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HOME ENERGY GAME

- game concepts

- user sessions

- target group

- �nal requirements

- concept development

- �nal structure- evaluation checkpoints- The Master of the Grid- structure- �owchart- next steps

August 2011 - Edoardo Costa - Graduation Project - SHIFFT - DFS department - TU De�t

this presentation is organized to provide a com-plete overview of the HOME ENERGY GAME graduation project until the present status

since the introduction of SMART GRID will have a deep impact on energy consumptions models and on users’ behavior, this game is designed as a necessary “step in between” to show these changes and to provide the required skills and knowledge

in the safe and simulated environment of a seri-ous game, users can discover what is going to change soon to the way they consume electric-ity, and they are provided basic knowledge to master this change

�nally the can exchange and compete with each other, and compare their “virtual” status with their real energy behavior in their house

INTRODUCTION

1.1 ASSIGNMENT“Design a product/service that employs game dynamics and community-based feedback to stimulate smart energy behavior, in particular energy conservation, load shifting and peak shav-ing.”

- the �nal project is intended to be an intervention aimed to change energy behavior

- since SMART GRID situation is not yet a reality, the intervention is going to be a simulation that adopts game dynamics to engage people

- the project can provide insights for further development for products and services permanently present in a households

REQUIREMENTS- the game should be a digital application - it creates a simulation of the Smart Grid technology applica-tion- it should provide players the basic knowledge required by S.G. through game dynamics- the knowledge and game experience should be structured on layers, that shows the different potential and possibilities of S.G. with increasing complexity- according to the different layers, different possibilities of interaction with other players should be designed

- Smart Grid and electricity market- User experience on electricity- H.C.I. for sustainability and ENERGY WIZ- Game design and social games

1.2 PROCESS PHASE 1PART 1

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T- sustainability with HCI - behavioral change theories and social interaction- “Persuasive Technology” B.J. Fogg

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“Design a product/service that em-ploys game dynamics and community-based feedback to stimu-late smart energy behavior, in par-ticular energy conservation, load shifting and peak shaving.”

How can a product/service based on a social community and game dynam-ics stimulate smart energy behavior to household users according to SG technology and potential?

the project will provide knowl-edge about the characteristics and impact of SMART GRID on energy behavior. the project will be a social game about energy where energy conservation and smart behavior are the game play basis

2.1 PROCESS PHASE 2the game is a simulation of energy world divided in three part: energy production, e. con-sumption, e. interactionwith game progression new op-tions and opportunities become possible

- the game dynamics give progress of knowledge- building dynamic is the favorite- integration with strategy and man-agement skills

PART 2

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TSdesign of a social game that can allow users to visualize the potentials of Smart Grid and understand the positive impact and bene�ts of their possible new behavior

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based on analysis information, four game concepts have been designedthey create a game-play with increasing dif�cultythey are employed in USER SES-SIONS to de�ne the �nal character-istics of the energy social game

three user sessions : 1 with SHIFFT staff, 2 with design students, 3 with DFS PhDsRESEARCH QUESTIONS- do the four games provide a progres-sive knowledge?- which game-play is the favorite one?- how the four game dynamics can be combined and modi�ed for the �nal version of the digital energy game?

FIRST LEVEL

MY HOUSE

ENVIRONMENT

RESOURCES

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

SECOND LEVEL

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

TASK:wash clothes

APPS IMPROV

MARKET

- tv- oven-fridge

-smart meter- �oor isolation

THIRD LEVEL

MY HOUSE

HOUSE.2

HOUSE.3

HOUSE.4GOVERNMENT

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

INTERACT- give energy- ask energy- share tech- send a gift

2.2 FOUR GAME CONCEPTS

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players must build a com-plete energy grid, from the electricity plant to the �nal households and their appliances and improve-ments.

a challenge card is ran-domly chosen: it is a daily home activities that demands electricity. Play-ers place on the table all the cards to accomplish it. At �rst the required appli-ances, then energy produc-tion and improvements

every round a new combi-nation of home activity and Grid situation is chosen with the central board, and players add one coin to the initial gamble.the most ef�cient combi-nation wins the gamble

players must build a com-plete energy grid, from the electricity plant to the �nal households and their appliances and improve-ments.

