GAMING THE ENERGY CRISIS

A LEVEL 3 MODULE

RATIONALEThis module will introduce students to the role of games and other

participatory media in how society frames and responds to “peak oil” and its implications. We will trace the trajectory of mediated responses

to energy crises from the 1960s to the present, to build a culturally informed understanding of gaming and new media relative to the

energy conversation. Central to this are the aesthetics and cultural discourses surrounding energy and gaming, the interactions of varying

ideologies, and game production possibilities and constraints. 

A bottom line is that energy is a social resource, binding us together in our dependence upon it, and it must be addressed in ways that are equally social. We will play and critique games that have joined the

energy conversation, focusing on the functions of game elements of simulation, narrative, and community. We will return frequently to the

idea of systems—energy systems, social systems and game systems—as interacting contexts whose outcomes are not always predictable.

LEARNING OUTCOMESBy the end of the module, students should: 

• Understand key relationships between media and the energy conversation from the late1960s to present.

• Be able to discuss concepts within game studies (participation, simulation, narrative, community) relative to real social issues, including but not only the energy crisis.

• Understand the application of game design to social issues more broadly, and what role this is likely to play in future.

• Have experience sketching out a game concept in collaboration with peers, according to a basic brief.

• Have experience creating and updating a podcast.

CONTENTModule content relies on a series of key media texts from the emerging area of Climate Humanities. There is a focus on socially-informed critique, contemporary environmental thought and thoughtful or “serious” game design.  Games played in this module are selected because they illustrate aesthetic, technical, discursive, ideological and procedural concepts on which the module is focused.

TEACHING & LEARNING METHODSThis module is delivered through lectures on key topics that draw on case studies, media texts and existing practices. Lectures are designed to invite discussion, and include breakout sessions to discuss questions in small groups.

Students will be asked to upload individual podcasts (either video or audio) responding to a selection of questions presented within each unit. They will be asked to watch/listen to other student podcasts and upload comments, questions and raise points of interest via a class chat forum (eg. Slack or RocketChat).

Each unit will include a small-group design concept assignment based on the issues covered in that unit, leading up to the final game concept design. Group work is frequent in the module, but students will not be in the same groups throughout.

Social media interaction around the module material will be encouraged.

1: ENERGY & MEDIAKey questions:

• What is meant by “energy networks” and “energy systems”?

• How has the mass media typically handled energy issues and why?

• How have Web 2.0 and 3.0 changed how we approach social issues?

• What qualifies as a game, and how are games taking on the energy issue? (overview)

• How are energy transitions likely to engage the future of games, and vice versa? (eg. the IoT)

1: ENERGY & MEDIAKey questions:

• What is meant by “energy networks” and “energy systems”?

• How has the mass media typically handled energy issues and why?

• How have Web 2.0 and 3.0 changed how we approach social issues?

• What qualifies as a game, and how are games taking on the energy issue? (overview)

• How are energy transitions likely to engage the future of games, and vice versa? (eg. the IoT)

Sample texts:

• Heise, U. K. (2008). Sense of place and sense of planet: The environmental imagination of the global. Oxford University Press. [selections]

• Bogost, I., (2007). Persuasive games: the expressive power of videogames, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [selections]

• Flanagan, M., (2013). Critical play: radical game design., Mit Press. [selections]

2: NARRATIVEKey questions:

• What qualifies as narrative? How has that changed in recent years?

• How has narrative been used historically to engage people with social issues including energy?

• What is the role of narrative in gaming?• How is game narrative similar to and

different from other mediated narrative forms?

• What are the aesthetics of narrative in gaming, and why does it matter?

2: NARRATIVESample texts:

• Collapsus (2011)• Fort McMoney (2014)• Super Energy Apocalypse (2008) • Sicart, M., (2014). Play Matters. The

MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. [selections]

• Bogost, I., Ferrari, S. & Schweizer, B., (2012). Newsgames: journalism at play, Cambridge, Mass.; London: MIT Press. [selections]

• Kirkpatrick, G., (2011). Aesthetic theory and the video game., Manchester University Press. [selections]

Key questions:

• What qualifies as narrative? How has that changed in recent years?

• How has narrative been used historically to engage people with social issues including energy?

