Games for Urban Design & Urban Planning.pdf

Games for Urban Design & Urban Planning
Dr. Mennatullah Hendawy
2024

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Many definitions of a game
David Parlett (1961) makes a distinction between the formal and
informal game.
➔ An informal game is undirected play.
➔ A formal game has a two-fold structure based on ends and means:
● Ends: a context to achieve an objective (to win). Only one of the
players can achieve it.
● Means: an agreed set of equipment and of procedural „rules“ by
which the equipment is manipulated to produce a winning
situation.
See some more in: Salen K. and E. Zimmerman, Rules of Play (2004) - from Poplin slideshare also available in

Many definitions of a game
C. Abt (1970)
“Reduced to its formal essence, a game is an activity among two or
more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their
objectives in some limiting context. A more conventional definition
would say that a game is a context with rules among adversaries
trying to win objectives”.
Abt, C., Serious Games, New York, The Viking Press, 1970 - - from Poplin slideshare

Types of Games
● Entertainment Games
● Entertaining and educational games
● Serious Games
(Çatak G., (2011) Oynarken Tasarlamak: Dijital Tasarım Oyunları, Sigma, (3,) pp. 385-391.,
https://www.jocress.com/dergi/games-for-urban-planning20220503033216.pdf)
Developed by khushi as part of her internship at Impact Circles e.V., Berlin

Serious Games
● Applying games and simulations technology to non- entertainment domains results in
serious games.
● The main idea of serious games is to get players to learn something, and, if possible, have
fun doing it.
● Applications range from education, health, public policy, strategic communication, cultural
heritage, etc.
● Enormous potential of serious games for urban planning and urban design
● A serious game or applied game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure
entertainment.[1] The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to video games used
by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency
management, city planning, engineering, politics and art.[2]
adapted from Poplin slideshare and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serious_game see also https://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Serious_game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScihM
5Yie-I&t=151s (around 4 mins)
Serious Games

10
Serious games
https://www.chaostheorygames.com/blog/serious-games-guide-everything-you-need-to-know-in-2021
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Serious-games-for-health-Wattanasoontorn-Boada/71fe818c0e29e9476fd305724273a98d3b718612

11
Serious games

12
Serious games

13
Examples of serious games
● Teaching Game: Teaches you something using real
gameplay.
● Meaningful Game: Uses gameplay to promote a
meaningful message to the player.
● Purposeful Game: Uses games to create direct real
world outcomes.
https://www.gamified.uk/gamification-framework/differences-between-gamification-and-games/amp/

14
Phantomation. This was a game that was
designed to teach you how to use the
animation software Play Sketch.
Rather than just showing you the tools, it has
you solving various puzzles that need
deeper and deeper understanding of the
tool. The big thing with this game was that it
could be enjoyed as a game in its own right,
even if you didn’t have an interest in learning
the tool!
Examples of serious games: Teaching Game / Games
for Learning

15
Examples of serious games: Meaningful Game /
Games for Good
This is a game that tries to get across a meaningful message
and if possible promote change with that message. An
example of this would be Darfur is Dying. This was the result
of a competition run by the Reebok Human Rights
Foundation and the International Crisis Group. Five students
from the University of Southern California created the winning
game, that placed you in the shoes of a displaced Darfurian
refugee. It aimed to show the hardships faced by the millions
of people who had been displaced by the crisis in Sudan.
Rather than trying to teach you a tool or a method of doing
something, this type of game is trying to inform you about
things that may never have crossed your mind in a way that
is engaging and meaningful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1dD0I2J-LY
Serious urban games

Extra links: serious games
● What are serious games (around 2 mins)
● Serious Games Guide: Everything you need to know in 2021 | Chaos Theory
● What are serious games?
● https://www.gamified.uk/gamification-framework/differences-between-gamification-and-
games/amp/

