Megawatt

Goal

The goal of the Megawatt project is to create a way for users to learn about energy by playing a fun and engaging Serious Game.

Methodology

We propose to teach users using a card game, based on soild gaming mechanics, beyond simple points and quests. Our cards are designed to teach users both innately and explicitly. A user should be able to pick up a card, and relate its in-game characteristics (how many NRG points it can produce compared to its monetary and environmental costs) with real world characteristics. Our cards also provide explicit education through the use of educational factoids printed on each card. By playing this game, users will develop an understanding of the meta-game (which cards are "good" and work well together). This understanding will then translate into a better comprehension of the real-world energy situation.

Technology

We provide Megawatt as an open source card and rule set, so that anyone can create their own framework-specific implementation. We offer one such implementation as an example, using Django and Postgres. The initial card set, rules, and implementation are available for download from the above toolbar link.

Alternatively, git users can clone our repositroy with the following command

$ git clone https://github.com/gregorylburgess/megawatt.git

Documentation

Take a look at our wiki pages:

Installation: Documents the process for installing a local version of the implementation.

User Guide: Describes the use of the current implementation.

Game Content: Documents Game Rules and Cards.

Game Play: Documents the goal for game mechanics.

Game Interface: Documents the goal for the implementation interface.

Game Evaluation: Documents plans for content evaluation and play testing.