Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Research & Social Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/erss

Review

Gaming for Earth: Serious games and gamification to engage consumers in MARK
pro-environmental behaviours for energy efficiency
⁎
Luca Morgantia, , Federica Pallavicinia, Elena Cadela, Antonio Candelierib, Francesco Archettib,c,
Fabrizia Mantovania
a
Centre for Studies in Communication Sciences CESCOM, Department of Human Sciences for Education “Riccardo Massa”, University of Milano – Bicocca, Italy
b
Department of Computer Science, Systems and Communication, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
c
Consorzio Milano Ricerche, Milan, Italy

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Serious games and gamification to engage consumers in pro-environmental behaviours for energy efficiency are
Energy efficiency in their infancy. To date, despite growing interest and some initial attempts, their potential to engage consumers
Energy-saving in energy efficiency behaviours has been understudied. To provide an overview of serious games and
Gamification gamification to engage individuals in pro-environmental behaviours for energy efficiency, a computer-based
Serious games
search for relevant publications was performed in several databases. After applying the inclusion criteria and
Applied gaming
removing duplicates, 10 papers were included in this systematic review. Results showed that serious games and
gamification have been used in three different areas related to energy efficiency: environmental education,
consumption awareness, and pro-environmental behaviours. This review also showed that applied gaming
interventions can be used in more than one of these three areas (comprehensive interventions). The main
observation to be drawn from this review is that both serious games and gamification can foster energy-saving
behaviours and vary widely in terms of type of games and of features that might be appealing and motivating.

1. Introduction Among the interventions developed to engage consumers in PEBs

Increasing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere contribute
to global warming, which in turn alters the climate system of our
planet. In 2014, the World Energy Outlook [1] identified new supply
options as a way to reshape the distribution of resources to limit the
consequences of their long-term scarceness. The International World
Outlook [2] stated that in 2040 renewable sources will cover only 15%
of the world’s need, so conserving other sources is necessary. Sustain-
ability covers many issues such as global warming, loss of biodiversity,
and water scarcity, which are partly rooted in human behaviour [3].
Energy efficiency is an area in which social sciences can help focus
efforts on individuals, with the main aim being to mitigate climate
change, minimise energy system costs and improve system reliability
[4,5]. Several energy efficiency interventions have been developed with
the purpose of fostering pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs), defined
as “all the actions through which people can impact on energy savings,
in order to consciously seek to minimise the negative impact of one’s
actions on the natural and built world (e.g., minimise resource and
energy consumption, use of non-toxic substances, reduce waste produc-
tion)” [6].
for energy efficiency, the most adopted are structural, information,
monitoring (feedbacks), and psychosocial strategies [7]. While struc-
tural interventions aim to provide upgraded technological infrastruc-
ture and solutions by acting at a contextual level [8], the other
strategies are focused instead on the individual, changing users’
attitudes and habits that influence final energy consumption [9]. These
strategies can become stronger if combined [10] because structural
barriers and negative individual attitudes are both obstacles to over-
come in order to foster energy efficiency [11].
Interestingly, in the last several years, with the spread of technology
and game-based approaches, both serious games (SGs) and gamification
have been developed to educate, motivate, and/or persuade users in
several fields, including education and health [12–15]. In particular,
the potential of “applied gaming” (serious games and gamification) has
been developed for serious purposes [14]. The motivating features of
digital games and the observation that game players might actually be
developing useful skills [16] have led to optimism that games might
provide a useful and attractive new method of learning [17].
In this review paper we want to examine the potential of applied
gaming methods – both SGs and gamification – that have been tested in

