Requirements for Location-based Games for Social Interaction

Social interaction is part of the fabric of society and is essential to challenge many types of social barriers. Location-based games (LBGs) provide a means to foster such interaction in local communities. The design of such games is currently based primarily on designer experience and on the literature on game design in general, and not on...

Location-based challenges for playful neighbourhood exploration

Location-based activities can challenge citizens to explore their neighbourhood in new playful ways. This paper presents a classification of such playful activities based on the literature and experience gained (1) in co-creation sessions and (2) gameplay for neighbourhood exploration with citizens in the Hague. The location-based game designed...

Play with your hood: Creating mobile game challenges to foster social interactions in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods

Ethnically diverse neighbourhoods often lack in social cohesion. This means that people of different ethnic backgrounds often do not mingle with people outside their cultural circle, which leads into a poor public social experience. PhD student Francisco Xavier Fonseca has been developing a localized mobile game aimed at teenagers called Secrets...

Empowering end-users in the energy transition: An exploration of products and services to support changes in household energy management

Current discourse on smart grid deployment expects residential end users to play a more active role as co-providers in the electric power system. Their electricity consumption and production is considered a resource for balancing supply and demand in an electric power system with distributed generation. This means that, in addition to using...

Plezant: Improving the social interaction between elderly in institutional care settings

Activity plays an important role in maintaining health and avoiding excess disabilities in later life. This is not only true for physical activity, but also for mental activity and the according mental health. Example of a beneficial activity that keeps the brain healthy and preserves mental functionality is social activity or in other words...

Gaming for energy conservation in households

This paper presents a study about a ‘serious game’, “Energy Battle”, as a means to influence energy-related behavior in households. The Energy Battle is designed to engage home occupants in a fun way in energy conservation via a competition with other households. The challenge enabled home occupants to gain insight in their energy consumption...

Gaming for energy conservation in households

This paper presents a study about a ‘serious game’, “Energy Battle”, as a means to influence energy-related behavior in households. The Energy Battle is designed to engage home occupants in a fun way in energy conservation via a competition with other households. The challenge enabled home occupants to gain insight in their energy consumption...