Varieties of games
A variety of different games exist. It is almost impossible to include definitions of all of them. We describe some of them
within this subchapter in order to improve understanding of the differences among them and their basic characteristics.
The description is not complete and can be extended with other forms of games.
• Non-digital or traditional games do not use computers or other electronic devices for the creation of a game
environment. Some authors suggest further distinction between “classic” non-digital games like Chess and
“contemporary” such as for example Dungeon&Dragons. Digital games involve computers and other electronic devices
for the creation of the game environment.
• Serious games are games developed for non-entertaining purposes. In 2002 founded incentive entitled Serious Games
Initiative dealt with the definition of the expression and the main concept. Examples of such games are the games that
address policy and management issues, public participatory games, or games for health and change management.
• Open-end games are games that can be played without an end. They have no rules about the winning situation and
they do not include this concept in the game. An example can be a game in which the player moves the objects in
order to arrive to the most preferred solution; rearranging different houses, parks, trees would result in a planned
version of the neighbourhood which represents only one of the possible solutions of this game. Another player will
possibly arrive to another solution of this game. In this sense there is no winner of the game.
• Formal and informal games. Parlett (Parlett 1999) provides an explanation for the distinction between formal and
informal games. “An informal game is merely undirected play, or `playing around`, as when children or puppies play at
rough and tumble.” He contrasts this activity with what he calls a “formal game”. A formal game is based on ends and
means. Ends describe the end of the game where a player or a group of players achieves the goals of the game and
wins it. Means are a set of equipment or/and the rules of the game which can produce the winning situation.
Krek, A., 2008. Games in urban planning: The power of a playful public participation. na.

Varieties of games
• Autonomous games are games that do not require active human participation in order to function. This concept is similar to
the concept of an “autonomous” agent, which is defined as to be able to autonomously pursue its own agenda.
• Emergent games. In games emergence arises through the interaction of the formal game system and decisions made by the
players. A good example of this kind of emergence is bluffing in Poker. The strategy of bluffing, pretending to have a better
hand than you actually do, is a key component of the game. Bluffing is a possible strategy for the player, which is not
explicitly described in the rules of the game.
• Ubiquitous games. The expression emerges from ubiquitous computing which is a relatively new metaphor. It describes the
computers which are spread invisibly throughout the environment, embedded and hiding as it were, within the objects of
our everyday life. Ubiquitous games, loosely defined, are games that take place in a mixture of the real world and the virtual
world of the game. Mark Weiser’s (Weiser 1993) suggested the following three characteristics for ubiquitous computing:
‘invisible’, ‘calm’ and ‘connected’. Applying these principles to the games resulted in development of so called ubiquitous
games. Meaningful game is premised on the idea of a meaningful play which emerges from the relationship between the
player´s action and the outcome of the system. Salen and Zimmerman (Salen and Zimmerman 2004) distinguish between
two kinds of meaningful play (not game!). The first sense of meaningful play refers to the way game actions result in game
outcomes to create meaning. It refers to the way the game generates meaning through play and generates meaningful
experience for the player. The second sense of meaningful play refers to the goal of successful game design. It is based on
the evaluation of the game as the whole system and to decide whether it is meaningful enough or not. The meaning in this
context reflects the emotional and psychological experience of the player.
• Non-competitive games. The idea of these games is not necessarily to eliminate competition, but to somehow shift the
focus away from winning and more towards the fun of playing. The non-competitive games are games that encourage
playfulness. Another expression sometimes used for this kind of games is “funny games”. They are called funny because the
score does not matter and the only reason to play is for the fun of it.
Krek, A., 2008. Games in urban planning: The power of a playful public participation. na.

Playable cities
The Playable City is a new term, imagined as a counterpoint to ‘A Smart City’. A Playable City is a city where people,
hospitality and openness are key, enabling its residents and visitors to reconfigure and rewrite its services, places and
stories.
“Our data-marked world is often represented as benignly utilitarian – filled with smart cities and networked objects – a
functional, benefit-led data-driven place […] From the urban spaces of Bristol, Playable City will hopefully be the first of
many commissions for contextual art that transcends technology and show us new ways to see the world.”
Tom Uglow in Wired.co.uk
See also https://theconversation.com/bringing-back-an-old-idea-for-smart-cities-playing-on-the-street-85756 and

