serious gaming @ facebook / serious.eliens.net / CTSG
This site is open for SGC, that is student-generated content, relevant for the course. Beware that everything is public, though, and behave accordingly!
lecture(s) -- wk 36-42
... serious games are ... considered to be an effective means to bring about awareness, acquire skills, change behavior, and influence social patterns. With elementary game development technology, we will explore the potential of serious games in a social context, using casual game mechanics, and what recently has been identified as the dynamics of gamification ...
week 36-42, wednesday 15.30-17.15; first lecture: wednesday 5 sept (zl. WN-M639)
serious gaming / project utopia
VU/UvA 2012/13
co-lecturer(s):
guest(s):
repeat(s) / ... / perspective(s) / project(s) / procrast(s) / requirement(s) / rule(s) ?
cult(s) / method(s) / rule(s) / mind(s) / howto(s) / cycle(s)
experiment(s) & evaluation(s)
the tools used in (y)our experiments of collaboration are a means and not an end in itself, so, together, we must determine what works and what does not. Your comments and evaluations, and possibly suggestions, are highly appreciated, although never as much as your actual constructive work!
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reflection(s) / ethic(s) / moral(s) / minute(s)
For questions and discussion of the scientific and ethical aspects of serious games,
please contribute! For the outcomes, see the minutes above. [thanks Melvin!]
I look at the comments and references, and yes, great! But what are the issues and questions?
Comments
A Eliens
Michael Wolbert
12:10 AM Oct 10, 2012
If one purpose of serious games is to change behaviour(s), how can we then design games that may pose an unresolvable conflict with individual's moral(s), which are intrinsic to the targeted behaviour(s) of this individual?
One of the future controversial topics for our Generation Talk project is sexuality. Some parents do not want to discuss such a topic at all with his or her children, because the parent's moral belief rejects this particular topic to be discussed. (How) can this game be ethically justifiable?
Reply
Julien L.
11:04 PM Oct 9, 2012
Some issues/questions I could think about..
- Does a player and his in-game character/avatar have the same moral & ethic values?
(i.e.: Can you expect that the values you would give to an in-game character/avatar would be shared with its player?)
- Does a game where no ethic or moral value is respected make its player get MORE or LESS of such values?
(i.e.: Does a killing game make the player think that killing is fun? or it makes the player keep his killing fantasies into the game and therefore keeps him away from real-life violence?)
- Serious Games used for scientific research would involve saving and processing data about the "players". How can that be done with respect to their moral/privacy?
- Is it counter-productive to have Serious Games happen in a virtual environment and pretend to help in the real-life environment? How to keep it "real"?
Reply
Kirsten Teulen
"Does a game where no ethic or moral value is respected make its player get MORE or LESS of such values?"
I think this is a really important aspect of virtual games and also virtual porn ( think of paedophiles and the like). There have been a lot stuff said about this topic (games make violent etc etc) But is there proof, of the scientific variety?
Also: Nice topics Julien
1:07 PM Oct 10, 2012
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Julien L.
I couldn't agree more on the importance of that question.
I do not think that a simple answer (i.e.: "yes" or "no") can be given to questions like "Do violent games make people violent?":
- On one side, I think that it can happen in some specific contexts with a given game and a given user: the game makes the act of killing fun, the goal is to kill and highscores and rewards are associated to a lot of killing. How to make sure that this "killing is fun" is not influencing the real-life behaviour of the player?
- On the other side, I think that people who want to kill in the first place can be likely to become less violents, thanks to playing violent games. Such games can make violent people get rid of their violent fantasies in a virtual environment, and avoid hurting real people.
As for pornographic contents, I think that the same kind of answer can be given: paedophiles should rather masturbate while watching virtual imagery, than hurt and ruin real children's life. On the other hand, violent porn might also create new violent fantasies for its watchers...
How to make sure that such "violence" stays into the virtual environment?
1:37 PM Oct 10, 2012
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Julien L.
5:08 PM Oct 9, 2012
An interesting website to try on the scientific aspect of serious games : Experimental Tribe (http://www.xtribe.eu/)
"[It] is a web platform for gaming and social computation. It helps researchers to realize web games/experiments and it let people join, while enjoying, the scientific research."
Reply
Alex Olieman
4:53 PM Oct 9, 2012
There is a wonderful presentation by Sebastian Deterding which fits this topic well. It does not deal exclusively with morality, but it does tie in nicely to Aristotelian ethics.
The presentation can be viewed as slides with textual comments, and as a slides playing alongside a video recording:
http://codingconduct.cc/Paideia-as-Paidia
Reply
Marije Meijer
1:49 PM Oct 9, 2012
Food for thought: http://gamestudies.org/0902/articles/schulzke
Would you say games are the ideal environment for us to practice our moral behaviour?
Reply
Alex Olieman
I'm not sure if they are the ideal environment, but they perhaps allow a more dramatized experience of moral decision making. In my experience it is easier to reflect on moral decisions in a game, than in everyday life. Thanks for linking to the article!
4:49 PM Oct 9, 2012
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A Eliens
nice article!
8:45 PM Oct 9, 2012
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Pim van de Pavoordt
3:51 PM Oct 8, 2012
Maybe I'm thinking in the wrong direction with this, but this might also be an interesting question: When we are using serious games to learn people about things they normally learn through experience and face-to-face communication, aren't we creating a generation of people whose world only consists of staring at a computer screen (/smartphone/tablet), who are not able to communicate with other people anymore?
Reply
Michael Wolbert
Interesting question, and I certainly think this question is related to ethical aspects of serious games because the implication you describe can have a negative impact on society. However one could argue that a serious purpose of a serious game could also be the development of face-to-face communication. An example for this argument was one of the examples Roderick Evans-Knaup gave during his lecture. This example was about a serious game for the training of sales persons in retail when facing customers. Although this example is from a business (read: money-making) effectiveness perspective, it outlines that such serious purposes can be addressed by serious games.
8:28 PM Oct 9, 2012 (edited 8:31 PM Oct 9, 2012)
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A Eliens
both valid points, indeed there is a dilemma ...
8:46 PM Oct 9, 2012
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Frank Nack
9:28 AM Oct 8, 2012
So, texts are above and I added one more about ethics .... take it as food for thought
Reply
Frank Nack
9:10 AM Oct 8, 2012
Below a research note from UCL on privacy issues (serious gaming in a organisation context)
criteria / assignment(s) / deadline(s) ? / grading(s)
the requirements for grading may be refined during the course.
However, for clarity:
minimal requirement(s)
Let there be no mistake, without an updated portfolio and a serious essay, no grading!
And, I repeat, your (also intermediary) feedback will be highly appreciated!
deadline(s)
First date of delivery and grading: 30 october 2012. The last date of delivery and grading will be: 1 december 2012. There will be no other opportunity for grading!
deliverable(s)
When applying for grading all results must be available on your website, as well as in a zip package!
At the beginning of the project, you have to create a web site that gives access to all deliverables, and finally a package for download (in zip format). During the course of the project, the website must reflect goals, progess, and achievements, preferably by demonstration(s) of partial results.
No need to repeat that all deliverables must be made available from your website. Finally, for documentation use PDF or HTML. In particular, .doc files will not be accepted!
candidate guest speaker(s) via Anton Eliens
candidate guest speaker(s) via Jacobijn Sandberg
candidate guest speaker(s) via Frank Nack
the first online final project
the first one's to have a portfolio [in construction] online:...