• What is the role of narrative in gaming?• How is game narrative similar to and

different from other mediated narrative forms?

• What are the aesthetics of narrative in gaming, and why does it matter?

3: SIMULATIONKey questions:

• What is simulation, in and out of mediated spaces?

• What cognitive modes does simulation engage, and why is that relevant to energy systems?

• What is the relationship between simulation and action in the world?

• How does simulation in energy games change the conversation? How does it change your behaviour?

• How can ideology play out in simulation, ie. how can simulations editorialise? What is procedural rhetoric?

3: SIMULATIONKey questions:

• What is simulation, in and out of mediated spaces?

• What cognitive modes does simulation engage, and why is that relevant to energy systems?

• What is the relationship between simulation and action in the world?

• How does simulation in energy games change the conversation? How does it change your behaviour?

• How can ideology play out in simulation, ie. how can simulations editorialise? What is procedural rhetoric?

Sample texts:

• Run That Town (2013)• Energy Planner (2013)• Power Play (2013)• Flanagan, M. (2014). Values at Play

in Digital Games, 1 edition. ed. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. [selections]

• Juul, J., (2005). Half-real: video games between real rules and fictional worlds, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. [selections]

• Morton, T. (2013). Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World.

4: COMMUNITYKey questions:

• What is the role of community, broadly, in social transition? Historical and psychological contexts.

• How important is community to gaming?• How might be conceive “energy

communities”, from national grids to microgrids to online communities of doomsday preppers?

• How do games engender community discourses around energy?

4: COMMUNITYKey questions:

• What is the role of community, broadly, in social transition? Historical and psychological contexts.

• How important is community to gaming?• How might be conceive “energy

communities”, from national grids to microgrids to online communities of doomsday preppers?

• How do games engender community discourses around energy?

Sample texts:

• Wollenberg, A. (2008) An alternative way to play with real-world problems.

• Institute for the Future (2008). Explore the world of Superstruct.

• Szulborski, D. (2005). This is not a game: A guide to alternate reality gaming. Incunabula.

• McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Penguin. [selections]

5: MAKE A GAMEKey questions:

• What are the key elements of a successful energy game? What is “success” in this context?

• Who stands to benefit from energy games? What cultural institutions are likely to put them to use?

• What technical production constraints are likely to influence game design?

• What social and economic constraints are likely to influence game design?

5: MAKE A GAMEKey questions:

• What are the key elements of a successful energy game? What is “success” in this context?

• Who stands to benefit from energy games? What cultural institutions are likely to put them to use?

• What technical production constraints are likely to influence game design?

• What social and economic constraints are likely to influence game design?

Sample texts:

• Koster, R., (2005). A theory of fun for game design, Scottsdale, AZ: Paraglyph Press.

• Salen, K. & Zimmerman, E., (2003). Rules of play: game design fundamentals, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

• Sicart, M., 2013. Beyond Choices: The Design of Ethical Gameplay. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.

5: MAKE A GAMEDESIGN BRIEF

In small groups, invent a game that can engage users with energy transitions, using elements of two out of three elements: narrative, simulation, and/or community.

Provide a 750-word explanation and justification of the design concept. Be sure to address potential pitfalls and challenges.

Create a visual to illustrate the design concept.

Note: This does not need to be a working prototype, just a carefully thought-out concept.

Be ready to present in class.

ASSESSMENT

SMALL GROUP ASSESSMENT (X4) – VARIES – 5 POINTS EACH

INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT (X4) – PODCASTS – STUDENTS SELECT FROM A LIST OF QUESTIONS FOR EACH UNIT, RESPONDING IN THEIR OWN WORDS. – 5 POINTS EACH PEER REVIEW (X4) – PODCASTS WILL BE REVIEWED BY CLASSMATES; YOU GET A MARK FOR DOING REVIEWS AND LEAVING QUESTIONS/COMMENTS, AND A MARK BASED ON WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF YOUR REVIEW. ENCOURAGED TO LEAVE QUESTIONS. – 5 POINTS EACH GAME CONCEPTS (X1) – SMALL GROUP PROJECT (20) + INDIVIDUAL EXAM ESSAY (20)  

Out of 100 possible

points:20

20

20

40