Recap: At the trade fair for digital education, Johannes Mattmann provided insight into the computer game that emergenCITY and he are developing together.
Europe’s largest event on digital education, Learntec, which took place from May 6 to 8 at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Center, focused this year on topics such as AI skills, immersive learning, and serious games. Johannes Mattmann, founder of the start-up Andarion Games, gave a presentation to visitors on eHUB cities – Blackout, which he is developing in collaboration with the LOEWE center emergenCITY.
The relevance of games such as eHUB cities is regularly confirmed: not so long ago, there was a large-scale power outage in Spain and Portugal. In addition to electricity, the population also lacked access to information, as the landline network was down and the mobile network was heavily overloaded. Large sections of the population did not know where to turn.
In such situations, resilience is key: the population needs information as quickly as possible and a secure supply of essential goods. As an educational and information tool, what can Serious Games contribute to the strengthening of societal resilience? How can Serious Games support citizens in the strengthening of their crisis preparedness and action competence in emergencies? These are the questions that researchers at emergenCITY ask themselves.
The serious game eHUB cities – Blackout, developed by emergenCITY in collaboration with Johannes Mattmann from Andorian Games and Annemarie Mattmann from Story Horizon, aims to make precisely these skills accessible in a playful way. To this end, it spins a story around the eHUB, a living laboratory developed by emergenCITY that can supply its surroundings with electricity, information, and critical goods in the event of a prolonged power outage thanks to solar cells and rechargeable batteries.
“We want to find out how well resilience can be taught through serious games. And whether we can simulate people’s behavior in crisis situations in the game. For example, will electricity be shared with neighbors?” said Johannes Mattmann.
The game consists of three levels in or around an eHUB. The player experiences a power outage. On the first level, for example, this is caused by a snowstorm – in general, care has been taken to stick to real-life scenarios. In this situation, the aim is to manage electricity and achieve the best possible scores in personal well-being, social integration, and work. While players control and regulate the character values and the values of the eHUB, the game impresses with a gripping story in which every decision counts.
Regular internal testing and feedback rounds also ensure that the game meets the demands and needs of players. You can register for playtests here.