Students that are absent during one or more lectures or meeting are (kindly) requested to write the date of absence, their name, and the reason for their absence(s).
via email [self-editing is obligatory during the course though]
submit review(s) / result(s) / feedback / evaluation(s) / participant(s)
review(s) by peers is an effective means to get feedback on how your projects are perceived by your fellow students. Keep in mind that everything you write is publicly visible, and that you are required to state who you are, as a reviewer!
remark(s)
Literature for session 2: Please find here the obligatory reading for session 2. These articles are chosen to cretae a shared and mutual frme of reference. The four articlaes address the following topics, Effectiveness of games, methodological issues in game reserach, the nature of enjoyment and emotional experience in gaming.
A systematic literature review of empirical evidnce on computer ganes and snd serious games.
The Use of Media Entertainment and Emotional Gratification.
utopia / participant(s) / cycle(s) / answer(s) / discussion(s)
extracts from the project utopia descriptions:
Below an extract is given of the submissions for project utopia. No doubt these extracts reflect a
subjective bias, but I hope the reader(s) will find the extract(s) worthwhile for obtaining a quick overview
of the opinion(s) of the 2012 Serious Gaming students. These extracts give no judgement(s), although I can say that most provide material that -- you can get away with -- also in academia. The authorized reader(s), however, may give there (own) judgement(s) & comment(s).! 21/9/12 (Æ)
Roseline de Boer: In an ideal world there is no reason not to be happy and everyone cooperates with each other ... When everyone were to speak the same language, there are no ‘lost
in translations’ occurences, apart from very cultural aspects. ..The second step is to enforce the rules strictly, whoever willingly contravene the laws get to face the consequences.. ... One method to stimulate the people
to achieve more is providing education.
Tim Pellikaan: Utilizing technology to the its full potential plays an important role in this view....There is no hierarchy in my utopia, all people are equal to each other. ...The decision making process is also totally transparent. ..The harvesting of energy and food is done automatically by using autonomous systems....
Money does not exist. All the luxury good are freely available to everyone. ...The highest goal of this society is to pursue creative and technological advancements, which either give people an emotional experience or an improvement of their quality of live.
Simon Tretter: I thought about this topic longer than I've planned to do ...Some friends and me were out in
a bar for a beer and I wanted to show them a new video that I have found online. At this
time it was not possible, it was even hard to imagine, The fast development and growth in our world changes our behavior in so many ways ... I actually think that utopia (defined as “ideal society”) is not the next thing that happens ...And this is the problem: My definition of an ideal society is a definition including freedom, free will, peace and things like this. But this is not really possible if there is always money involved. ...So the final question is: If there is no world possible without money, could there be still a ideal society in the future?
Julien Lehuen: In a very optimistic fashion, I like to consider the actual real world as a good basis for the
conception of my ideal society... Instead of considering a new ideal society from scratch, I prefer to think about imaginable ways to improve our society ... Another important point to realize about the rules is that most of them could be replaced by a better education ... The values, then, have a role of first importance. They're a direct consequence of the education, and they reduce the need for rules ... Serious Games can share values without people even noticing it. ... The most important thing about the environment is probably not to change it.
Athanasios Tsokaktsidis: Utopia, the ideal system for a community in which bliss can be ensured. ... The ideal society could be energy free. This could be managed by solar energy. ... Through the solar energy, many other sectors can be helped. Hunger can be eliminated, poverty can be vanished, education can be developed
... In a utopic world everybody can be equal. Racism will no longer exist. The people will not fight each other for political or economical interests. ... All the above could be implemented in a serious game in order to make
“digital life and its standards” better until the real world is ready to welcome ...
Rebecca Engler: Utopia characterizes a perfect life regarding society, politics and moral aspects. However,
perfectionism is subjective. Each of us being in a society will have a different view on what is ideal. ... The concept of an UBI is that every individual will receive the same amount of money from the government (regardless on partnership and additional income) which will assure his/her livelihood. It is by everyone’s own free will to decide if she/he wants to work to earn some additional money. That means no one need to have a job to survive in the society ... In the free time people could use serious games even more often than
people having 40+ hours working week like we have nowadays ... To me it sounds utopian to give somebody the opportunity to decide if he/she wants to work or not.
Mandy Wertwijn: In a perfect world every individual should be happy when he or she is at home. ...
Family and friends, the people you love, they should be nearby. This can be in physical space, but
also in communication via telephone or the internet or another way of communicating. ... When you go out and leave your house or apartment, you want to enjoy the world around you. Go to lovely shops, buy not to expensive produce, view the area around you, enjoy the weather. This travelling can be done, most preferably, by bicycle or other relatively environment-friendly transportation devices. ... The above described world sounds to me a bit like the wondrous world of the Teletubbies ... My perfect world would be the world I currently live in. ... To reflect this vision of Utopia on serious games, I would say that serious games would learn people how to be happy, how to know to survive look after yourself and others.
Gerben Rozie: In a very short way of seeing my utopia it would be a fast-forward to the future where
civilization is already heading to. I find that present-day civilization can't remain on this single planet....
... start working on getting to Mars (for starters). After that (assuming research will be ready for it) we have to continue onwards outside our solar system.... we have to pool resources and manpower to create the Marsian spacecraft to start the initial colonizing.... To get us all working together there must be a strict set of rules to preserve as many languages and cultures as possible even if only for historical reference.... the first law should halt purposely killing a fellow (wo)man. ... The greatest value of all is trust. I would say the role of serious gaming is more for training simulations and defense of assets (e.g. planets and spacecraft)....
... serious gaming or 'normal' games could provide an answer with their means to escape everyday life.
Jeffrey de Looff: ... Eleven cities lay beyond the wall, occupied by the realm's servants ... Modern science has taken various breakthroughs and the infrastructure consists of underground high-tech, high-speed magnetic trains. ...The Priory guards the law and order with police officers spread over the eleven cities....
... Everyone has to participate in the well-being of the society ... games test the endurance, commitment, agility and compassion for the realm of all the participants and the witnesses ... Citizens are free to purchase any goods shopowners sell, but are only limited to a certain number of items, depending on the size of their family.... No ethics exist and everyone should behave as a follower of the Shaolin, answering the Call of Cthulhu
Diego Rens: An ultimate utopia is at times described as a society in which everyone is equal, content (nobody lacks anything), free of suffering, free of will and regulations. A society where everything is balanced
(e.g.: resources and usage thereof). ... I feel that most utopian requirements conflict with (human) nature and are likely to be unattainable, so in an attempt to describe a possible utopia, I would first like to examine us as a species in respect to our society. ... EGOISM ...Life is its own goal. I believe we live to live and so our goal in life is to survive, not reproduce. ... Many organisms learned over time that working as a group would increase their personal chances of survival, which in our case has led to our societies today, yet this motivation is individualistic also. ... Our brains simply have too much thinking capacity ... IGNORANCE ...With ignorance, the dominating sin of this age, I mean both the lack of knowledge and lack of insight ...empathy: the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by another sentient being - incidentally our greatest gift (from a moral perspective)- most of us are either blind to it or ignorant .... Instead of religion, we would have to come to peace with our nature and realize that the concept of ‘God’ follows from fear of death, combined with part of our brain that –when submitted to an electrical current- makes us feel like we’re being watched....Philosophical views can only mean so much to the inexperienced, without real-world facts and experience to back it up. (Is there light without darkness? What is this suffering?).
