ABSTRACT

The world of Energy Games, a sub-category of Serious Games, may be able to provide game solutions to serious problems such as global warming and climate change due to their ability to engage people in great numbers. Energy Games are designed and deployed with the serious purposes of impacting energy waste and use, with the goal of promoting energy efficiency, energy use reduction and other pro-environmental education, and engagement and behavior changes related to energy use. Here, such games are referred to as Serious Energy Games (SEGs). SEGs typically target purposes of information delivery, behavior programs, and social interaction. Categorizations of SEGs are introduced in order to provide an overview of their history, typologies, locations, players, designers, platforms, and purposes. This overview identifies the gaps in developing SEGs aimed at solving complex problems related to energy use.