Using gaming to engage people in gov't?

Well, fun works, and maybe Dustin Haisler from Manor Labs has the right idea.

He speculates about two ways that might build on existing approaches to get people involved in
Does gaming have a place in government?

Let’s say we built an online game that was as engaging as [Zynga’s FarmVille game], but incorporated real governmental concepts in the process. Which concepts are important to start with?

• Taxation: Have the gamer adjust taxes but also have it tied to public opinion (similar to Sim City, but less complex).
• Cost of Service: Have responding to police calls, water line breaks, etc., demonstrate a cost of service for government.

Or alternatively:

Building on [the Foursquare] model, each agency could allow citizens to “check-in” at various city spots (Library, Fire Station, etc.) and learn more about their community in a fun and engaging format. This could also help open up the door for their participating in other crowdsourced programs like SeeClickFix.

Comments

[Softcialis]

How many people were killed during the American involvement in the
conflict in Vietnam? I know that about 52,000 American soldiers were
killed in battle. I've heard that more than that died from suicide and
other causes, but I cannot find any official references or statistics.
I have heard estimates of from 1 million to 7 million Vietnamese
deaths, but I haven't seen any official numbers. I would like as much
detail as possible. R

[Mynewscorner]

Excellent idea, if it can be trusted. Ideas developed in the game that called for less government would most likely be ignored. However, if the concept was followed through on, it's quite likely the public could come up with better ideas then government employees who are not paid for efficiency, but simply maintaining or growing the organization.

[Brayden Olson]

Yes, this is the right way to go, and it is great of you to bring it up! The upcoming generation, given a well-built game, will absorb complex issues shockingly quickly. Similarly, we’re trying to bring business and political content into games, and we were recently mentioned in the NY Times if you’d like to take a peak: http://nyti.ms/59n4WF

If this kind of thing is something you find intriguing drop me an e-mail as I would love to hear your take on our project!

[Michael]

Apparently they've build some SimCity like Gov game in the UK: http://ow.ly/15swC
Cheers,
Michael