Jasper Zonneveld: I think the ideal world, aka Utopia, would not differ a lot form the world we live in now. People work, go to school, have their hobbies etc. ... An important difference however, is the legal system ...
Speaking of the poor, everyone will get a fair income of which they can easily live. There will still be
people that have better jobs and earn more money, but they will pay more tax. ... Health is a very important part of live and no one will be ‘punished’ for being (seriously) ill ... Another big difference is faith and respect. ...
Technology will play a big role. ... Children can use serious games to learn and do their homework.
Ivo de Vries: It is not hard to see that the utopian society is a far cry from what we are currently experiencing ... The problem with humans is in the numbers. Take a random person and his
or her intentions are well and no problem seems to arise. But when we view human society as a whole we
collectively manage to kill, pollute and destroy about anything we get our hands on ... The only way in which our species will survive is when we have a collective goal. ... If every person would live by the same set
of rules which include not harming each other or the environment this world would be a better place ... One main factor has to be birth control.... To summarize the utopia I envision is a world where nature is kept intact and is only used for sustainable recreational purposes, global resources are shared by every inhabitant of this planet making competition or envy obsolete. ... Serious games could contribute to reach this goal is in the area of collective thinking ...
Vicente Aguillaume: Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a desirable socio-politico-legal
system ... Our utopian society would consist of several energy efficient buildings that rely entirely
on renewable energy ... It will have environmental and agricultural sustainability and extreme hunger and poverty will be eradicated.... The political system would be a democracy where everyone has a chance to vote on the decisions made ... There will have to be a system to enforce people to follow the rules of the society. ... a legal system would seem obsolete in a utopian society but some of the inhabitants will
undoubtedly try to take advantage of the system for personal gain ... Actions that add value to the society as a whole will be rewarded above personal gain ... to help each other instead of choosing the actions that would
be best for the individual.
Pim van de Pavoordt My utopia, or ideal world, would be a world where there is no need for rules/laws, civic order or government, because everything that is regulated by these rules or organizations is naturally taught
by the use of serious games. ... learning is done without teachers, but with the help of serious games ... the children will have to work together to solve problems and finally complete this serious game until they can move to the next part in life, namely the working part.... Instead of how most people go to work nowadays, in this ideal society people will happily go to work. This because work has been made fun by using serious games. ... Nowadays most of the people who are retired live a pretty boring life. In my utopia this would be different. Through the use of social media and serious games the elderly can challenge each other to perform certain tasks ... helping an old woman cross the street would earn a few experience points ... With these experience points one can earn things ranging from free meals to a new house. This motivates people to actually do right things and improve society
Thijs Kloosterman: the starting point of thinking about a modern utopian society should be
technology .. Global cooperation is essential and I think desirable, but not within the current system....
Our monetary system is designed to keep inequality amongst people intact using debt. Therefore, the ideal utopian society would be focused on the effective management of the planet’s resources without the use of money. ... In such an utopian society people would get their incentives to work, produce and collaborate from other sources, although technology should be able to replace human labor almost entirely,
which leaves humans to engage in other activities like art, philosophy, sports etc.... Since our world population is still growing, most people in the future will probably be living in a city. ... Think of efficient ways of growing crops on roofs and terraces, but also on a small scale using window farming.... Certain types of education grant the people’s votes extra weight, so that smarter (or at least educated) citizens vote weighs heavier than those of others. ...
Myria Nikolaidou: An ideal society should focus on the needs of the ‘players’ and its system consist of a set of rules and moral values.... Individual contributions should be due to a greater good, cultural and individual diversity must be protected ... Technology should simplify complicated matters in order to find resolutions and extend personal time by replacing human labour. Humans will then be able to focus on their well
being, coexistence and communication, mental skills; to be occupied with philosophical
matters, to ‘think judge decide act and reform’. ... A serious game can usually instruct
through experience, in a controlled and safer environment... Serious games can play an important role in the utopian society in aspects such as education, healthcare and rehabilitation. ... Utopia is a very subjective topic, with very broad semantics. In any case, any true advanced and perfect society is hard to imagine without technology and serious gaming playing a prominent role.
Thomas van Diepen: Utopia for me is the ideal world that runs on the following saying: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. To achieve perfect simplicity all things we have taken for granted in the
current world needs to be reconsidered ... These guidelines and important decisions will be created by an open group that communicates over the internet. This group is divided into several layers and each layer gets
more privilege to make decisions. ... This collective intelligence is powerful enough to solve the hardest problems while maintaining simplicity ... Games are either for fun or for education, not both. Serious games are actually solving the wrong problem. A person either has the goal to learn or to play and which one should be his own decision. Injecting education in a game does work but it would be more efficient when
they’re kept separately. ... Children should have the freedom to choose when they would like learn which subjects and can thereby specialize itself in a subject ... facilitated is by giving education via
technology, like tablets, ... With this type of education children don’t lose their imagination while learning (information is not forced on them) and don’t lose their knowledge while playing (they don’t need to be rewarded when working).
Pauline Hovers: A seriously utopian gaming society? ... a topic explored by many, among which some of the greatest philosophers and writers .. Utopian society is viewed here as a society in which people are in ideal happiness. ... Rather we focus on aspects that have been ignored in the past and from which we can learn to construct basic fundamentals for a utopian society.... In both Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-four we watch ideals turn into fundamentalism, where power, in different forms, is used to force the ideals upon society, no matter what the cost. ... This forms the basis then of values of a utopian society: respect for others and freedom of thought. ... Narratives have been considered one of the main means of people to explain concepts and opinions to others. Serious gaming can therefore add to this already universal way of communication between people, since narrative is an integrated part of good serious games. ... To answer to the everchanging influence of technological, economical, cultural variance in time and space on a utopian
society, (critical) reflection seems key. Serious games can, apart from reconstructing past situations,
help to predict, to a certain extent, future outcomes. ...
Annemarie Faber: In my opinion, a society is ideal when the people living in it are all as happy as
could be. This state could be reached when society stops being selfish ... As humankind is selfish by default, this state will most likely never be reached without intervention of some sort of code or set of rules. In order for people to live by these rules, they must be enforced.... Utopia has a well-working public transportation system that gets everyone where they need to be. ..In Utopia, nobody overspends. People buy what they can afford. People use what they can miss. Nature is only being destroyed by humankind for as much as it can bear ...
Everyone who can work will be motivated to work as much as they can and to the best of their abilities. Sufficient help and care is offered to those who can’t take care of themselves. ... The best way to motivate people to learn more is to make learning fun. Gamification is a great tool for this ... The moral code in Utopia is to always put someone else first. If selfishness can be contained as much as possible, this would eliminate the vast majority if issues that occurs in the current world.
