In support of Switzerland's energy and climate strategy for 2050, researchers investigate scenarios for the transition of energy systems towards a higher share of renewables, assessing their social, environmental and economic impact. Their results guide stakeholders and policy makers in designing resilient and sustainable systems. A crucial condition to successfully implement these solution in the real-world is that the population supports these transitions. Social scientists have identified the high complexity of energy systems and energy policy as one reason why popular support for the implementation of the energy transition is often limited. This paper proposes serious gaming as a novel approach to inform and sensitize a broader public for the transition of the energy system in Switzerland. We motivate and describe the design of an online game in which players experience an accurate simulation of current and future energy provision and manage transition towards a sustainable future. We present the embedding of this serious game into a large-scale population survey and report findings on player characteristics and engagement. We show that a serious game can successfully attract participants from diverse societal groups and highlight the challenge of balancing complexity and entertainment.

翻译：为支持瑞士2050年能源与气候战略，研究人员通过情景模拟探究能源系统向更高可再生能源占比转型的路径，并评估其社会、环境与经济影响。研究成果为利益相关方与政策制定者设计具有韧性与可持续性的系统提供指引。这些解决方案能否在现实中成功实施，关键前提在于公众对转型进程的支持。社会科学家指出，能源系统与能源政策的高度复杂性，是公众对能源转型实施支持度往往有限的原因之一。本文提出将严肃游戏作为一种创新方法，用以向更广泛的公众普及瑞士能源系统转型知识并提升其敏感度。我们阐述并设计了一款在线游戏，使玩家能够在其中体验当前与未来能源供应的精确模拟，并管理向可持续未来的转型进程。本文介绍了该严肃游戏与大规模人口调查的结合框架，并汇报了玩家特征与参与度的研究发现。我们证明严肃游戏能够成功吸引来自多元社会群体的参与者，同时指出平衡游戏复杂性与娱乐性所面临的挑战。