Gamifying the Logics of ADM
The PPA refugee resettlement algorithm game in development.
The challenge taken up by PPA is to expose and work with the logics embedded in ADM so that they can be accessed in a meaningful way by both specialists and the general public.
In order to address this challenge there should be a way to see something of the internal decisional logic of the computational algorithm, as well as to gain an appreciation of how the design and use of algorithmic interactions can shape empowerment in these interactions. Working towards this, PPA has produced an engaging analogue card game and an interactive digital game with avatars to enable citizens to explore the effect of logics upon those affected.
The card game simulates, in an analogue way, how a computer runs an algorithm, and it represents through the mechanisms of the game the apparent randomness and unpredictability of the real world and the nature of the responses that are needed to adapt to this. The algorithm runs left to right through each of the refugee cards, from top to bottom, checking each input. Each player models the characteristics of a location where the possibility of refugee resettlement is being evaluated algorithmically. Each player adopts the point of view of location managers whose role is to work with relocation agencies via an algorithmically facilitated interaction.
The rules of the game state: ‘You must manage resources, expand your space and orchestrate which refugees you can accommodate and where they will go in your locality. However, space and resources are limited, and you must work with the other localities and their managers to ensure all the refugees are safely and securely located.’ The objective of the card game is that the ‘Players must locate all the refugees to win. If all three unmatched tokens are in play at any time, the players have been unsuccessful in relocating the refugees, and they lose the game.’Extending this new form of gamified algorithmic interaction into a more narrative variant, a multilevel digital game is being developed in the 3D game engine Unity – a first version of this appearing in summer 2022, with the help of additional impact accelerator funding.
The PPA refugee resettlement algorithm game, an early paper prototype.