Nikolaos Michalatos: I believe that more or less all of us think that our societies are not fair enough towards its people and that lots of changes should be done in order to accomplish an utopist society where everyone would be treated as they should be. ... thoughts that burst into my mind when we talk about an ideal society are: ... all are treated equally .. where there is justice .. where there is peace, without crime and violence .. where there is liberty of speech ... which will care about environment .. energy supplies would be of many kinds....solar, wind, water, gas, geothermal or whatever is most effective in that part of the country ... agriculture would be more natural, more based on crop rotation, less on chemicals and more on caring for the soil. ... e things we don't want in our society wouldn't necessarily be illegal, but highly taxed, like cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and prostitution ... anyone willing and who is able to work would have a good life ... ...some thoughts that I believe would make one societyto be considered as utopian but to be honest I do not believe that none of the previous are going to happen because in most societies everyone is thinking about his one good and himself
Klearchos Douvantzis: Utopia is actually a greek word which literally means "no-place". So, this 'utopia'
world would be something imaginary because it does/will not exist. Nowadays, there is a lot of waste of energy, waste of materials, anarchy, violence. Instead, the ideal world should be material and energy efficient. Harmony should be the main 'ingredient' of the whole community and violence should be absent.. .. First of all, people should live in harmony with nature. Buildings should be part of the nature and their design and size should be harmonized to their surrounding environment. ... Community should be organized in a way that everyone is equal and with the same rights. There would be no different social classes. ... there would be no need for money. Economy would exist only in terms of trading. People would not need money because everything would be free for everyone ... Finally, mental power would improve dramatically and people would be able to think and process information in a way that is inconceivable. Eventually the new 'super-human' race will become reality.
Marek Janiszewski: In my vision Utopia is a country with size equal to current Europe, that would b
e based on newest, most reliable technologies and social systems ..each citizen could choose a place with most suitable living conditions for him. Highly developed transportation system would allow to travel to each part of the country in a very short time. Very stable, free telecommunication and internet connections make it possible to communicate with all people. Without the need of leaving your house it would be possible to take care of all necessary things. ... In such country there would b e no money, because usually they lead to many
negative feelings like envy or greed. ... Consitution of my Utopy would be based on rules of equality, justice, honour and freedom. Each citizen would be free and not underlined to pressure from the government and society. ... Like in any other society the base for development would be education of children and young people. Kids would be raised in sense of justice and responsibility for future generations. To help young people avoid stress, schools would only be available for those, who want to develop their personal, selected skills. Others would have to train under the eye of masters in th eir field in different practical workshops.
Odysseas Lampropoulos: Utopia is an ideal world where all people come together, where the violence and the criminal incidents are absent ... Earth is certainly not that kind of place, since people tend to stay away from each other without any will for social communication. Everyone loves nature, but everyone harms it easily without thinking the consequences. ... Every day, we experience situations where we must follow certain rules. When there is a rule, there are always people that will break that rule, not because they are against this rule, but because they are used to the fact that there is no one that will tell them what to do or not. ... Hence, the level of education could be improved by playing serious games that they offer not only entertainment, but education and a lot of fun which is the main goal of life.
Khalid Khamkham: Describing your very own utopia could at first sound very easy. After all, it is your own view of the perfect society, you get to decide how things ideally should be. ... I’m all for imagining on how the perfect world would be. But I think that in most cases we’d often find that people would let their imagination on the loose too much, thereby sacrificing what is realistically possible and feasible ... So I think ideally, the best utopia would be a utopia that would combine all of these people’s different utopias together, to find some sort of middle ground ... This middle ground would probably end up like something that we already have today: a social democratic system where people can together decide on how the future should be. So rather than thinking of a total new societal system, I think improving our current one would be a more realistic step in the right direction. ... it already seems to be working quite well ...
Thomas van der Woude: Ever since the human race emerged, we have tried to improve social interaction and technology to allow us to spend less time working and more time doing the things we like ... Will we ever live in a perfect world?". I think it's not unlikely that we will eventually approach this point ... some
elements I believe to be included in it: ... most important element is a basic education! ... At the age of 16 everyone should be prepared for life. ... the convenience of everyone being able to communicate with eachother without the use of dictionaries or other translation devices ... The role of computer games in this world could be rather large, especially in education, as children are usually very attracted to games in general
... computers become more than static devices standing on a desk somewhere, where the keyboard and mouse are replaced by other input devices ... Besides education, computer games could also serve a purpose for relaxation ... Crime should be discouraged as much as possible, education and social control can go a long way, but I don't think it would be wise to design a society without a law enforcement facility which is
recognised by the vast majority of the population ...
Melvin van Zomeren: My Utopia will have the legal system different from what we have here and now. There will always be a fair trial, but there will be no more deals that lessen the punishment by too much ... Racism will be punished harder also. For a society to work and live in harmony this cannot exist .. equal financial resources for everyone for food, healthcare, shelter and everything else that is needed for a fun, good and healthy life. ... politically there will be a government that does not differ between themselves and any other human in the country ... biologically, there will be more environmentally friendly solutions .. technology will have evolved in such a way that it is an integrated, invincible servant to people and improves life for everyone.
Antonios Georgiadis: Imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try, no hell below us, above us only sky .. No need for greed or hunger .. Well…The ideal world: Utopia! No war but peace, no pain but absolute health, no incurable diseases, no death but endless life! No boundaries between us, we are all people! No hunger, no homeless people, no poor, no sadness but only happiness! No governments against their people, no pseudo-financial crisis, no unemployment, no intrigues against us ... Can all these things be connected to Gaming? Serious Gaming? There is no doubt for the existence of this connection. But from which perspective?
... Can some games play a role in a society’s context beyond entertainment? From my perspective, the answer is “yes”. And the rationale lies in the basic definition of the term “Serious Games”. ... , games in general can really influence our lives. There are many examples of negative game results, especially in children. However, Serious Gaming has the capability of offering beneficial services in an entertaining way
Chun Fei Lung: Mankind has come a long way since the era of hunter-gatherer societies from 10,000 years
ago, but there is still much ground to cover. For instance, poverty, disease, natural disasters and armed conflicts still affect a large portion of the human population ...In a future utopian society these issues have largely been dealt with. ... Technology and computing that supports and improves us will be so ubiquitously intertwined in our daily lives, that we no longer are able to imagine life without them. ... A utopian society is not just a land of plenty as described in medieval poems like The Land of Cockaigne. Despite there being a state that takes care of its subjects, and people having access to technology that greatly improves the quality of life, all members of society still are expected to work in order to gain more for themselves, but also further improving science and technology, and creating art, thus raising mankind to an even higher level....
... the positive effects of religion should not be overlooked .. For this to work, it’s important that all members of society are well-educated .. Serious games can also aid people by teaching them what can be improved, and how, all of this is a playful or gamified manner, so that self-improvement will be associated with fun, and people will want nothing else but to improve themselves and the world around them.
Minha Lee: Utopia is an impossibility that the humankind should persistently pursue. Idealistic view of
the world when coupled with practical application of proper resources we have allows us to continuously search for Utopia in hopes for a better future. ... s philosopher John Rawls hypothetically recommended. ... For a completely fair world, people who create the structure for the world would all be born into the world that they made. But, they would not know of their social status until they were born into the world. ... For a completely fair world, people who create the structure for the world would all be born into the world that they made. But, they would not know of their social status until they were born into the world. ... In terms of value, everyone has their own set of moral values and it is wrong to impose one’s own values on another person.... All rules or laws would branch out from the simple idea that even the most underprivileged has all the opportunities to pursue higher education and access to all levels of health care. ... the U.N. falls short of such system of management .. Further revisions and ongoing self-analysis for the U.N. would be beneficial.... political compliance by further involving from the underrepresented countries and minority groups should be a goal for any multinational organization ...
