Drs. Jaap de Goede
Game designer
What if you could have a tool that would increase resilience in citizens to face unexpected disasters and calamities? What if such a tool was so much fun to use that it would increase awareness of one's own agency and inspire people to learn and become more resilient in the face of changing climate and political conditions? At TU Delft we have set out to design precisely such a tool, in the shape of an educational game, to be used in classrooms and community meetings. After the successful project Water Values, in which we also built such a serious game, TU Delft professor Carola Hein and external partner Stratsims won a KIEM / SIA grant to develop the new game Creating Changemakers over the course of 2025 – 2026.
Fig.1. Game testing in TU Delft course Building Green. (Source: Jaap de Goede)
The main idea of the project is that ‘after the disaster’ is ‘before the disaster’. You never know what the next calamity is, or where you will be in your life if and when it happens. But it is inevitable that there will be ones, and not unlikely that you or your children will have to face one or more. For example, we all recently lived through the COVID pandemic, and terrorist attacks and storms may have hit close to home. Even war is not far from us, as many of our (grand)parents lived through one.
It pays to be prepared and aware, not only as someone working in crisis management, but as a human being in general. For individuals, small preparations can make a difference. People who know where the fire exits are, or have a backup communication plan to reach family if cell phones stop working, or have a map in the car if satellite navigation stops, or have a water jerrycan and spare food, can significantly increase their resilience against calamities.
Understanding how your environment plays a role is also important. For example, a subway station can double as a bomb shelter, fountains can extinguish fires, and a tall and strong building can save your life during a flood or tsunami.
Specialist knowledge: TU Delft
Water in the landscape is one of the most important factors in our life, also during disasters, and this is where the special expertise of prof. Carola Hein and her department come in. If there is too much water, there can be floods, and travel and supply chains can be blocked or hindered. With too little water, draughts may affect the structural integrity of buildings and the danger of wildfires increases. Also, port cities often have features that may compound disasters. They can be strategic targets of war or terrorism, and often there is storage of oil or chemicals which provides hazards of its own. Moreover, port cities and waterways have great importance for the areas around them, as transport and supply hubs. Historically, these cities shape themselves both around the interplay of economic and private life, as well as the memory of the last disaster that left its marks.
Games as a tool of change
To foster this mindset of regularly being aware and ready for a calamity to happen – but without being in a state of fear - is what we aim for with the game we are building. Games have long been effective ways to teach complex concepts and inspire people. One such example is our own board game Water Values, where players learn about the importance of water management and their own environment. Another is the popular game Pandemic, which teaches cooperation as a way to stop worldwide disease spreading. A more recent game example is Daybreak (or E-mission), which makes us think on how we can perhaps reduce CO2 production and revert climate change. All these games engage players in a fun way, and make them think, discuss and learn on a deeper level.
First designs with game designer Jaap de Goede
We have just finished our first round of preliminary designs, built with students in the course Building Green. All students in the course proved to be naturals at game design thinking, and many ideas were tried with enthusiasm. In the current game, the players start rebuilding a city that has been hit by a disaster, and try to build one that is more resilient and resistant to the next disaster. Then, at an unknown moment in the game a disaster will strike, and the players are challenged to face it and see if their preparations hold up. The players work in teams, to facilitate learning by open discussion of reasoning behind choices. Also players have their own role and life on the map, in the city, making the experience extra up close and personal.
Fig.2. Preliminary game designs and concepts created by and with students from the course Building Green. (Source: Jaap de Goede)
Dilemmas, challenges, and knowledge questions
One feature we developed in early tests may prove to be a mini-game in its own right. To gain extra actions in the main game, players can draw cards with questions on them about disasters. We made three types of those. The first are multiple choice knowledge questions about historic disasters, what people did to survive and rebuild, and what worked. The second are challenges, like: within 30 seconds name as many emergency exits in the building you are in as you can. The third are dilemmas, much like those in the Erasmus Dilemma Game [https://www.eur.nl/en/about-university/policy-and-regulations/integrity/research-integrity/dilemma-game], letting players discuss what they would do in difficult crisis situations. One such dilemma would be: which people do you take with you in your boat during a flood if you only can take a few? Two sick elderly people, a small group of children, or the two strong fellows who might help you later? With the dilemma’s there are no right or wrong answers, but it is the discussion that matters. While playtesting we found that these three types of questions really inspire players, and foster new awareness about the subject.
Fig.3 One of the things we really want to see in the game is how the environment, the landscape shapes the choices we make. This is a later stage of early prototype. (Source: Jaap de Goede)
Fig.4 Here we experimented with a more conceptual, somewhat abstract map. Like in all maps there is a balance to be found between detail and showing clear insight. (Source: Jaap de Goede).
We will keep you posted on further developments of the game. If you are interested in testing or using the game in your community or classroom, please contact us through info@sangrealgames.com (Jaap de Goede)
Acknowledgments
This blog post has been written in the context of discussions in the LDE PortCityFutures research community. It reflects the evolving thoughts of the authors and expresses the discussions between researchers on the socio-economic, spatial and cultural questions surrounding port city relationships. This blog was edited by the PortCityFutures editorial team: Wenjun Feng.