Clima Futura @ VU -communicating ( unconvenient ) science

1. ClimaFutura @ VU-communicating (unconvenient) science Author: Anton Eliёns, Marek van de Watering, etc. Presented by Xuan Liu Chi Zhang

2. Just think about it. • Please name some environmental problems and crisises we face today.

4. Actions • Government • mission or accusation? • Organization • passion or implementation? • Individual • fashion or contemplation?

5. Cause and Effect • Karma: What you do is what you get returned • Will the Mother Nature forgive what we’ve done? • Borrow the earth from our children

6. The Reasons • General audience gets confused and lose interest on the climate issues due to the either advocated or criticized campaigns from public governmental authorities. • Take an active interest in bringing the climate issue to the attention of the youth using scientific background • Focused on bringing the logos of climate change into the foreground.

7. Focus on Climate • Paper is about designing a game on Climate Change • Seems boring, isn’t it? Indeed it is an educational game! • Advocates active learning, even encourages critical learning. • Similar games focus on logos(prediction models) and ethos(climate-correct), but this game also involves pathos(emotional)

8. Game elements • Three building blocks: Actors constitute systems of interactions. They draw upon Rules and Resources For Example a Soccer Game • Involvement and more in particular emotional involvement due to the inborn playfulness of humans

9. Actors: • Players(Presidents, Mayors, citizens), media, military, scientists, students, etc… • Rules: • different triggered events, the level of power • Resources: • capital, knowledge, political power • video events, minigame, scenes, scenarios, etc…

10. Clima Futura Ideas • Focus on Climate prediction models (logos) Challenge the player how to become climate-correct (ethos) • Promote an understanding of the pathos surrounding climate change • Include interactive video as an essential element in game playing • Combine a turn-based game-play loop with a simulation-loop based on one or more climate reference models

11. Turn-based Game • A turn-based game is a game where the game flow is partitioned into well-defined and visible parts, called turns or rounds. • A player of a turn-based game is allowed a period(in this game 100 years 20 rounds, 5 years per round) of analysis before committing to a game action, ensuring a separation between the game flow and the thinking process, which in turn presumably leads to more optimal choices. • The opposite of turn-based is called real-time.

12. Similar to Simcity

13. Heroes of Might and Magic

14. Sangokushi

15. Challenges • Conceptual design Understanding and Communicating Form • Technical design Game Mechanics Platform and OS External Code Code Objects Control Loop Game Object Data … etc

16. The Climate Star(the conceptual toolkit)

17. 16 points in the game • climate strategies • (1) emission reduction, (2)adaptation • climate systems • (3) feedback monitoring, (4)investment in research, (5) climate response • energy and CO2 • (6) investment in efficiency, (7) investment in green technology, (8) government rules • regional development • (9) campaign for awareness, (10) securing food and water • adaptation measures • (11) public space, (12) water management, (13) use of natural resources • international relations • (14) CO2 emission trade, (15) European negotiations, (16) international covenants

18. Climate SensitivityKey Parameter • Mitigate VS Adapt • Positive VS Passive • Example: Factory Chimneys

19. Result Parameters • The result parameters of the climate simulation model are for the player visible in the values for People, Profit and Planet, which may be characterized as: • People – How is the policy judged by the people? • Profit – What is the influence on the (national) economy? • Planet – What are the effects for the environment?

20. Cause and Effect of the game • the player starts in 2007 • the player chooses to undertake action • For example, when the player decides to enforce restrictions on CO2 emissions, s/he may choose option (1) in the climate star, which can be reached through climate strategies. • The result will then be visible, after some period of (game) time, in either one of the result parameters, People, Profit, and Planet

21. A modular architecture • Envisioned realization of Clima Futura • First-person perspective role-playing game • In a 3D immersive environment supported by the Half Life 2 SDK • Problem: require far too much • Substituted Plan • Flash Video Flax 2 SDK • Benefit: play games online, in a web browser, moderate development effort • Flash offers a rich internet application toolkit(RIA)

22. Metal Gear Solid

23. The Master Plan 1. climate model(s) - action script module(s) 2. game play interaction - event-handler per game event 3. video content module - video fragment(s) and interaction overlays 4. minigame(s) - flash module(s) with actionscript interface 5. Clima Futura - integration of modules 1-4, plus server-side ranking 6. adapted versions – educational, commercial 7. multi-user version –with server-side support

24. The Model (most important part) Alternative: MERGE

25. Video content module • The Vox Populi System • Can be searched by VIEW • Topic centered logos • Viewer centered pathos • Speaker centered ethos • provides flexible access to the collection of video(s), and is media driven to the extent that video-material can be added later, with proper annotation. • Annotation facilities provided to the user.

26. Trailer(The Intro) • http://www.climafutura.nl/trailer/index2.html

27. Events (game event description format) • name of event – give a meaningful name • event-id – for administrators only • type – (generic/specific) game/model/video • cause – game play/simulation/exploration • feedback/information – give a logical description • player actions – indicate all (logical) player options • description of visuals – for feedback, information and player options • additional information – give a url with references to additional information and visuals • relates to event(s) – give id’s or descriptions of related events

28. The ClimaFutura Design Bible • Simply a collection of events in the format of G.E.D.F..

29. Prize • Using bonus credits for successfully playing a mini-game • Visual, a gallery or a movie theatre • Probably hidden events

30. Minigame description form • Containing a field to indicate the event that gave rise to the minigame

31. online hyperlinked design document • Game event • Minigame description format

32. Storyboards • It is the scenario • context – general setting, situation • problem – event(s) to occur, problem to solve • S-R situation(s) – stimulus/response (one or more) • climax – action must be taken • resolution – find solution or result

33. the ClimaFutura game • a turn-based game loop • a climate-model driven simulation • exploratory video • and mini-games AIM: to gain experience with the parameters affecting climate change and to give access to climate change related research in a playful manner

34. Additional Parts • a facility that allows players not only submit their own video material, but also to build or modify their own minigames. • Game Physics, relation browser, earth component, YouTube web service • Probably some interfaces, or a whole new language like SL?

35. Critique • The structure of the turn-based games is to some extent more rigid than real time. • The game should focus more on strategy rather than on the story. • Flash games are considered as small games. It is not easy to do further development. Although Flash is capable of operating vectorgraph efficiently, if we intend to employ large amounts of bitmaps or videos, the efficiency of remains a question for the developers.