Alex Olieman: In class we talked about one of the essentials for play being a safe environment. These seem rare in our globalizing world ... Perhaps gaming the system was more fun, and was certainly easier, in times when there was a clear system to begin with. ... To me, Utopia must be a vision of the best society that we can imagine. ... The core elements of my Utopia are as follows. Governance focuses on long term welfare for people, which with our current knowledge seems to mean that we must keep biodiversity and geocycles intact. The industrialization stage of civilization is over, and Utopia features a more organic way of structuring social interactions. We stop thinking of ourselves as advanced, biological computers and get rid of common expressions as "updating a friend" and "the output of a company". Rather, people recognize themselves and each other as organisms with spiritual ambitions.... In Utopia, broadcast media have lost their prominent role as a regulatory system for society ... We need to change our collective behavior to increase the chances of this global civilization ... Persuasion seems necessary to achieve this, ... view corporatism as a distinct
game within society .. serious games can be an important tool for learning how to become players instead of pawns ...
Roald Stolte: ... philosophical idea of Utopia describes the concept of an ideal or perfect society ... Utopia would be a society in which everyone can live happily and harmoniously.
Everyone could follow whatever religion they want and worship the stars, deities, planets, spirits of
the wild or any higher power of their choosing. Utopia would have no crime, war or fighting ..
who decides what is crime and whether or not everyone is living up to the perfect ideal? ... Someone would need to make rules to describe what is perfect and what does not belong in Utopia. In Utopia everyone could together create the rules for a perfect Utopia, or would directly or indirectly elect decisionmakers.
This is where one of several problems of Utopia start to appear ... For the society to be objectively perfect, every person living in such a society would have to subjectively believe it to be perfect. ... I believe such a Utopia to be unreachable, simply due to the curiousity and imperfection of all beings. A curious being could never know all it wants to know and would therefore be imperfect itself
Dionysia Agathokleous: "Utopia" an imaginary perfect place where you can be always happy with no worries, an ideal world for everyone. Most people say that is a place like heaven on earth,... In this Plastic Age, people encounter a plethora of problems brought up by the uprupt development of technology....
In a Utopian Society, medicine will be developed to such a degree that diseases such as cancer will
not be incurable. Modern technology will be able to solve environmental problems as well as less
pressing ones. Telecommunication systems will enable people to travel all over the world fast and
cheap. Alliances among nations will be more fluid. .. In a Utopian Society, technology will have reached such a high level that individuals will spend more time doing what they enjoy the most. They will come to the
understanding that pursuing knowledge and exploring their talents is more important than wasting
their time partying or watching TV. ... In Utopia, man will indeed live in a high-tech society but instead of being a slave to it, he will be its master, ... Serious Games can play a major role to the transformation of society, the lifestyle of many people can be improved ... People would have strong possibilities for changing given that a serious game really affects an outcome that the learner cares about, with an underlying model that calculates the consequences of those decisions in the world and presents the learner with new choices until success (or failure) is achieved
Suraj Ho: Utopia .. is an ideal community or society possessing a desirable socio-politico-legal
system. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt to create an
ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature ... In today’s world people, especially when they are strangers to one another, seem to become more asocial. A lot of people are walking the streets with a total disregard for its fellow humans and its surroundings. ... n my utopia the world would be a safer, cleaner and more social place to live in. Serious games would play an essential role in achieving this utopia ... Mini games
to motivate people to let people get off a vehicle like a tram, bus or metro before getting in themselves. And to motivate people to put their trash bags in the bins instead of next to it....
Stefania Fokaeos: My first thoughts when I heard the word Utopia were either Paradise or some kind of
science fiction city in the year 4000AD! After discussing, researching and reading about Utopia, I came to the following conclusions. First of all, where we stand at the moment, is very close but at the same time quite distant from the idea of Utopia. Moreover, Utopia is the personal quest about the ideal place to live without anxiety, fear or problems! ... By being self-centered and inconsiderate about the general well being, the Earth has slim possibilities to become a Utopia for all of us. ... A place where people would be financially equal, no poor, no rich. A place where people could live in eco-friendly habitats, with forests, parks, underground parking places. Knowing your neighbors, feeling safe for yourself and your family ... Knowing that your children can have access to the best education, without transforming them into machines. Teaching them to respect the environment in general ... Democracy should be the vehicle to reach Utopia. ... A person who is educated, ... has nothing to gain by doing something illegal ... Computer science, as a major factor of the latest innovations in fields such as: medicine, education, general equipment, entertainment, etc, must have a primary and active role during this transformation in order our world to become a UTOPIA!
George Kyriacou: The foundation of the ideal society rests on the human mind. ... In my opinion ideal society or community should react more ecological. It would be better for the environment we live, to abandon the Western way of living, the enormous structures, big cities, industrial zones and the pollution that they cause and focused in traditional or new techniques that will bring harmony and balance to the environment surrounding us ... Also advanced science and technology will improve human’s life not only in practical matters ... Education is an essential and vital part of society. Individuals should expand their knowledge in such a way that will improve the human life and behavior among the society and also gain the necessary information and tools for maintain this ideal community ... disciplinary offences are mostly caused due to economic criteria
and poverty ... In Utopia the total wealth should be equally divided and no one or thing is any better than another ... Advanced techniques and already existing treatments in medicine should be provided to the patients for free, improving the quality of life and extending the limit of age.... we, as a society and culture, are really far away from what we called Utopia ...
Jonathan van Grouw: In this ideal society, for convenience called Utopia, the aim is to eliminate all contemporary world issues such as starvation, violence (both mental and physical) and suppression of individuals.... lust for power is the root of all evil ... To eliminate absolute power, power will be decentralized ...
Money will still be used but misusing public money will be treated as a serious crime ... a change of public moral is accomplished. Greedy and selfish behavior will socially not be accepted. ... In terms of everyday life I see a free and public transportation system ... medical care is free of charge and a money-driven pharmacy is forbidden and considered wrong by the people ... The only reason why money still exists in this society is because of luxury ... People who violate the law will be put in jail. The highest possible punishment is to be kicked out of this society (and not a life sentence). Although this is the highest possible punishment people are still free to step out of this society voluntary. Nobody is forced to live in the society of Utopia.
Annemarie Collijn: Once upon a time, in a world far, far away, people lived in peace. People were happy, led healthy lives and took care of their children and eachother. Family was more important the money and power again. Morals and ethics were groundrules for everyone. And everyone lived by these rules ... Pharmaceutical companies designed drugs to cure people, for the good of it, not for the profit. Medicine was freely available for everyone, anywhere. People who were sick, were taken care off, in the best knowledge of the doctors. Doctors shared their knowledge with eachother throughout the world. ... People lived in apartments with rooftop-gardens and playgrounds .. Alternative ways of transportations were in place, which caused less polution.
Richard de Bock: My ideal society, or utopia, would be a world where humans would be happy every day.
Crime does not exist, so there are no bad people, only good. Machines take care of the primary resources humans need, like food, houses etc. But the machines also take care of themselves, so they build more machines if needed and repair other machines, so humans do not have work anymore. All humans have to do is engage is social activities with each other, have fun, and educate each other. ... What is good and bad are taught to children by serious games ... Because there exists no crime people will always stick to these rules. ... Because the machines take care of everything, money is not needed anymore, so there are no rich and
poor people ... The only enemy people have will be time. .. But there is a problem....This would be my ideal world, but humans are creative and unique, so this would not be the perfect world for somebody else living in my world.