Further links: City planning and city management
games
Cities and videogames: an unexpectedly constructive relationship
Smart Cities, Citizen Participation & Gamification. A Starcraftian model.
Beyond Sim City: How Video Games Are Affecting City Planning | Smart Cities Dive
Signal — Smart City Sim City. This article mentions an intersection… | by Ta Mu |
Medium
Serious Games for Urban Planning | Smart Cities Dive
Gaming for More Sustainable Cities
SimCity legacy: smarter cities when urban planners play for keeps | Guardian
sustainable business
Virtual Playgrounds: How "Gamification" Can Help Us Solve Urban Problems
“DESIGNING AN ANALOGUE SERIOUS GAME TO SUPPORT SMART CITY PLANNERS TO REFLECT ON VALUE DYNAMICS IN THE
URBAN SPHERE”
Zoomscape | Playable City 2023 | Watershed

Further links: PLAYABLE Cities
https://issuu.com/theurbanconga/docs/a_guide_for_creating_a_playable_ci
ty?fr=sNjUzZjkwNjA3OQ
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-9765-3_5

Discussion
What can games offer for urban design?

What can games offer to urban planning/design?
● Improves citizens’ learning about environment
● Game based learning of urban issues in a playful and exciting way
● Risk-free and provides a platform to handle real life problems
● Players get to learn real skills like teamwork, communication,
decision-making
● Push participants out of their comfort zone of thinking
(Clark C. Apt, 1987, Serious Games, University Press of America, accessed 4th August 2023,
https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Serious_Games/axUs9HA-hF8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PR13&printsec=frontcover )

Types of Urban Planning Games
● Traditional Games: Non-digital/traditional games can be played without using electronic means or
computers. This can be board- and card games. The player learns about influence and relationships of
urban growth (Poplin 2012, page 198).
● Digital Games: Games, which use computers and electronic devices, come to the fore in urban
planning (Poplin 2012, page 198).
● Pervasive Games: The third category includes pervasive games, which got popular since the invention
of internet and its fusion with GPS-capable mobile telephones. In these games, the borders between
virtual and physical almost disappear. According to Montola: “The family of pervasive games is
diverse, including individual games ranging from simple single player mobile phone games to
artistically and politically ambitious mixed reality events” (Montola 2009, page 7). “Pervasive game”
is a purposeful organised playful activity which tends to interact with and blend into reality. Although
pervasive games are not bound to certain times and locations, they tend to take place in public
spaces (Ferri & Coppock 2013).
(Poplin, Alenka (2012): Playful public participation in urban planning: A case study for online serious games. In: Computers, Environment and Urban Systems. Editors: Thill, J.C. Page 195-206. Charlotte, USA., https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0198971511001116 )
(Montola, Markus (2009): Games and pervasive games. In: Pervasive games – Theory and design. Editors: Montola, Markus; Stenros Jaakko; Waern, Annika. Page 7-22. Burlington., http://www.jasonfarman.com/Farman_Pervasive_Games.pdf )

Types of Urban
Planning Games
Prilenska, V., Liias, R. and Paadam, K., Games in Communicative Planning.

Examples of Urban Games
Tóth, E., 2015. Potential of games in the field of urban planning. In
New Perspectives in Game Studies: Proceedings of the Central and
Eastern European Game Studies Conference (pp. 71-91).

Traditional Games
● Broken Cities: Polluting profit chasing landlord or green minded real estate mogul
(choose)
● CLUG: To show the player essential relationships, which determine the urban growth
● Ginkgopolis: Urban Planner-designing, developing and controlling a city
● Master Plan: Construct a city on masterplan
● Neue Heimat: Deals with urban topics and real estate speculations
● Pop-up Pest: Blocks are divided into environment, transportation and culture (children)
● Stadtspieler: Makes the complexity of planning process practical
● Harbour Game: Promotes the development of harbour and ports
(Reinart, Poplin, 2014, Games in Urban Planning-a comparative study, accessed 3rd August 2023, https://archive.corp.at/cdrom2014/papers2014/CORP2014_58.pdf)

Digital Games- PC Games
● Anno: Colonize an island, built a city, satisfy individual’s needs
● City One: Learn to balance the city’ interests including finances, environment and sociology
● Civilisation: Lead a nation from Neolithic to present age, New planet colonisation
● Community PlanIT: Imparts knowledge on city planning and community living
● Green Sight City: Rebuild a common city to ecologic operating city
● Minecraft: Young residents of problematic areas to take part in planning process
● Plasticity: Learn mutual exchange of suggestions and planning acts
● Securing Sydney Urban Planning: Change the way of thinking about the use of space.
● SimCity: Role of a major and build a city from zero
● Surfing Global Change: Learn to bargain in order to find a solution for a problem.