WHYthe four concepts are used to �x down on paper prototype the basic characteristics for the energy gamethey create a basic learning process about energy and Smart Gridin this way it is easy to analyze and critically design and modify their game-play structurethis step has been considered fundamental and critically useful for the complete design process

WHEREthe game prototypes have been employed in user sessions for an initial research about the effect of the learning process they create, about their playfulness and �nally to create a co-creation moment with users for the further integration and digital development of the �nal energy game

R.Qs.2.3 USER SESSIONS

SESSION 1 SESSION 2 SESSION 3- four participants from SHIFFT team- have a stronger focus on gameplay analysis

- three design students- attention on impact and ef�cacy of knowl-edge transfer

- four DfS PhDs- broader overview on the general quality of the information provided by the game

RESULTS- the game dynamics, played one after the other in the given order, can provide a progress of knowledge about energy consumption and Smart Grid. Players are able to transform this knowledge into game skills. Both �rst two assumptions have been con�rmed by the user session.- in general participants really enjoy playing the different games, even if they are all based on “non-game” fea-tures. The �rst dynamic, the building one, is the most favorite- participants suggest to integrate the �rst dynamic (the building one) with features that requires strategy and management skills used for the other three concepts.

2.4 TARGET GROUP

green

adop

ters social gamers

GREEN ADOPTERS: according to Roberts (1996) education is the best indicator for environment interest and innovation

SOCIAL GAMERS - ISG 2010 PopCap Social Gaming Research55% femaleage 22-60+ / peak 30-5928% single / 28% married with children41% work43% college graduate (connection to green adopters, Roberts 1996)49% PC user

IMPLICATION FOR PROJECTMotivation:- enjoy fun & excitement- stress reliever activityImplication:collaboration > competitionre�ection and strategy > immediate actionlong lasting dynamics > short gameplay

2.5 FINAL REQUIREMENTS-the building dynamics: players want to create something

-management skills: players want create strategy

-different steps of activity (building-using-sharing): players need path of learning

-iconic representation of all the elements: players need visuals as primary source of information

-simulation of real activities: players need to connect game features with real life actions

-the personalization features: players need to create a personal simulating environment

-interactive features: players need tools to be updated and improve their knowledge/skills

-connection between games: players need interaction to enjoy the game (challenge and collaboration)

DIGITALGAME

according to the session results, three game focus have been designedthey have been de�ned according two direction: single/interaction about the quality of interaction between players and adapting/building about the quality of interaction between players and gamethey �nal outcome should integrate them in a complete structure feasible as basis for a digital social game

2.6 CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

THE MASTER OF THE GRID

FIRST LEVEL

THIRD LEVEL

SECOND LEVEL

MY HOUSE

ENVIRONMENT

RESOURCES

ENVIRONMENT & RESOURCESWHAT: map wirh environment and resourcesINPUT: place you house, start transforming resources in energy pointsOUTPUT: energy points, in�u-ence points according to e�ciecy of energy transformation, e�ects on environment HOW: place energy plants on resources, create grid to the house, connect to the outside by investing energy points

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCEHOUSE AND ACTIVITIESWHAT: management of personal house to improve well beingINPUT: invest energy points to buy appliances and improve-ments, accomplish activities linked to well-being (wash clothes), play meta-games about energy e�ciencyOUTPUT: well being points from apps and activities, in�uence points from meta-games, com-plete your pro�le needs of appliances, improve e�ciencyHOW: invest energy points to buy apps and improvements, accom-plish tasks and activities, improve skills with metagames

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

TASK:wash clothes

APPS IMPROV

MARKET

- tv- oven-fridge

-smart meter- �oor isolation

MY HOUSE

HOUSE.2

HOUSE.3

HOUSE.4GOVERNMENT

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

SOCIAL INTERACTION ANDWORLD INFLUENCEWHAT: see the other players in the grid, help/ask/trade with other players, use in�uence pointsINPUT: interact with other players, ask and give energy, share knowledge, give gifts, re-act on global events concern-ing the government laws and policiesOUTPUT: the more interacting, the more in�uence points, unlock new possibilities, new global eventsHOW: interacting, decide direc-tion according to global events that can modify game param-eters (ban on polluting resources)

