COBAGAME DEMO at ISCRAM 2015

19th June 2015

One of the highlights of ISCRAM 2015 for the COBACORE team was the opportunity to showcase their project and platform using the format of the COBAGAME.

• EARTHQUAKE

The online game simulated a disaster scenario – a major earthquake near the Norwegian town of Kristiansand, where the conference was held. Delegates at the conference received an envelope with cards giving them player profiles and instructions on how to participate.

• PLAYER PROFILE

Each player of the game was given a user profile. I logged onto the platform as 38-year-old Laura Bakker who was in need of food and shelter. Her house had been badly damaged in the earthquake and re-entry was dangerous. A burst pipe meant that Laura’s basement was filling with water so she also needed construction supplies. Assistance was also needed for an elderly couple for in her neighbourhood.

Online in the COBAGAME a GPS map of Kristiansand showed me other players were in my area, and once I posted a message detailing my needs offers of assistance soon came.

The COBACORE project is about harnessing the resources from the affected community to enable faster and more efficient responses in the wake of a large-scale disaster. The COBAGAME enabled players to have their needs matched with the capacities of others affected by the earthquake by coordination professionals, or ‘digital angels’.

• GAME DEMO

Players could take part in the game for all of the days that the conference was on, a demo of the game by Stephen (FAC) and Martijn (TNO) showcased the practical uses of the platform in a crisis situation.

“It was fantastic to see activity ‘live’ while we talked to people through the platform” – Martijn Neef of Dutch research organisation TNO.