A Survey on the Design of Gamified Systems for Energy and Water Sustainability

Spartaco Albertarelli, Piero Fraternali, Sergio Herrera, Mark Melenhorst, Jasminko Novak, Chiara Pasini, Andrea-Emilio Rizzoli and Cristina Rottondi
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Spartaco Albertarelli: Kaleidos Games, 20133 Milan, Italy
Piero Fraternali: Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Sergio Herrera: Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Mark Melenhorst: European Institute for Participatory Media, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Jasminko Novak: European Institute for Participatory Media, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Chiara Pasini: Department of Electronics, Information, and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Andrea-Emilio Rizzoli: Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA), University of Lugano (USI), University of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
Cristina Rottondi: Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA), University of Lugano (USI), University of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), 6900 Lugano, Switzerland

Games, 2018, vol. 9, issue 3, 1-34

Abstract: In a world affected by the constant growth and concentration of the population in urban areas, the problem of preserving natural resources has become a priority. A promising approach to resource conservation is demand management, i.e., the ability to positively influence the behaviour of the population towards more sustainable consumption. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools have shown a great potential in influencing consumers’ behaviour, which could be exploited for the common good. However, the design of so-called persuasive systems for environmental purposes is a challenging task, because it cannot be based solely on the utilitarian motivation of users, but must be able to trigger a broader range of engagement factors deeply rooted in the human psychology. In this paper, we review the main design principles and models at the base of a class of persuasive system that exploits gamification and Games with a Purpose (GWAPs) to engage users towards sustainability; we identify the most commonly used incentive mechanisms for inducing behavioural changes; and present a selection of gamified systems for energy and water conservation. From such a survey, we distill design guidelines to be applied in the design of demand management socio-technical systems.

Keywords: behavioral change system; Human Computation; gamification; serious games; persuasive games; energy; water (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C C7 C70 C71 C72 C73 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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