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: lucafmorganti@gmail.com (L. Morganti).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2017.05.001
Received 4 November 2016; Received in revised form 28 April 2017; Accepted 1 May 2017
Available online 22 May 2017
2214-6296/ © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
L. Morganti et al.
recent years to engage users in PEBs for energy efficiency, highlighting
their effectiveness and discussing their key features and successes.
1.1. Energy efficiency and personal behaviour change
Some green behaviours affect the environment more than others; for
example, changes in purchasing habits have more benefits than reusing
or recycling [10]. Since PEBs are affected both by the kind of
environment a person lives in and by psychological factors, specific
paradigms have been developed within all the behavioural theories,
especially Steg and Vlek’s [3], based on Geller’s paradigm [18]. These
authors identified four axes to consider when developing a strategy to
elicit PEBs: the selection of a specific behaviour, the analysis of the
factors involved, the type of intervention to apply and a specific
evaluation of its efficacy [3].
PEBs are not easy to foster because they implicate global and
personal issues, including both specific attitudes about sustainability
and wider personality factors [19]. For example, Clark and Finley
discovered that people more willing to save water had higher positive
attitudes towards the actions required, felt stronger social pressure and
perceived a greater sense of control over their own behaviour [20].
Furthermore, people are very inconsistent in their energy-saving
behaviours, which means that performing one green behaviour does
not necessarily lead to correlated ones [21]. For example, someone who
is good at recycling may not care about the environment when choosing
transport.
There are several types of interventions to engage consumers in
PEBs for energy efficiency [7], including:
• Structural interventions: these interventions aim to provide upgraded
technological infrastructure and solutions, acting at the contextual
level [8]. Structural strategies are necessary in the presence of
external barriers to pro-environmental actions or as a way to make
green choices more attractive [22]. They may change the perception
and motivation even of individuals who are not the main target of
the intervention [23];
• Informational strategies: these can increase individuals’ awareness of
the environmental impacts of their behaviour. Informational inter-
ventions are essential but may not spur change by themselves
[24,25]. The type of information provided is crucial since declara-
tive knowledge (i.e., knowing what to do) is not as effective as
procedural knowledge (i.e., knowing how to do) [6];
• Feedback: more recently, there has been an increasing emphasis on
individual-level real-time and interactive feedback that either
explicitly or implicitly draws on insights from the behavioural
sciences, human-computer interface design and social media
[26–30]. A wide variety of mechanisms – from education about
energy use to financial incentives and competitions – have been
used and described in a number of surveys of the field [31,32];
• Social approaches: social knowledge (i.e., knowing what others do) is
also needed to foster individual energy-saving behaviours [33]. For
example, a good practice is explaining how to save water, providing
concrete examples [34], eventually supported with some prescrip-
tive rules [35]. Scientific literature also suggests the use of a
participatory approach combined with information strategies [36]
because asking users for specific feedback about how to develop pro-
environmental solutions can increase involvement and commitment
[10].
1.2. Serious games and gamification to promote pro-environmental
behaviour
About 44% of people who have internet access are presently using a
computer game – around 700 million individuals, as stated by the 2013
report of SpilGames Industry [67] – and the total number of players in
the world is currently well above 1 billion. Much of the early research
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Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102
on computer games focused on the negative impacts of playing digital
games, particularly on the impact of playing violent entertainment
games on aggression. Anderson and Bushman’s influential meta-ana-
lyses suggested that playing violent video games leads to increases in
aggressive thoughts, aggressive affect and physiological arousal, re-
duced arousal to subsequent depictions of violence and decreases in
pro-social behaviour [37,38]. Other negative effects of playing digital
entertainment games have also been reported, such as difficulties in
regulating the amount of time spent playing games [39], addiction
[40], social isolation and nauseogenic properties of games with head-
mounted displays [41].
Despite this early focus on the negative impacts of computer games,
there has also been interest in positive effects of playing games. In
recent decades, in fact, the field of “applied gaming” (serious games and
gamification) [14] has been developed for serious purposes. The
motivating features of digital games and suggestions that players might
actually be developing useful skills [42] have led to optimism that
games might provide a useful and attractive new method of learning
and empowerment, imparting knowledge or skills in an engaging and
motivating way to a new generation of learners [43,17].
SGs and gamification can be defined differently. However, both seek
to employ games (or substantial game elements) in an effort to educate
and change patterns of experience and/or behaviour. Serious games
utilise gaming as a central and primary medium [14]. Deterding et al.
[44] defines gamification as the “use of game design elements in non-
game contexts” to group several ways of using game mechanics or
graphical elements of games in other contexts with a specific intent.
While a gamified intervention may not operate as a full game
experience, it contains gaming elements such as in-game rewards.
SGs offer a learning experience in a game-like context. Zyda [45]
defined them as “mental contests, played with a computer in accor-
dance with specific rules, that use entertainment to further government
or corporate training, education, health, public policy, and strategic
communication objectives”. SGs combine three key components: simu-
lation, gaming and persuasive/educational goals [13]. The main game
mechanics of SGs [46] are rules, choices, challenges and fantasy. They
have shown efficacy in improving people’s ability in real-world tasks,
and preparing them to learn the activities required to face the realistic
challenges recreated by the game [47].
Applied gaming to engage consumers in PEBs for energy efficiency
is in its infancy. To date, the potential of SGs and gamification in
enhancing energy efficiency behaviours has been understudied. In the
current systematic review, we aim to analyze experimental studies
focused on the use of applied gaming to engage consumers in PEBs for
energy efficiency, with the aim to provide crucial indications for future
studies and interventions.
2. Methods
We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines [48].
2.1. Search strategy
To provide an overview of applied gaming (both SGs and gamifica-
tion) to engage consumers in PEBs for energy efficiency, a computer-
based search for relevant publications was performed in several
databases. Databases used in the search were Web of Science (Web of
Knowledge), PubMed, and Scopus. The search string was: [(energy
saving* OR energy efficiency* OR pro-environmental behaviour*)]
AND [(Computer Game* OR Digital Game* OR Gaming OR
