10 Serious Games in Sustainable Land Management
191
to shape strategic decisions for the coming decades, a complex, integrative approach
is necessary. eLAN achieved this by simulating the impacts of rising energy prices
and capturing the responses of decision-makers through participative methods. The
insights obtained during the project suggested this “serious game” as the most suitable
approach for simulating sustainable land management decision-making.
The term “serious game” has not been precisely defined; different contexts have
conceptualised it differently (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 218–219, Rebmann 2001: 9).
Definitions and understandings may also vary between the German and the AngloAmerican contexts, where the expression “Planspiel” and the terms “simulation
game” or “serious game” can be found (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 218–219, Rebmann
2001: 9).
For the eLAN context, the closest definition of the “serious game” is the
following: “The serious game is an activity-oriented method, in which complex
economic or social-political functional relationships are simulated within an illustrative modelled gaming scenario.” (Author’s translation). “Das Planspiel ist eine
handlungsorientierte Methode, bei der komplexe ökonomische oder politisch-soziale
Funktionszusammenhänge in einem modellhaften Spielszenario simuliert werden.”
(Fischer 2008: 137).
This makes a serious game a good methodological fit for the project’s purposes—
a combination of modelled scenario in combination with an activity-oriented basic
approach.
In the context of eLAN, the term “Planspiel” has been used in German publications and “serious game” as the direct equivalent to describe the research approach
in English publications.
Serious games are not a new tool, and have been used in teaching, learning and
evaluation contexts for several decades (e.g. Ebert 1992; Hitzler et al. 2010; Korte
and Lehmbrock 2009). For political consulting, serious games have also been known
to be a valuable tool for testing the effects of new laws or administrative regulations
(e.g. Herz and Blätte 2000; Korte and Lehmbrock 2009; Hitzler et al. 2010; Böhret
and Wordelmann 2000; Vissers and van der Meer 2000; Joldersma and Geurts 2000).
As shown by way of example in Korte and Lehmbrock (2009), serious games have
also a long history in political contexts for urban and transport planning (Korte
and Lehmbrock 2009: 11–12). However, as Hitzler et al. (2010) noted, there is no
homogeneity of serious games within Germany. Serious games have been designed by
many different institutions, companies, universities and individuals for a multitude of
different purposes (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 220–221). Nevertheless, the combination
of serious games with computer-supported elements is still very rare in the sector
of planning or decision support for politicians and planners; one exception is the
serious game TAU (Böhret and Wordelmann 2000).
Researchers on the eLAN project also found that, in spite of the potential usefulness of a serious game, there was nothing available to cover all the aspects of the
project’s research interest. eLAN researchers therefore chose to illuminate this lessexplored object of research by developing a new serious game, supported by scenarios
191
to shape strategic decisions for the coming decades, a complex, integrative approach
is necessary. eLAN achieved this by simulating the impacts of rising energy prices
and capturing the responses of decision-makers through participative methods. The
insights obtained during the project suggested this “serious game” as the most suitable
approach for simulating sustainable land management decision-making.
The term “serious game” has not been precisely defined; different contexts have
conceptualised it differently (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 218–219, Rebmann 2001: 9).
Definitions and understandings may also vary between the German and the AngloAmerican contexts, where the expression “Planspiel” and the terms “simulation
game” or “serious game” can be found (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 218–219, Rebmann
2001: 9).
For the eLAN context, the closest definition of the “serious game” is the
following: “The serious game is an activity-oriented method, in which complex
economic or social-political functional relationships are simulated within an illustrative modelled gaming scenario.” (Author’s translation). “Das Planspiel ist eine
handlungsorientierte Methode, bei der komplexe ökonomische oder politisch-soziale
Funktionszusammenhänge in einem modellhaften Spielszenario simuliert werden.”
(Fischer 2008: 137).
This makes a serious game a good methodological fit for the project’s purposes—
a combination of modelled scenario in combination with an activity-oriented basic
approach.
In the context of eLAN, the term “Planspiel” has been used in German publications and “serious game” as the direct equivalent to describe the research approach
in English publications.
Serious games are not a new tool, and have been used in teaching, learning and
evaluation contexts for several decades (e.g. Ebert 1992; Hitzler et al. 2010; Korte
and Lehmbrock 2009). For political consulting, serious games have also been known
to be a valuable tool for testing the effects of new laws or administrative regulations
(e.g. Herz and Blätte 2000; Korte and Lehmbrock 2009; Hitzler et al. 2010; Böhret
and Wordelmann 2000; Vissers and van der Meer 2000; Joldersma and Geurts 2000).
As shown by way of example in Korte and Lehmbrock (2009), serious games have
also a long history in political contexts for urban and transport planning (Korte
and Lehmbrock 2009: 11–12). However, as Hitzler et al. (2010) noted, there is no
homogeneity of serious games within Germany. Serious games have been designed by
many different institutions, companies, universities and individuals for a multitude of
different purposes (e.g. Hitzler et al. 2010: 220–221). Nevertheless, the combination
of serious games with computer-supported elements is still very rare in the sector
of planning or decision support for politicians and planners; one exception is the
serious game TAU (Böhret and Wordelmann 2000).
Researchers on the eLAN project also found that, in spite of the potential usefulness of a serious game, there was nothing available to cover all the aspects of the
project’s research interest. eLAN researchers therefore chose to illuminate this lessexplored object of research by developing a new serious game, supported by scenarios