A general tool to create games with valid ecological models for research and stakeholder engagement

Developing solutions to biodiversity loss requires an integrated understanding of natural and social systems, and an appreciation of cultural practices and human values. An interdisciplinary approach is therefore needed to preserve and restore biodiversity, and to engage with stakeholders at a sufficiently broad scale. Games are a universal part of human culture, and billions of hours are spent playing them globally each week. In many games, especially videogames, players interact with immersive simulations of social-ecological systems. Despite their popularity and huge potential, the scope for using these games in research and outreach remains limited because the underlying mechanics of gameplay are not well grounded in realistic ecosystem models. If valid and well-parameterised models were integrated into video games, they could be an effective tool for simulating and communicating scientific models, and for collecting data on how real-world stakeholders make decisions in realistic simulated social-ecological systems. We present a game creator tool and a collection of games built from it that focus on biodiversity conservation, restoration, and disease spillover risk. We show how our game creator tool allows researchers and educators to build video games with custom landscapes, artwork, and entities (e.g., biological species, abiotic resources, human infrastructure) using a point and click interface that requires minimal technical skill in game development. We then demonstrate the versatility of our game creator and methodology by presenting a collecting of games created with it that can be used to research biodiversity restoration and disease dynamics across different case studies. Underlying each game there is a valid scientific model (e.g., generalised Lotka-Volterra, SIR model) to accurately reflect ecosystem and disease dynamics. In-game player decisions about ecosystem management and landscape change are collected during game play, and we demonstrate how these data can be used to understand stakeholder decision-making and co-develop more predictive scientific models. Our game creator tool is free and open source; we welcome new collaborations and outline areas of future expansion for improved research and application.