Gamification OR Serious Game* OR Video Game* OR Applied game)].
2.2. Selection of articles
To avoid the risk of bias, PRISMA recommendations for systematic
L. Morganti et al.
literature analysis have been strictly followed. Three authors (LM, FP,
FM) independently selected paper abstracts and titles, analyzed the full
papers that met the inclusion criteria, and resolved any disagreements
through consensus. The articles were individually scanned to examine
whether they fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: a) research
article; b) provide information about the used sample; c) provide
information about measures; (d) published in a peer-reviewed journal;
and (e) available in English.
Several aspects of the selected studies will be fully reviewed and
discussed: (1) participants; experimental design; (3) type of task used;
and (4) the main outcomes for each study.
3. Results
3.1. Main findings
The flow chart of the systematic review is shown in Fig. 1. Our
initial search in Web of Science (Web of Knowledge) and Scopus yielded
241 non-duplicate citations. After the application of the inclusion
criteria, 20 articles remained. A deeper investigation of the full papers
resulted in the exclusion of another 10 articles due to no evaluation of
the impact of the applied game on users or on infrastructures. In the
end, only 10 studies met the full criteria and were included in this
review.
The papers were grouped into three different categories with
specific features according to Steg & Vlek’s four-axis paradigm (see
Table 1, column 2–5) and Osbaldiston & Schott’s classification [7,3]
(see Table 1, column 6) of PEBs. Three target areas have been
identified:
• Environmental education: to educate individuals about relevant
environmental topics and provide knowledge about specific related
behaviours;
• Consumption awareness: to increase the awareness about energy
consumption, both personal and related to a selected environment
(household, office);
• Energy efficiency behaviours: to stimulate and check the execution of
selected behaviours with an effective impact on energy consump-
tion.
Finally, some papers included in the review are considered compre-
hensive interventions because the game mechanics applied involve more
than one of the previous areas, also investigating a possible impact on
all of them during the evaluation.
3.1.1. Environmental education
One of the first applied games developed and tested for environ-
mental education was EnerCities,1 a web-based SG that sets the
challenge of creating a sustainable city. It runs online and on Facebook
and is available in six EU languages. Graphical aspects are carefully
designed to involve the player while growing a town into a city by
making choices related to population, planet and profit. EnerCities was
evaluated by Knol and DeVries by giving an online questionnaire to
respondents from various European countries [54]. With the aim of
understanding whether attitudes toward energy-consuming behaviours
changed after playing the game, authors divided respondents into an
experimental group (325 individuals who played the SG) and into a
control group (328 participants who did not play the SG). Results
showed that participants in the experimental group had greater knowl-
edge about the impact of specific behaviours (such as turning off the TV
and switching off lights in unoccupied rooms) compared to participants
in the control group.
More recently, Bardhan and Bahuman tested another web-based SG
1 2
www.enercities.eu.
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Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102
that was developed to educate children about recycling and waste
management called Trashwar (Bardhan and Bahuman, 2015). The
mission of Trashwar is to drop waste in the correct bin out of the four
bins (biodegradable, hazardous; recyclable; other waste) showed on the
screen; at the end of each 90-s round, correct and incorrect choices are
highlighted along with related scores and comparisons with other
players on a leaderboard. The scores are presented to the player with
a classification summary indicating those waste items that were
correctly segregated and those that were not. The game was tested on
70 students in a pilot study (Bardhan and Bahuman, 2015). The
students participated in groups and were asked to play the game
simultaneously across multiple workstations. No prior information on
waste segregation was given to any of the players. Responses from this
pilot study showed that most children were confused between recycl-
able and reusable waste, while biodegradable waste was the easiest for
them to classify. Trashwar showed effectiveness and received positive
feedback, and users sought information on how to sustain the beha-
viours in the game. The game received a favourable response from the
target user group, with most of them indicating an interest in playing
the game again and stating that they would recommend it to their peers
(Bardhan and Bahuman, 2015).
3.1.2. Consumption awareness
Recently, Kjeldskov et al. developed and tested Power Advisor, a
gamified app for mobile phones to make people aware of their house-
hold consumption [53]. Consumption data are provided to users along
with injunctive information about the goal and hints such as compar-
isons with community behaviour (regional Danish data). Feedback
about individual power consumption is sent by SMS messages on the
phone, with the aim of motivating players to achieve positive feedback
(i.e., a smiling face). In order to give insight into how people access and
view different types of feedback on their household electricity con-
sumption on mobile technology and when they use such information, a
case study on 10 households was conducted. The participants were
asked to use Power Advisor every day to achieve a day-to-day experience
with the app and their power consumption, and to check, read and
respond to incoming SMS messages on their mobile phones. Over seven
weeks of study, interviews were conducted and power usage was
monitored. Data (primarily the transcribed interviews) were analyzed
using techniques from qualitative research [57]. Findings show that
people gained a significant understanding of their own power con-
sumption by interacting with Power Advisor, thanks to multiple ways of
usage visualization that allow players to judge their own consumption
as a compared with that of others without having to know the specific
unit of measurement per each period (e.g., whether 10 kWh/day is high
or low).
More recently, Allcott and Rogers [49] have studied the short-run
and long-run effects of a web-based gamified platform managed by a
company called Opower2 that aims to induce energy conservation by
sending “Home Energy Reports” that feature personalised feedback,
social comparisons, and energy conservation information. Authors
reported the results of trials on more than six million U.S. households
that have used this gamified intervention. Each single-family result was
compared with two years of pre-experiment energy use data. Data
compared consumption changes with surveys conducted on 6000 users
about energy-saving actions, showing that this gamified intervention
led to an immediate energy conservation that decayed relatively
quickly, perhaps because users may become accustomed to energy
reports and structural changes that are milestones in the saving process.
Authors noted that when a randomly-selected group of households has
reports discontinued after two years, the effects are much more
persistent than they had been between the initial reports, because that
households form a new “capital stock” of physical capital or consump-
https://opower.com/.
L. Morganti et al. Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102

