How exactly games can be used in tackling wicked, multi-stakeholder societal problems such as inequality, poverty or climate change? We can approach the answer from four perspectives.
Firstly, games and gameful environments can be studied to understand human behavior in different contexts from location-based gaming1 and esports2 to e.g. food consumption3, urban mobility4 and shopping in metaverse5. Secondly, games and gameful technologies can increase the engagement and adoption of e.g. wellbeing services6, sustainability practices7 and assistive technologies8. Thirdly, games and game-based learning can offer new ways to e.g. teach, develop skills, foster collaboration and meet individual learning needs of children and adolescents9, adults10 and special user groups11. Fourthly, gamification of important but challenging or uninteresting tasks12 has the potential of increasing both the amount and the quality of data.
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1Alha K., Koskinen E., Paavilainen J., et al. (2019) Why do people play location-based augmented reality games: a study on Pokémon GO. Computers in Human Behavior 93: 114–122.
2Pizzo, A, Su, Y., Scholz, T., et al. (2022) Esports Scholarship Review: Synthesis, Contributions, and Future Research. Journal of Sport Management 36(3): 228-239.
3Deng, J., Bertran, F.A., Obrist, M., et al. (2023) Sketching the future of human-food interaction: Emerging directions for future practice. International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science 31.
4Wallius, E., Thibault, M., Apperley, T. & Hamari, J. (2021) Gamifying the city: E-scooters and the critical tensions of playful urban mobility. Mobilities 17(1): 85-101.
5Xi, N., Chen, J., Gama, F., et al. (2023). The challenges of entering the metaverse: An experiment on the effect of extended reality on workload. Information Systems Frontiers, 25(2), 659-680.
6Elo, C., Rauhala, E., Ihalainen, T., Buruk, O. et al. (2022) E-textiles Assisting Healthcare, Rehabilitation, and Well-being – To whom, for What, and How? IEEE 10th International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health, 1-8.
7Cosio, L., Buruk, O., Galeote, D., et al.. (2023). Virtual and Augmented Reality for Environmental Sustainability: A Systematic Review. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’23). Association for Computing
8Vuohijoki, T., Ihalainen, T., Merilampi, S., & Virkki, J. (2022). Multidisciplinary development of Smart Jacket for elder care. Finnish Journal of EHealth and EWelfare, 14(3), 271–283.
9Kiili, K. J. M., Devlin, K., Perttula, A., et al. (2015). Using video games to combine learning and assessment in mathematics education. International Journal of Serious Games, 2(4).
10Dindar, M., Ren, L., & Järvenoja, H. (2021) An experimental study on the effects of gamified cooperation and competition on English vocabulary learning. British Journal of Educational Technology 52 (1), 142-159.
11Baltzar, P., Hassan, L. & Turunen, M. (2023). “It’s Easier to Play Alone”: A Survey Study of Gaming With Disabilities. Journal of Electronic Gaming and Esports, 1(1).
12Montola M., Nummenmaa T., Lucero A., et al. (2009). Applying game achievement systems to enhance user experience in a photo sharing service. In Artur Lugmayr et al. ed. Proceedings of the 13th International MindTrek Conference: Everyday Life in the Ubiquitous Era, 94-97.