Pervasive Games- Games in Urban Environment
● Mogi: Explore new ways of interaction, with online and offline activities
● PacManhattan: Collecting points by running across the streets
● REXplorer: Shows the history and culture in a playful way

Key features for a Good game in Urban Planning
● Participation
● Interaction
● Realistic Visualization
● Learning Effect
● Knowledge transfer

Some databases of urban games
https://gamesforcities.com/database/
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/citiesup

Exercise
https://gamesforcities.com/

Examples of non-digital/traditional urban
games: board- and card games
Pop-up Pest
● was presented as educational game in 2012.
● This game was especially made for children, which live in Budapest,
Hungary. According to their wishes, they could design the city and make
fictive urban plans. The lying on the floor game board is 25 m2 and
shows the map of Pest (part of Budapest).
● Pest includes touristic attractions as well as a deprived area with urban
deficiencies. The children who played the game, live in this part of
Budapest and should express their needs and wishes in their
environment via Popup Pest.
● There were several missions to fulfill. Urban interventions were
symbolized by building blocks, which are divided into: environment,
transportation and culture. Interaction took place by acting together,
collaborating with other players, helping each other, working in a
community and discussing about urban planning issues.
● The player took on different roles during the game. The purpose of Pop-
up Pest was to support children in learning about their environment as
well as understanding possible changes in urban spaces (Tóth; Poplin
2013).
Reinart, B. and Poplin, A., 2014, May. Games in urban planning–a comparative study. In REAL CORP 2014–PLAN IT SMART! Clever Solutions for Smart
Cities. Proceedings of 19th International Conference on Urban Planning, Regional Development and Information Society (pp. 239-248). CORP–Competence
Center of Urban and Regional Planning. // image source: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129971/master-plan

Examples of Online Urban Games
SimCity
● Perhaps one of the most famous urban planning
games.
● A simulation game with the main objective: to build and
maintain the city and make the citizens happy by
creating an optimal environment.
● Includes disasters such as floods, fires, earthquakes,
tornados, volcanoes, etc.
● First released in 1989, a commercial success, in 2008
the source code was released as a free software with
the title Micropolis.
● Entertainment games using urban planning as the main
topic.
from Poplin slideshare
The original cover from 1989

Urban Plans
● An urban planning, non-competitive, simulation game.
● The main objective is to reach the highest possible
population in the city.
● The basic city structure includes streets, green areas
representing lots, blue areas representing water,
in a simple layout predefined by the
● game.
● The player can insert buildings and trees with a simple
drag and drop functionality.
● Created in Adobe Flash environment.

City Creator
● Similar to Urban Plans | represents a non-competitive
kind of a game.
● The game starts with instructions on how to play the
game and a decision for one of the four
possibilities displayed in the right field of the game.
● The player can drag and drop the elements of the city in
the environment of the game.
● The icons show different kinds of buildings; they are
colourful and represented in 3D.

Super City
● Created in Adobe Flash | available online for free.
● The player can build homes and shops and gain money
and population.
● The economy is involved as well.
● In some versions of the game, the player has to pay a
bill of $ 800 every five days.
● The enemies sometimes attack the city and the player
has to fight the enemies.
● Every fight costs $ 500.
● Facebook version of the game is available.

