Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3332
Publication type: Conference paper
Type of review: Peer review (abstract)
Title: Enhancing citizen participation through serious games in virtual reality
Authors: West, Mirjam
Yildirim, Onur
Harte, Aislinn Elizabeth
Ramram, Adam
Fleury, Nicholas Whitney
Carabias-Hütter, Vicente
DOI: 10.21256/zhaw-3332
Proceedings: Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society
Editors of the parent work: Schenk, Manfred
Popovich, Vasiliy V.
Zeile, Peter
Elisei, Pietro
Beyer, Clemens
Ryser, Judith
Page(s): 881
Pages to: 888
Conference details: 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society (REAL CORP 2019), Karlsruche, Germany, 2-4 April 2019
Issue Date: 2019
Publisher / Ed. Institution: Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning
Publisher / Ed. Institution: Wien
ISBN: 978-3-9504173-7-1
ISSN: 2521-3938
Language: English
Subjects: Virtual reality; Serious game; Smart city; Co-creation; Storytelling; Participation
Subject (DDC): 307: Communities
Abstract: Recently, an increasing number of cities are in the process of developing new strategies and concepts to become Smart Cities. Participatory approaches that include all stakeholders are essential for urban developments to be smart and widely accepted. Nevertheless, only a few cities have linked their citizen participation with city planning. This is where this innovative Virtual Reality (VR) project comes in. Technological progress in VR now enables people to be virtually integrated into an emerging future. In combination with gamification methods, educational tools with long term impacts can be created. As of yet, gamification in a non-VR environment has been successfully applied in different projects. This project aims to unlock the untapped potential and examines how a serious game in a high-end VR environment can increase citizen participation in a Smart City. To create the VR application, a user-centered design method was applied. In a first step, a prototype, the serious game “Virtual Energy Hero”, was developed, which addresses energy and sustainability topics. The game was very well received by more than 90% of approximately 250 players (by the end of 2018). The storyline of the game, as well as its game mechanics to enhance interactivity and immersion, are the main areas for improvement, as identified through interviews, a literature review, tests and surveys. These learnings were considered when designing the second game "Virtual Smart City Hero". By creating virtual scenarios of the Smart City Winterthur, based on the city’s 3D model, people are offered the opportunity to dive into the topic and interact with current and future Smart City elements. Through interactive mini-games, the players are given an immersive experience. The “Virtual Smart City Hero” is currently under development and still in the design phase. It is planned that after playing the game, the players are encouraged to join a web based innovation platform. There, they can conceptualize and discuss new ideas and participate in bottom-up initiatives. The platform will promote collaborations between different actors - citizens, administrations, research institutes and the private sector. Impact assessments will be made and it will be analyzed how the platform has to be designed for citizens to become active Smart Citizens.
URI: http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/506
https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/16500
Fulltext version: Published version
License (according to publishing contract): Licence according to publishing contract
Departement: School of Engineering
Organisational Unit: Institute of Sustainable Development (INE)
Published as part of the ZHAW project: Virtual Energy Hero
Appears in collections:Publikationen School of Engineering

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West, M., Yildirim, O., Harte, A. E., Ramram, A., Fleury, N. W., & Carabias-Hütter, V. (2019). Enhancing citizen participation through serious games in virtual reality [Conference paper]. In M. Schenk, V. V. Popovich, P. Zeile, P. Elisei, C. Beyer, & J. Ryser (Eds.), Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society (pp. 881–888). Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3332
West, M. et al. (2019) ‘Enhancing citizen participation through serious games in virtual reality’, in M. Schenk et al. (eds) Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society. Wien: Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning, pp. 881–888. Available at: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3332.
M. West, O. Yildirim, A. E. Harte, A. Ramram, N. W. Fleury, and V. Carabias-Hütter, “Enhancing citizen participation through serious games in virtual reality,” in Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society, 2019, pp. 881–888. doi: 10.21256/zhaw-3332.
WEST, Mirjam, Onur YILDIRIM, Aislinn Elizabeth HARTE, Adam RAMRAM, Nicholas Whitney FLEURY und Vicente CARABIAS-HÜTTER, 2019. Enhancing citizen participation through serious games in virtual reality. In: Manfred SCHENK, Vasiliy V. POPOVICH, Peter ZEILE, Pietro ELISEI, Clemens BEYER und Judith RYSER (Hrsg.), Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society [online]. Conference paper. Wien: Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning. 2019. S. 881–888. ISBN 978-3-9504173-7-1. Verfügbar unter: http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/506
West, Mirjam, Onur Yildirim, Aislinn Elizabeth Harte, Adam Ramram, Nicholas Whitney Fleury, and Vicente Carabias-Hütter. 2019. “Enhancing Citizen Participation through Serious Games in Virtual Reality.” Conference paper. In Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society, edited by Manfred Schenk, Vasiliy V. Popovich, Peter Zeile, Pietro Elisei, Clemens Beyer, and Judith Ryser, 881–88. Wien: Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning. https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3332.
West, Mirjam, et al. “Enhancing Citizen Participation through Serious Games in Virtual Reality.” Proceedings of 24th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society, edited by Manfred Schenk et al., Competence Center of Urban and Regional Planning, 2019, pp. 881–88, https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-3332.


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