POLARIS
Polaris is a serious simulation game that
makes the (online) dynamics of polarisation tangible.
Duration: 3 hours
Number: >15 players
In- Game objective:
Ensure that the residents of Polaris have a minimum National Gross Happiness Index of 70.
Developed and facilitated in cooperation with ToiToiStudio – Jennifer van Exel
These experts were involved in the development of this game:
Joline Verloove (Movisie), Bassima el Haïk (JSO), Bart Brandsma (Inside Polarisation), Eva de Valk (Ministry of Internal affairs), Demian Burgenik, holistic systemic coach specialising in family constellations, Marieke de Wijse (PhD facilitation in change events & serious gaming) Ann Cassano (systemic change & Deep democracy facilitator) Mari Luz Garcia(Manager/Trainer/Facilitator/Coach -Transformation Leadership HvA),
Douwe van der Werf, (storyteller and creative producer), Jaap de Goede ( psychologist and chairman of the board Saganet Serious Games)
Frouke Engel (social designer)
Polaris is the outcome of the design research project BeCommon and is supported with a pioneering contribution of the SIDN Fund.
The story
When it became clear that the world was unable to prevent the melting of the polar ice caps and the water came, the Netherlands seemed to be on the brink of losing its eternal battle against the water by the end of 2050.
Polaris was the master plan to keep one city in the Randstad afloat, in order to save the economy of the Netherlands and its inhabitants. The island was established in 2080 after the Great Flood.
Although a large part of the population was forced to emigrate, a few chosen ones were asked to inhabit Polaris to keep the Netherlands afloat. The new residents of the city represent a cross-section of the population to ensure diversity.
Polaris has four years to become a new model of life in the 22nd century and will, for that reason, be isolated from the rest of the world to focus on this important task. If successful, this model will be further rolled out in the North Sea to eventually form the Lowlands. The benchmark for success is a minimum Gross National Happiness of 70, as agreed on a European level.
We, the citizens of Polaris, are about to enter the island.
Take the first step and feel the sand between your toes. This is your new home.
For Whom?
Polaris can be played in several variations. For (semi)governmental institutions, the emphasis is more on vertical polarization (the distance between citizens and the government), for educational institutions on a combination of vertical and horizontal polarization (distance between groups), and in the case of research, Polaris can be used as a simulation game to answer research questions about social dynamics.
Learning Objectives
- I know what the different types of polarization are (affective, horizontal, vertical).
- I have an understanding of the socio-economic interests at play in society.
- I can make considerations about my daily actions in relation to polarization.
- I understand how vertical polarization between citizens and the government comes about.
- I understand who plays a key role in resolving/preventing polarization.
- I have experienced how the different types of polarization feel.
- I can weigh the choice between collective versus individual interests.
- I have a sense of which techniques/actions work to depolarize.
- I am aware of the impact of online polarizing behavior on polarization.
Polaris can be played in two versions. In version 1 we start highly polarised and in version 2 the polarisation is happening during the game and we end polarised.
How does it feel? How do we talk about it? What does it mean to different people? How does it change our behaviour and interpersonal relationships?
What do we want, what don’t we want and what are the consequences of this on our local community?
The space
The space is divided in two playfields. In each corner of the space there is a quadrant with its own color and places.
The red quadrant is the working-class neighbourhood, the blue quadrant is the affluent neighbourhood, the green quadrant is the ecological neighbourhood and the yellow is the quadrant where culture is paramount. In the middle is the town square where the government resides, protests are being held and where one can meet people from other quadrants.
The imaginative space
During the game we play our characters, try to gain followers, bargain about money, lobby at the government and try to gain as many happiness points as we can. All this happens with collective imagination as a tool to play this future life. We condemn others for their opinions and the groups they are in, and we empathise with eachother too. The dilemma’s we are facing spark our imagination to make the right choice, if there even is any good choice to be made. What happens in fiction stays in fiction, so we are free to fail and act out things we would normally be afraid to show.
The play and the players
We start the game with a backstory where we empathise and feel at home in Polaris.
Then we choose a place to live.
We choose a character and a job. The characters and jobs can be adapted to the players’ reality if desired.
Some jobs have an extra job, such as the hairdresser who knows all the stories or the neighbourhood cop who remains neutral.
What we choose determines who we play, what actions we have to do, where we work (in which neighbourhood), how much we earn and how much attention our work takes. Players are free to go as deep into character empathy as they want.
At the start, each player takes 5 money and 5 attention, the scarse assets with which to play.
Special roles
The media
At the beginning of the game, three influencers are chosen. They each represent their own topic. Their job is to get as many followers as possible. To do so, they have to lobby other players for attention. They have their own social media channel which people can choose to follow.
The journalist is the one responsible for mainstream media. This one gets to choose which role the media gets. Neutral news, connector or divider. On a padlet board they share the news.
Government
The government consists of the Mayor (choosen by the people) and the Minister of Happiness. Together they are responsible for the Happiness Index and there for whether we as a society win the game or not. In order to influence this they must make policies to depolarise and develop the city. Which are being tested during the game.
The happenings
In the game there are three kinds of events. The City Event (corresponding with a shock), The Quadrant Event (corresponding with a stressor), and the Private events (corresponding to personal fate). These macro, meso and micro events have an impact on the assets that are available (more or less costs/ income and more or less attention), the place where you live, the way you travel, the work you do. The events are there to move the game along to the final endgame and to influence the players pushing them together or apart.
Elections, dilemma’s and state of Polaris
On the central square every other night we see and feel what is happening. Who will be the new mayor, how happy are we and how divided are we on the dilemmas we are facing as a city?
“I felt I made a very different choice during the setup, far more extreme than I expected”
“It was beautiful how the winning mayor was still willing to co-operate with the follow up”
“Group: Who is bringing us down? One person: I feel very sad and alone, I am camping in the bar while you are all busy talking about where I should live. Can I have a say in that?”
Back to the present
After determining whether we have met the Gross Happiness Index target of 70, we close the game.
We are either banned or we are an example to the rest of the Netherlands.
We then have an aftertalk with the group, in which we discuss how it went, what was striking, what was nice and what, on reflection, we would do differently.
We also talk about what things the players recognise from their own reality. The future memories we made together create space to talk quietly about real examples.
After a few days, we send another questionnaire after to get a second impression about what people experienced. And perhaps still want to say anonymously. We also ask for ideas and points of improvement for the game, which we take into account in the next design.
Theoretical base of Polaris
Polaris is developed around academic research and theories coming from social sciences and change theory.
The most apparent theories that we used in this design are:
The dynamics of the us vs them thinking theory by Bart Brandsma – the players and the depolarisation techniques
The beyond the Silent Middle research report by the Verwey-Jonkers Institute (in Dutch) – to embed empathy, and a voice for the silent middle
Contact theory – to embed the in and out group movement
Echo Chambers theory – to play with the different information channels and flows during the game (what do you hear and what not)
The Lord of the Flies theory – to embed situations where characters are part of a certain group and there for have other info then others
The Cusp & Hysterese effect / attitude change – to underline that facts and information are not relevant when someone is already in one of the camps
Development
The game as it is now is still in development phase. It is a working prototype that we are still testing with different audiences. We are in the process of applying for funding to publish the game and thus offer it as a product to governments and educational institutions. We are also exploring possibilities to use this game as a simulation in scientific research (e.g. at the Polarisation research group of the University of Amsterdam).