Making Democracy Fun
How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics
Josh A. Lerner
- Drawing
- on
- the
- tools
- of
- game
- design
- to
- fix
- democracy.Anyone
- who
- has
- ever
- been
- to
- a
- public
- hearing
- or
- community
- meeting
- would
- agree
- that
- participatory
- democracy
- can
- be
- boring.
- Hours
- of
- repetitive
- presentations,
- alternatingly
- alarmist
- or
- complacent,
- for
- or
- against,
- accompanied
- by
- constant
- heckling,
- often
- with
- no
- clear
- outcome
- or
- decision.
- Is
- this
- the
- best
- democracy
- can
- offer?
- In
- Making
- Democracy
- Fun,
- Josh
- Lerner
- offers
- a
- novel
- solution
- for
- the
- sad
- state
- of
- our
- deliberative
- democracy:
- the
- power
- of
- good
- game
- design.
- What
- if
- public
- meetings
- featured
- competition
- and
- collaboration
- (such
- as
- team
- challenges),
- clear
- rules
- (presented
- and
- modeled
- in
- multiple
- ways),
- measurable
- progress
- (such
- as
- scores
- and
- levels),
- and
- engaging
- sounds
- and
- visuals?
- These
- game
- mechanics
- would
- make
- meetings
- more
- effective
- and
- more
- enjoyable—even
- fun.Lerner
- reports
- that
- institutions
- as
- diverse
- as
- the
- United
- Nations,
- the
- U.S.
- Army,
- and
- grassroots
- community
- groups
- are
- already
- using
- games
- and
- game-like
- processes
- to
- encourage
- participation.
- Drawing
- on
- more
- than
- a
- decade
- of
- practical
- experience
- and
- extensive
- research,
- he
- explains
- how
- games
- have
- been
- integrated
- into
- a
- variety
- of
- public
- programs
- in
- North
- and
- South
- America.
- He
- offers
- rich
- stories
- of
- game
- techniques
- in
- action,
- in
- children's
- councils,
- social
- service
- programs,
- and
- participatory
- budgeting
- and
- planning.
- With
- these
- real-world
- examples
- in
- mind,
- Lerner
- describes
- five
- kinds
- of
- games
- and
- twenty-six
- game
- mechanics
- that
- are
- especially
- relevant
- for
- democracy.
- He
- finds
- that
- when
- governments
- and
- organizations
- use
- games
- and
- design
- their
- programs
- to
- be
- more
- like
- games,
- public
- participation
- becomes
- more
- attractive,
- effective,
- and
- transparent.
- Game
- design
- can
- make
- democracy
- fun—and
- make
- it work.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