CLUG (Community Land Use Game)
● 1965 developed by Allan G. Feldt as a game for education.
● It is based on a board with 144 squares representing lots of land.
The transport is operated on the streets. A port, a terminal and a
supply center are included in the game.
● One player acts as a moderator and takes the part of an instructor.
He works as a neutral visitor and defines the rules of the game,
keeps the rules observation, gets the transport fee and can also
announce unexpected catastrophes. The use of this game is to
show the player essential relationships, which determine the urban
growth (Diekmann; Leppert 1978, page 51-58).
Center of Urban and Regional Planning. // image source: https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780988686625-es.jpg

Ginkgopolis
● entered the market in 2012 as a strategy card game.
● The player represents an urban planner.
● The activity is composed of designing, developing and
controlling a city. It offers high interaction because all players
are permanently involved in the game by overbuilding and
replacing each other.
● To reach the goal, the player has to collect points of success
via planning, urbanizing and building (Z-Man Games 2014).
Center of Urban and Regional Planning. // image source: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/971854/natural-topology-variant-2-3-and-5-players

Masterplan
● generated in 2011 as a tactical game for two persons.
● The board game shows a masterplan and the included
figures are houses, parks and towers.
● The game process provides the possibility to construct a city
on the masterplan.
● The goal of this game is to build houses as close as possible
to the parks and towers to get the most winning points (Lach;
Rapp 2013).
Center of Urban and Regional Planning. // image source: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129971/master-plan

Some City Planning Games
Civilisation 6
○ Turn-based strategy game where players build and lead
civilizations throughout history.
○ City Growth and Expansion: Like real cities, cities in
Civilization 6 grow and expand based on available
resources and strategic decisions.
○ Diplomacy and Trade: In the game, cities interact
through trade and diplomacy, mirroring the
interconnectedness of real urban centers.
○ Players need to plan and strategize for long-term
success. Similarly, urban planners must consider future
growth and sustainability when making decisions about
infrastructure and services.(challenges)
Input by Akshat Sachan

Some City Planning Games
The Sims
○ Life simulation game where players create and control
virtual individuals and their environment.
○ Player Creativity: In The Sims, players design and shape
their virtual cities, fostering creativity. Similarly,
involving citizens in the planning process can lead to
unique and innovative urban designs.(feedback)
○ Impact of Decisions: Players' choices in The Sims have
consequences on the virtual characters' lives. In urban
planning, decisions have lasting impacts on
communities and individuals.(progression)
Input by Akshat Sachan

More about the Pop-up Pest game
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311233690_Pop-
up_Pest_An_Educational_Game_for_Active_Participation_of_Children_and_
Youth_in_Urban_Planning

Examples city planning games
● https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221433226_Games_and_Ser
ious_Games_in_Urban_Planning_Study_Cases
● https://www.planetizen.com/node/51243

Exercise:
1. A city planning boardgame? Yes, and it's awesome. - Sustain
Charlotte
2. Love Urban Planning and Board Games? Cards Against Urbanity Is
For You.
3. https://www.designlinesmagazine.com/kids-build-cities/
4. https://www.behance.net/gallery/24664285/Block-by-Block-
Board-Game

Example urban game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv5NQPnmGs0

Examples
Board games
https://www.boardgamehalv.com/best-city-building-board-games/
Computer games https://medium.com/@KonstantinosD/urban-design-
and-the-creation-of-videogame-cities-f56449f74d7f

Examples of board games for urban development
https://www.brain-games.lv/en/blogs/viss/piecas-labas-speles-ar-
kuram-macit-par-musdienu-pilsetattistibu

Games review
Prilenska, V., Liias, R. and Paadam, K., Games in Communicative

Developing a Game report (guide for later
assignments)
• Belinda, E., Tiffany, F., Priday, G., Taffe, S. and Baker, L., 2022.
Creating A Serious Game Toolkit for a Smart City Living Lab. In
OpenLivingLab Days Conference 2022 (p. 319).
• Bankler, V., Castagnino Ugolotti, V. and Engström, H., 2020. A
Game to Support Children’s Participation in Urban Planning. In
2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere. Digital
Games Research Association (DiGRA).
• AlfaroZierten, F., 2022. A City Planning Card Game.

exampl e report ppt
https://www.slideshare.net/jashan08/board-game-design

Example game report
Transportation: https://www.itdp.in/urban-transport-game/
Security: https://bghistorian.hypotheses.org/1746

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