2021-5 Patrick: Gamification

Can gamification save the planet?

Katie Patrick

Games are a big deal. But can they save the planet?

This is the quest that Silicon Valley-based environmental engineer Katie Patrick has been pursuing in her recent book,How to Save the World: How to Make Changing the World the Greatest Game on Earth.

The secrets to gamifying planet Earth

How do you design a game to save the Earth?

Katie Patrick's book How to Save the World takes a deep dive into how to apply game design techniques to environmental issues.

Here are the main concepts:

• Feedback loops - collect real-time data and show it to people.

• Agency - show the data to people in a way they can influence.

• Disclosure - make the data public.

• Social Comparison - compare household to household.

• Behavior mapping - identify the specific behavior to influence.

• Progress tracking - track a single "God" metric towards a goal.

• Color grading - add color to the data, red meaning bad and green good.

• Reward system (of the brain) - that's "giving the brain a cookie"

• Ambient messaging - show data publicly on walls and billboards.

Send note to nswg-info@incose.org for a link to the presentation and recording