Oana Inel : Utopia refers to an ideally perfect place that manages to provide a society where the
moral, political and social aspects offer pleasant conditions and quality of life ... we are humans and we need to keep being pragmatics in order to be part of the actual society.... For creating a game you need rules. If you do not try to understand and learn them, then not only that you won't be able to play it, but you will most probably lose game after game. This also applies in society ... the society must be capable of offering a decent life with qualified education and institutions, work possibilities, medical resources, respect and equal rights ... The moral values in a society come from the way in which each of us acts. As long as our
actions and our desire of ascension do not affect in a negative way the evolution of others, we may help in developing an ideal society.
Stijn van den Brink: I imagine there will a lot of skyscrapers as space will be scarce. But these buildings aren’t just filled with apartments, they will be something like small towns. They will have shopping malls, parks, offices and generally everything you find in a decent sized town ... Now the area surrounding the buildings will not be a barren wasteland. You will of course need space for factories, warehouses and farms (if they still exist), but there will also be plenty of room for leisure activities. Parks, plenty of biking lanes and man made beaches for example ... When it comes to organizations and incentives I don’t expect a lot of change. Money will still be a driving factor, ... In the area of rules and laws I don’t expect a lot of change either ... Moral values will have shifted to a more equal society where inequality will be fought and the people with more money will look after the poorer people in this society .. Education will be revamped. I expect to see a lot of serious games in this field. From a young age children will be educated with the help of games ... I also expect that gamification will make a breakthrough in education before it will be everywhere. Everyone gets certain objectives and they are tracked and once you complete one, you get points. Companies will love this
... Now this isn’t all bad, but we will have to look after our privacy.
Vijay Jawalapersad: utopia: NOW
“Utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/) is an ideal community or society possessing a desirable socio-politico-legal
system„ ... Instead of using the environment, we will be working with the environment. All energy that is
consumed will be from green renewable sources ... They say that communism is perfect in theory, the reality, however, shows that it is not an ideal system in this modern civilization. If you take communism out of the context of this modern world, and apply it in an utopian world, it would fit perfectly. Everybody does what he/she is good in, and everything is distributed equally. ... the people will work, think and act as a community. Everybody shares the same religion, as in utopia there will only be one religion (this will not be a religion we know today). In a way you can think of Utopia as the world thousands years ago, with a dash of the modern world (for instance medicine)
Sharyselle Kock: "Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it” -- The perfect world for me would comprise of having the most optimal illusion to your disposition of reaching perfection. By merely having access to achieving that illusion could be satisfying enough. ... But then there is also a twist in the
game. The experiencer will be near to achieving a certain level of perfection, but is actually never really attaining it. This event therefore brings a paradox into existence. At the same time that the level of perfection could be reached, there is no more room for challenges. Call it game-over if you must ... . Only the game could be attributed with the notion of perfection, because the experiencer can never surpass it....The purpose of this utopia is to offer the experiencer skillbuilding, creating awareness of the powerful self and sending him into the real world with a sense of accomplishment. Analogous to a jolly puppy chasing its tail.
Marije Meijer: The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Utopia is the definition of the word, the idea that there could be a perfect world. My first thought of this perfect world consist of green meadows
full of flowers, a warm spring sun, a world in which there exists harmony between humans and nature.... My perfect environment would involve a lot of nature, yet the nature doesn’t need to be beautiful or rich; the most important thing for me would be that the environment is fun to explore ... The infrastructure should consist of little dirt roads on the ground, and most of the traffic going by air: this way the landscape would not be influenced by a human influence.... The government should consist of representatives chosen by the people. Other major organizations could be focused on healthcare and education ... As stated under rules, the inhabitants of my Utopia would never commit any crime whatsoever. ...
Andrea Pati o Orrego: I dream a world without starvation where food is spread as rumors, where violence does not exist in the mind of any person, neither contamination, only in museums as evidence of a past
where civilization did not exist. I would like to see that past in the same way we see dinosaur’s
fossils nowadays. ... I would like a world without borders, where eyes are open with the only intention of appreciate and be aware of our surroundings ... A place were finally science and spirituality reach the same
consensus ... In this world we give others what we do not need, and we take only the necessary, but without any regimen. ... Technology and games are off course part of this world. ... Rules are basic; give others what you want for you, if you are not giving the appropriate, you will be suspicious of lack of love and will receive an annoying intense therapy of hugs and noisy kisses on your ears without right to refuse.
Ines van Drie: According to me, a perfect world looks a bit like the world we are living in right now. There are
people preferring living in a metropole or, on the opposite, people who have a preference for the countryside. I don’t believe this preferences will change. What will change is the ambience of the world. ... Children will still go to school. The primary teaching at school will be done by a computer. The system helps the child achieve his or her own goals and can stimulate the child to learn more. ..... Together with other children group assignments can be made and corrected by the computer.. ... the ambience of the cities will change. Technology is implemented in the every day life. An example is the change of architecture. Walls can be used for directions and advertisement, ... Information is personalized ... In an information society serious games play an important role. Children will learn with the help of serious games and people at work can see the effects of decisions with the help of serious games implemented in the virtual environment ...However a lot of things change in this world of Utopia, the codes of law and civic order remain the same as we know it ... technology is used, as stated above, to help people relax and create a social world again where it’s easy for people to connect with other people ...
Michael Wolbert: In my view on a utopian society, every utopian view of the individuals living in this society must be realized. In today’s society this statement is a paradox, since independent views are highly probable
to conflict and therefore cannot be realized within today’s society itself. In a utopian society this paradox cannot exist. ... Another approach would be to accept the idea of a utopian society accepting conflicting utopian views. But how is this society utopian? And how does it differ from today’s society? ... I conclude that today’s society is a utopian society still in the making, since the effect of the paradox will not, and probably cannot, be overcome. Therefore I will stop labeling this society as a utopian society and just label it as today’s society. ... I think foundations, such as: mutual respect, equal rights, free speech, equal wealthfare and equal education, of today’s society are too unstable or are simply not present to let today’s society become anywhere near utopian ... technology, and from the point of view of this course; serious gaming, can be a great catalyst in (re)building these foundations for today’s society to make society flourish into a better
one. ...
Kirsten Teulen: Utopia, or the ideal world, is not a static vision or the endpoint in a world all improvements have been made. Any static society could not be Utopia because people thrive on change and opportunities.
... Therefore instead of Utopia, think of the road to Utopia. ... (1) In what direction lies the road to Utopia?
(2) How far are we on the road to Utopia? (3) What are the things that obstruct us in moving towards Utopia?
... Theanswers to question three are many and more but let's start small with problems in a neighbourhood:
littering, dog poop on the streets, dark and scary alleys are some of the small scale problems. Now
think bigger: pollution, youth criminality, traffic jams. Finally think beyond this first world country.
Think of aids, child-death-rate, famish and droughts. ... The answer might lie in collective behaviour change. When everybody cleans up after themselves and their dogs, a neighbourhood would become a far more Utopian environment. The key in making people aware and changing behaviour could very well be Serious Gaming ...
