Saving energy at work: The design of a pervasive game for office spaces

Decreasing the energy consumption is an important goal for individuals and public or industrial institutions. Pervasive games have been used to teach people to save energy in private households. We present Climate Race, a pervasive game addressing office workers. In the user-centered design process, three main requirements were identified: unobtrusiveness, cooperative gameplay and privacy. The implemented prototype monitors energy consumption and relates it to the activities of the player by measuring corresponding behavior. It provides feedback through a game application. Participants in a pilot study judged the game to be generally appropriate for the workplace, and changes in motivation were reported. Explicitly requesting feedback was preferred over immediate notifications. Sensor measurements showed that energy-saving situations occurred more often during the study.