Effectiveness of a serious game for teaching and increasing awareness about the German energy transition

In the current scenario, where sustainable changes are needed to fight climate change and for mitigating CO2 emissions, gamification has been applied in order to achieve attitude change and motivational pull. Despite many serious games have proven successful, they often lack the structure expected from games intended to change attitude. The literature shows that a more practical approach is needed, and it is hard to find scientific support when developing a serious game. In this scenario, where more empirical research is needed, we set and tested serious game mechanics and their impact on sustainability outcomes. To evaluate our game’s effects, we used interviews and pre- and post-survey questionnaires to compare attitudes changing regarding energy sustainability. We also discuss the most significant challenges, which can help new authors in their future work. We can conclude that the game performs well, providing a comprehensive view of the sustainable energy transition. After playing the game, the users reported being more aware of their own impact on the society and having a better understanding of how climate policies are made in real life. Lastly, we conclude that serious games have the potential for a larger diffusion in society, especially for supplemental teaching on the topic of sustainable energy transition in schools or in training companies.