Joost Weterings: At present we are constantly comparing our qualities with those of others. Scoreboards present our accomplishments and rank them according to what the rest of the world has achieved. However, what’s the use of this kind of comparison when in most cases, we don’t even know who we are comparing ourselves with? Expectations and goals are private, so in my opinion we should stop competing and start monitoring our personal progress. ... Serious Gaming should emphasize this individual development. For instance by simply measuring personal improvement over time ... So never forget that even though outperforming others can be fun, only by transcending our own goals we may become truly powerful.
Carmine Paolino: Project Utopia an exercise in perfection ...[Project Utopia is not about perfection,
but about advancement] ... Project Utopia's premise is to build an ideal society. So let's first explore what's ideal. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, something ideal is “existing only in the imagination; desirable or perfect but not likely to become a reality”. Even at this point, then, we are confronted with the difficulty of our endeavour. ... Psychologist Martin Seligman has provided the acronym PERMA: people seems happiest when they have Pleasure (tasty foods, warm baths, etc.); Engagement (or flow, the absorption of an enjoyed yet challenging activity); Relationships; Meaning (a perceived quest or belonging to something bigger);
Accomplishments (having realized tangible goals). ... Then the problem of happiness is reduced to an optimization problem of PERMA's variables. ... I feel like I just scratched the surface of what is possible to create a better society. But I have faith in humanity. Our natural reward system makes big personal- and societal-level advancements possible, but most of all desirable because they bring us happiness ...
Robert de Vries: Utopia would be an ideal world where abundance is the birthright of people. In this world
people do not end up as slaves, working for their money. Happiness is the main state of mind of people. There is no need to fight for food, money or material stuff. All the work is being done by machines. ... Nature is important in Utopia and respected by the people. All the energy comes from green sources, like sunshine. Diseases are exterminated and there is no ticking clock which counts life time away, because people can live for eternity and stay young with the far evolved science ... There are a lot less rules necessary in law. Because of the well-being of people and the abundance that they experience, there is no need to fight about anything. ... eat vegetable foods .. Being equal and respect the feelings of other people is an important moral value ...
spending time to think about ourselves and who we are ... In my opinion serious games can play the same role in society as that media(television, internet) does these days ... serious game for a higher purpose: create serious games that can be played for entertainment but which also (unconsciously) teach children peaceful
ethical moral values.
Jeffrey Bruijntjes: Utopia would ultimately be a place of near-happiness. Now I say near happiness because this is the only state in which we can truly be happy. ... People are programmed to be relative to their environment, both emotional and physical. So if there are a lot of positive/happy things in ones environment
then a person itself will be happy by that programming. However, as a survival legacy, people need challenges in order to improve themselves. Too little challenge, as would be in a perfecthappiness environment, will result in a sense of un-fulfillment in a person. This, of course, strays more away from happiness then drives towards it, hence the near-happiness state. ... Positive events would categorize the events people do not actually need but like to have ... Negative events would categorize the main things people experience as being bad in this world. ... perhaps computers, would aid us (or completely overtake them) in tasks we are reluctant to do ... probably most important, our environment needs to be stable since changes in our environment triggers instinctive fear reflexes ... These are things we would like to correct in our current environment.
Parthena Moysiadou: Consider a perfect, utopian place that simulates the earth that we live on, with no
ecological changes. Economy and every day needs would be supported by consuming green energy, exchanging services and goods. Technology research would be used only for creativity, usability, health and accessibility issues....Education system would be by far more independent, open-minded and free.
Every person could attend studies of any field in real time or online. ... It would have an integrated intelligent
system for solving conflicts and problems, and also keeping the balance. .. Every citizen would have a public, digital blog where he/she could upload interests, needs, thoughts, communicate with the others and review his/her feedback. ... rewards would be gained by activities, evaluated from the humanitarian side ... In a place like this, people could enjoy their free time, explore their interests, avoid stressful or bad experiences, understand themselves to achieve their goals and have better communication with each other.
Jorik Kuhlmann: In an ideal society, people will have the opportunity to learn and work in the direction
they are interested in. The key here lies with personal development. ... The few jobs that will require humans to perform them will have people who genuinely enjoy that job and are excelling in those fields ... The role of serious games within this ideal society is a role that should well thought off. Serious gaming can be used to train people for the jobs which are available. But more important serious gaming should be used for vital skills only. ... the use of serious games should be limited to skills that the child is unable to learn otherwise. ...
One aspect for which serious gaming is advisable is to teach people morals and values, this is not easy to learn the traditional way. By developing a serious game that teaches the child/person about morals and values. The entire society will benefit from it.
Tantra Rusiyanadi: Ideally, a utopia would be a place where everybody is in a constant happy and content state. An easy solution would be what Christians would see as “Heaven”: a world without all the sources that prevents us from achieving constant happiness all the time. ... not only be free of wars, natural disasters, diseases and poverty, but also no “negative” physical or emotional human characteristics such as pain, sadness and death ... But truth is that all the latter characteristics are what make us human. ... Ideally we
would all work together to give each other these rights, freedom, respect and path to happiness without hurting
others.... The state of technology and science doesn’t matter – it is not a requirement to achieve happiness, but it can be used as a tool to help each other trying to achieve happiness. ... Achieving happiness without hurting each other in one way or another (unconsciously) also seems impossible. ... Respect will come a long way
M. S.: An ideal society, to me, is a society where all humans are treated like equals. No matter what job you do or what position you fulfill, everyone is the same to one another. However, every person should be able to achieve happiness in their life. Whether you’re born in Africa, America or Europe, anyone should have the fair chance of succeeding in life and be happy. This means that the current society will have to change....Religion and freedom of speech should be allowed, as long as no-one is harmed by these concepts. The only way for this to happen is when every single person on earth treats one another as they would want to be treated themselves ... The role of serious games should not be forgotten though. Games will always exist as they are designed to provide amusement to its players .. But I would argue that serious games have been around for ages. The good old board games that we all used to play when we were a child (and we might still play them) already serve the purpose of socializing and communicating with your family or friends .... .In the ideal society however, games will fit a larger role. Morals and values should be taught through
them ... But even the smaller, everyday activities could be transformed into games. Even when you’re not a
bigshot in life and fulfill a position in this society that would ‘normally’ be described as a lesser position,
you should still be able to carry out your daily routines with just as much satisfaction as any other
person. ... Don’t worry, be happy.
Leta Alexandra: As Oscar Wilde famously put it: "A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of utopias”. ... A perfect world would be a mix of balance, simplicity, harmony, freedom, peace, progress and evolution, knowledge, science, health, accomplishment, sustainability; a world where people have the opportunity to live both in an ecovillage and a highly developed town, to change their lifestyle without having to change their job or group of friends. ... Citizens and people in leading positions should join together to create sustainable lifestyles and an ecological civilization in which people and environment co-exist in harmony.... People would be more cooperative, communicative, improve their relationships with neighbours, coworkers, etc. in order to find better solutions for problems that concern the community in which they are living. They should be encouraged to express their opinions, accept critics and criticize when needed ... Video cameras watching over public spaces infringes on people’s right to anonymity, but it is an effective method
for creating a safety environment. In today’s society a neighbourhood can acquire a reputation as a 'good' or 'bad' area; an ideal place to live should provide all citizens the same quality of living conditions.
