Abstract
Serious games are interventions with potential for tackling pressing issues by raising awareness and inciting behaviour change. However, it is unclear which design choices maximise efficient production or intervention efficacy. For example, health games and games tackling social crises may have radically different audiences. Furthermore, players of serious games don't self-select like audiences for entertainment games, suggesting a need to examine and discuss the outcomes of any and all serious games built upon clear design principles for clearly-defined scenarios.
This paper presents a case study of Green My Place, a series game promoting energy-efficiency. GMP deployed unique site-specific metrics distinguishing it from similar projects 'disembodied' from the environments they are intended to affect. The game's design methodology-an MMOG framework with atomic mini-games linked to specific learning materials-offers a scaleable generic solution applicable to any domain entailing awareness/education.
Field study evaluations show (weak) positive evidence of a positive impact, but lack of traction hindered success. We examine these outcomes and their possible causes, concluding that although the game itself was a noble failure, the evidence suggests that successful behavioural influence may be independent of degree of engagement-a finding with potential significance for any game with learning objectives.