INTERACT- give energy- ask energy- share tech- send a gift

2.7 FINAL GAME STRUCTURE

2.7 FINAL GAME STRUCTURE

THIRD LEVEL

MY HOUSE

HOUSE.2

HOUSE.3

HOUSE.4GOVERNMENT

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

INTERACT- give energy- ask energy- share tech- send a gift

SECOND LEVEL

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

TASK:wash clothes

APPS IMPROV

MARKET

- tv- oven-fridge

-smart meter- �oor isolation

FIRST LEVEL

MY HOUSE

ENVIRONMENT

RESOURCES

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

THE MASTER OF THE GRID

ELEMENTSResources: oil, gas, coal, uranium, wind, sun, bio-massesMapHouseEnergy Plants + GridEnvironment

PointsEnergy pointsWell-being points

FactorsE�ciency & impact of energy plantsEnd of resourcesResources random eventsIn�uence of environment status on well-being

ELEMENTSHouseAppliancesImprovementsMetagames: Daily activities, Smart Grid Games

Pointsenergy points, well-being pointsin�uence points

Factorslevel of game: bigger house, more appliance, complex metagames

Bonusesnew apps, improvements, energy points, random events

ELEMENTSmy house, other players’ houses, government

Activitiesask/give/trade energy pointsunlock knowledge and possibili-ties of interactionglobal events

Pointsenergy points, in�uence points

Factorsmore in�uence points = more ways of interactiontake decision on global events that can modify game param-eters (ban on some energy sources)

2.7 FINAL GAME FLOWCHARTPLACE THE HOUSE GET INITIAL

ENERGY POINTS

BUILDENERGY PLANTS

BUILDENERGY GRIDCONNECT

OUTSIDE

FIND OBJECTSAND BONUSES

ACCUMULATEENERGY POINTS

START

BUILD NEWIMPROVE

RANDOMEVENTS

DAMAGES TO ENVIRONMENT

END OFRESOURCES

LESSWELL-BEING

LEVEL 1

LEVEL 2ENTER THE HOUSE BUY APPS AND

IMPROVEMENTS

CONSUME ENERGYPOINTS

GET WELL-BEINGPOINTS

DO DAILYACTIVITIES

ACCORDING TOTECH LEVEL

EFFICIENCYIMPROVEMENTS

ACCUMULATEINFLUENCE POINTS

DO SMART GRIDGAMES

GET INFLUENCEPOINTS

LEVEL 3 ASK/GIVE/TRADEENERGY POINTS

SHARE KNOWLEDGEHELP, GIFTS

TAKE DECISIONWITH IMPACT ON GAME

PARAMETERS

GLOBAL EVENTSACCORDING ON INFLUENCE

SMART OF THE GRID as added value service

�nal user test set-up:- research goal- research questions- methodology

the interface is presented according to the complete game structure

PART 3

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EVALU

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the initial game structure has been analyzed and modi�ed according to three factors:- gameplay complexity- home technology- digital platform

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the �nal energy game is a social game that integrates the learning phase with the social interaction between players and the comparison between the simulation environment of the game and the real house energy consumption

the game structure is presented with the �owchart that de�nes - the interaction between players / game and players / players- the progress of knowledge- the gameplay

3 FINAL GAME DEVELOPMENT

RESTRICTIONS the MASTER OF THE GRID concept has been analyzed according to three different restric-tions that must be considered to reach the �nal stage of development

3.1 DESIGN EVALUATION CHECKPOINT

FIRST LEVEL

MY HOUSE

ENVIRONMENT

RESOURCES

ENERGYPOINTS

WELL-BEING

INFLUENCE

GAMEPLAY DIGITAL PLATFORM

HOME TECHNOLOGY

the structure of the gameplay is very complexit can be a good basis for a real vide game about energy management, but it’s important to consider the main aim of this social game: it should be “seri-ous”, a tool to teach and transfer knowledge to playersa simple and light structure of the gameplay can provide education need without overwhelming playersin order to achieve this, the learning progress should be clearly visible in the game structure

PC is chosen as digital platform for the energy gameISG 2010 PopCap Social Gaming Re-search- 71% of social games are played on PC- 50% on laptop- 9% on mobile phoneEurobarometer E-communication in households 2011- 95% of Dutch households have a PC- 94% of households have Internet- 38% of Dutch have a smartphone with Internet accessCBS - ICT and households- 57% of Internet users played or down-load a game (peak in 25-65 y.o.)- 30% of Internet users used occasion-ally mobile Internet