Kees van Gelder: My idea about an ideal society is in principle a very simple one; it is a society in which everybody enjoys life. For me this means that everyone would rate his/her life with 10 out of 10. ... One of the most important factors contributing to the human enjoyment of life is in my opinion having a great childhood. If you are happy as a child, you will have a more solid basis of becoming happy as an adult as well ...if we want children to be happier, I believe it is important that they should enjoy school ... Serious games can help making learning a more enjoyable experience. I believe serious games are potentially able to teach the same things in the same amount of time. However, instead of having to use a static textbook, one can play a dynamic game which is also focussed at being enjoyable ... Besides teaching about traditional theoretical topics, serious games can also influence how people, including children, think and behave. ... serious games can help in many other aspects of creating a better world ... serious games can play a role: teaching about parenthood, about the importance of creating a sustainable world, about staying healthy, about the importance of certain laws, and so on ... I do not believe that serious games are the solution to all the problems preventing our society from being ‘ideal’. I do however believe that serious games can play a significant role in making many of these problems easier to deal with, thus contributing to a world in which everyone can enjoy life.
Folkert Heeneman: No paper about Utopia should start without mentioning Thomas More. This 16th century humanist was the first to coin the term and in his book he describes an ideal world, according to his views. It
should be noted that Utopia comes from the Greek word outopia, which means no-place-land. Others might argue it comes from eutopia, which means good-place. Either way, it is obvious that Utopia does not exist and probably never will. ... To start with politics, Utopia should be ruled by a democracy, by the people. I agree with Winston Churchill who said that “it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” ...There will be total freedom of religion, believe, opinion etc. Although some might argue religion is archaic (“God is dead”, Nietzsche) people will always believe in something. ... The government (thus the representation of the people) should have a complete monopoly on (legitimate) violence. This can only be used to enforce civil order and the law ... Economically, the state should have a limited influence, only on essential things as healthcare, education and public services (transport, infrastructure, energy). The aforementioned things should be available without limit to all citizens, free of charge or relatively cheap .... Public services are provided to every citizen by the government, which is funded by taxes paid by high earners.
Robin Ponstein: Utopia is the notion of a perfect society. To define perfection we need a set of rules which everybody can agree to. But who’s going to make these rules. .. ideas of perfection may conflict with each other. So automatically we have inequality in the perfect world. ... There are many ways to enforce ones rule, but taking perfection to another level, everybody in utopia has to be happy with his or her life. Most likely you wouldn’t be happy if you were forced to live by rules you don’t agree with.... Therefore the publics state of mind has to be controlled. Not considering actual brainwashing as a real option, other ways have to be found to change the way people think. This is where serious games could come into play. ...Using serious games, among other techniques, the public can be trained to think like the ones in charge. Due to the playful nature of the technique, they will most likely be more eager to adapt than with regular methods. Children can be conditioned more easily using games, but it has to be done in such a way the parents don’t notice.... added to existing games or incorporated into new technology. ...In theory the social order of trustees and even the first layer of creators can eventually be dismantled when the public is sufficiently indulged. ... They will see the need of serious games to train the young and will collectively see to the implementation.
Herbert Bodner: In an ideal world there are no states and no boundaries, there are no Dutch, foreigners, Europeans, Americans or Asians, there are only humans ... There is no distinction of origin, race or religion. Your are accepted as you are. ... I believe that human beings in general are lazy .. there is nobody, who is able to study the whole content by himself/herself ... no one can really motivate himself/herself to sit down and go through the whole ... People would rather have fun. Using Serious Games a lot of important content could be delivered to all people and they will have fun and play the games. Therefore you can teach them a lot of important things for life, because they love to play.
Somia Hosseini: I think that in a perfect world, people wonder how it looks like and what it spontaneously
offers! ... Utopia is a safe world that there is an end to the most foolish kind of war, which is the war
between religions, ... There is no hunger problem in the world. The nature and the environment are able to recover, at the time that humanity living together harmoniously. ... You will be Smarter, by stimulation of the brains with a magnetic helmet. ... Every day, scientific revolution will be placed; discoveries today that decide the face of the world tomorrow. ... According to Thomas More “This Utopia is probably too good to be true “, but I want to describe my Utopia that may come true using serious gaming. ... In my Utopia there is no private ownership, everything is owned for everyone, there is no rules of ownership, and everybody can use serious games. There is no need for education investment or teachers because of e-learning environment of serious game. ... In this ideal society there is no crime and unemployment problems for the integration of
immigrant’s. People will train how to integrate in the country, how to find job, and how to
interact with the people in host-country using serious game.
literature for session 2:
A systematic literature review of empirical evidnce on computer ganes and snd serious games.
The Use of Media Entertainment and Emotional Gratification.
The Mediated Moderation model of Interactivity
Enjoyment: At the Heart of Media Entertainment
Optional: Pelligrini on Play and Evolution:
Play in evolution and development
Presentation by Jacobijn on September 12
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B-XFRh3B9NvYa05WNUlYQUx0eGc/edit
literature for session 3:
Card Shark and Thespis: Exotic Tools for Hypertext and Narrative
Mark Bernstein and Diane Greco
Paper version can be found in:
First Person – New Media as Story, Performance, and Game, pp. 167 - 182, Noha Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan (eds.),The MIT Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004.
The Pleasure of Immersion and Interaction: Schemas, Scripts, and the Fifth Business
J. Yellowlees Douglas and Andrew Hargadon
Paper version can be found in:
First Person – New Media as Story, Performance, and Game, pp. 192 - 206, Noha Wardrip-Fruin and Pat Harrigan (eds.), The MIT Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004.
The Vocabulary of Comics (Chapter 2) (Note: the additional text is also worth a read)
Scott McCloud
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Harper Paperbacks , 1994
Presentation by Frank
see the folder below => Interactive-Storytelling
requirement(s) / presentation(s)
grading(s) / final project(s) / participant(s)
more specific comments may be given tot the individual portfolios below!
overall comment(s)
Overall the work is quite good, although there a individual differences due to different backgrounds and also (apparently) different motivations wrt to the course, ranging from an interest in game development to the serious issues addressed in the course.
Looking at the portfolios I can make the following observations:
Nevertheless, in particular because this first time may considered as a pilot, I am happy with the outcomes of the course, as well as the whole atmosphere, overall a pleasant energetic process, although some apparently had their doubts still at the end. Anayway, as a team we learned something from it, and I hope that for you, the students, it was worth the effort. (Æ)
the portfolio(s)
schedule / session 4
assignment(s) -- civic order(s) / material(s) in dutch
The workshop game design will have civic order as its main topic, and focus on means to establish citizen's participation in local neighborhood(s), with a case study of one of Amsterdam's city areas as a starting point. The case study and assignment(s) will be presented by Roderic Evans-Knaup (city-council Amsterdam), and (pending) Merijn de Jong (actor), who participated in de club.
Additional information/documentation will be provided during the course.
civic order(s) / participant(s)
The results of the workshop game design were very interesting, and encouraging both as confirmation of the value of practical game design in class and as potential solutions for the problems addressed.
Out of 22 designs, three winners were selected. Added later, due to a recount, design 21 at a shared third place!
result(s) -- design(s) / cycle(s)
comment(s) & discussion(s)
All contributions as found in design(s) contribute to (y)our understanding of the topic(s) of civic order(s) and in particular littering & loitering. I would like to see the students elaborate on their designs, and express further ideas and opinions, here and in the portfolio(s), on what would be effective solutions to maintaining order and safety in public space.
And, yes, you may post your favorite design in serious @ facebook and start a discussion there!