Some people ask us why we’re planning on making games a part of the civic platform we’re developing. The answer is that games can not only help engage citizens, but enhance their experience.
Games are engaging. Surely many citizens will be interested in the multiple ways a civic platform can empower them. Information, discussion, working through different scenarios, and developing and communicating proposals: all are worthy pursuits in their own right—and plenty of folks will see them as such. But other people are nervous about connecting with others, especially if they fear confrontation or hostility. Others may wonder if those activities justify the time they inevitably take. Still others find them boring or tedious. Games can help ameliorate or even eliminate all of these problems.
Games help us deal with reality. There are several ways games can help us think about the real world. Properly constructed, games can be made into a form of interactive exploration. They can also force “players” to first confront and then work through trade-offs by examining the various consequences—sometimes quite startling and unforeseen—that might follow from pursuing different options. Finally, games can help us all appreciate the complexity at the root of so many political and policy issues.
Games can encourage civil behavior. A final way games can underwrite the value of a civic platform is by rewarding positive behaviors (like making useful contributions to a discussion) and discouraging damaging behaviors (like “flaming”).
The ultimate yardsticks we will use to judge the success of the civic platform we are building are the quantity and quality of civic engagement it promotes. Games are likely to be instrumental to achieving both forms of success.