Since the market of what we could de�ne “services for sustainability” related to Smart Grid does not exist yet, the desktop/laptop is chosen as best driver for diffusion

the complete structure of the Master of the Grid would require a complex home infrastructure to connect all the electrical system to the game, and transform the information collected in game eventstoday the Smart Meter are not ready to provide detailed information about stand-by, single appliance con-sumption, etc, but they can give a daily general overview of the energy usedsince the comparison between the simulation and the real house consumption can increase the game engagement and the game life cycle, the game structure should use in the best way this basic information

3.2 THE MASTE OF THE GRID

START

ENERGY GAME

COMMUNITY

GAME PROGRESS

3.3 GAME STRUCTURESTART create pro�le

GAME phase 1createenergy today

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players discover how toproduce energy with actualtechnologiesthe combination in�uencethe dif�culty level

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GAME phase 2

play CONSERVATION games

this four games challenge players over conservation and energy ef�ciency by providing them knowledge they can apply in real life

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play SMART ENERGY gamesrenewable energy

in the second phase players discover the SMART ENERGY:- how to produce it- how to use it

the STATUS

according to their perfomance, players are given a speci�c status green-yellow-red that will de�ne their position and interaction with the other playersthe status is point based and can change according to the players actions: they can change it by playing the game again, interacting with other players, improving their home energy consumption

the COMMUNITYafter the energy game, players can enter the commu-nity of friends and contacts with their personal statushere they have different interaction possibilities- GREEN TO GREEN: compete over the energy game to see who is the best- GREEN TO YELLOW/RED: give help by playing the game the other has failed. If performance is good, the system send speci�c information that the yellow/red can use to play the game again and improve status- YELLOW/RED TO GREEN: send a help request that the GREEN can accept or not- players with same status can have the HOME CON-SUMPTION COMPETITION. Using the Smart Meter, the game compare the consumption of the two players according to three different challenge: WEEK, RANDOM, CONSUME

3.4 FLOWCHARTSTART

PROFILEPRODUCEENERGY

CONSERVATIONGAMES

SMART ENERGYGAMES

PERSONALSTATUS

PLAYERSCOMMUNITY

CHECK HOUSECONSUMPTION

COMPETE ON HOUSECONSUMPTION

LEGEND

checkpoints �rst gameplay

gameplay forinteraction

improve status byplaying game

in�uence of realconsumption ongameplay

gameplay

community board

game interaction

real consumption interaction

ASK HELP

COMPETE

GIVE HELP

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�rst gameplay: the �rst time players must go through all game step to create their game statusinitial personal status: is de�ned by the scores obtained with the energy games. when players obtain it they can enter the community areacommunity area: according to the status, players can interact in different way between each othersgame interaction: the interaction between players is based on the previous energy games, they are played again and the results compared to declare the winnerreal consumption: Smart Meter makes real house consumption a gameplay elementreal consumption competition: Smart Meter allows players with same status to compete on their real energy consumption with different tasks (weekly, random day, on speci�c amount of energy per day)

INTEGRATION AT HOME3.5 NEXT STEPS

ELECTRICITY

SMART METER

HOME CONSUMPTION

ENERGY

INFORMATIONXX XX XX

ENERGY GAME

OTHER PLAYERS

THE GAME ON THE DESKTOP3.5 NEXT STEPS

GAMEINTERFACE

STATUSICON

PROGRAMICON

FINAL USER TESTS SET-UP3.5 NEXT STEPS

RESEARCH GOAL: the user test should investigate whether the game can provide players with clear knowledge about energy conservation and SMART GRID, if players are stimulated to useand apply this knowledge for their household energy consumption and �nally the potential role and in�uence of the social community

RESEARCH QUESTION:- can the game transmit knowledge to players?- is this knowledge comprensible to players?- can the game stimulate players to apply knowledge in real life?

Users: “social game players” and “green innovators”

METHODOLOGY:- initial questions about energy conservation and SMART GRID- tutoring through the game interface prototype (powerpoint of �ash) and explanation- set of questions about energy conservation and SMART GRID to prove knowledge acquisition- set of question of evaluation on interface, willingness to use and employ knowledge and participationto community

THANK YOU