Serious game LandLine – Learning more about mobility in rural areas through play

Playing games entertains us – in every era and at every age. We can forget the world around us for a while, have the opportunity to try other roles and create new experiences. Games are interactive meaning that each person playing acts independently within the framework of the game and can make decisions. Players accept rules and try to achieve the best result for themselves within the given framework.

Serious games utilise these positive effects and add to it. Serious games can impart knowledge, provide insight into other perspectives, stimulate different behaviour or be used in research.

A game in the countryside

The serious game LandLine is about mobility in rural areas. Players slip into the role of a mayor of a small town in a rural area and try to fulfil the wishes and needs of its citizens. These wishes are as divers as the citizens themselves: Sophie, for example, has a visual impairment, but still wants to be out and about on her own as much as possible. Dante, who now attends secondary school, also wants to be mobile more often without his parents' company. While the players make this possible by implementing mobility programmes, they need to keep an eye on their resources. In order to be sustainable in the long term, they must not only pay attention to their finances, but also to the effects on the environment and the satisfaction of their citizens. When playing, players shape their town and the region through mobility services and connections between towns.

From the idea to the playable prototype