Sources of geo-simulation/game (GSG) resources

Games have existed almost since the dawn of ‘civilization’.  “The history of games dates to the ancient human past.  Games are an integral part of all cultures and are one of the oldest forms of human social interaction.  Games are formalized expressions of play which allow people to go beyond immediate imagination and direct physical activity.  Common features of games include uncertainty of outcome, agreed upon rules, competition, separate place and time, elements of fiction, elements of chance, prescribed goals and personal enjoyment.” (Wikipedia.)  One of the earliest modern works about games was Huizinga’s (1938 & 1998) Homo Ludens.  The founding work of modern academic gaming is unquestionably Dick Duke’s (1974 & 2014) Gaming: The Future’s Language.

Since then, the literature on simulation/gaming (and on crucial debriefing) has exploded.  Dick Duke worked in land planning, and today the gaming literature in areas related to the Earth, the environment, conservation, climate change has exploded.  This is due partly to the increase in massive and wicked problems in those areas, and due partly to the realization that simulation/games are an, and sometimes the only, effective method (or tool) for solving complex problems and for providing guidance in navigating complexity.

The result today is that geo-simulation/games GSGs are spread across far flung places – libraries, depositories, institutes, associations and private collections.  The geo-simulation/gamer (practitioner and researcher) looking for material or a method has a hard time.

This presentation will outline a few pockets where a relatively high concentration of GSG activity and materials may be found.  It will also unveil a simple database destined for GSGs, in the hope that EGU members will contribute and benefit.