Middle East or the North-Sea). Companies need to hire employees, make sure they have clients. Moreover, every stakeholder on the table is also provided with their own interests and difficulties concerning the company/organization itself. Therefore, they need to discuss internally about possible trade-offs between the common goal (going from 4% to 20% of the green energy share in 2020) and their internal goals. After every year (30 min) there is room for assessment and reflection; What factors influenced your decision making, and who do you need to change? The game provides discussions as well as role play (people position themselves in unfamiliar roles). It provides tangible outcomes of decision making and gives an overview of possible future scenarios regarding the implementation of green energy in the Netherlands (this will be discussed during the debriefing of the game). Since the game is still in development, we are figuring out to what extend we can rely upon own moral values and the sense of responsibility of the participants and what the role of design plays/can play in this. COMMUNICATION FREESTYLE IDEA BACHELOR FINAL ASSIGNMENT


Grøn Dyst 2016
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