Fig. 1. The flowchart of the systematic review.

Table 1
The three areas for applied games towards energy efficiency in the light of Steg & Vlek’s and Osbaldiston & Schott’s models.

Game area Axis I – behaviour Axis II – factors Axis III – intervention Axis IV – evaluation Type of intervention

Environmental Education
Consumption Awareness
Energy efficiency
behaviours
Global estimate of indirect and Motivational Informational knowledge Qualitative Justification
generic behaviour Antecedents and model of Rewards/Penalties
consequences Commitment
Real indirect and generic Motivational, contextual and Structural improvements Quantitative data Facilitation
behaviour habits Informational awareness Usability Instruction
Consequences of behaviours Monitoring
Individual estimate of indirect and Habits, motivational and Informational awareness Quantitative data Commitment
generic behaviour contextual Personal structure Qualitative enquiry Goal Setting
improvements
Antecedent of behaviours

tion habits [49].
Finally, Orland et al. [30] tested a web-based serious game for
adults called Energy Chickens. Within the game, real-time daily energy
consumption data for each individuals’ devices were linked to game
objects, such as the size of the animals living in the virtual farm, to
emphasise the role of real-life consumption within the game environ-
ment [58]. The effectiveness of Energy Chickens in reducing plug loads
in a mid-size commercial office was evaluated in a study with 61
resident workers. The energy consumption of 288 appliances was
monitored for 24 weeks using plug load sensors. Two groups were
created: members of the experimental group played the game and were
given posters with information about saving energy, whereas members
of the control group only received posters. Results showed that across
all intervention days average energy consumption declined by 13%. At
the conclusion of the intervention, 69% of participants indicated that
the game helped them be more energy-conscious, with some indicating
changes in their energy use outside the office. Results highlight the
effectiveness of behavioural interventions on plug load energy con-
sumption within commercial office settings.
3.1.3. Energy efficiency behaviours
Gustafsson et al. developed and tested an SG for mobile phones
called Power Explorer, where specific energy efficiency behaviours are
structured alongside missions connected to everyday activities such as
heating or cooking, often involving familiar contexts [51]. Motivation
was emphasised by cooperation within the family and competition
performed within the game via duels with other players between the
correspondent avatars. Power Explorer’s was evaluated by comparing 15

98
 Table 2
Applied games for energy efficiency.

Authors Name of the game Type of applied Target area Evaluation Main results
game
L. Morganti et al.

Allcott and Rogers Opower Web-based Consumption awareness Data compared consumption changes with surveys conducted on Immediate energy conservation (0.185–0.197 kWh/day in the first week),
[49] gamified platform 6000 users about energy-saving actions but consumer effort decays very quickly.
A randomly-selected group of households has reports discontinued after
two years, the effects are much more persistent than they had been
between the initial reports
Bardhan and Trashwar Web-based serious Environmental The game was tested on 70 students in a pilot study. The students Influence of this SG on the intent creation for waste segregation
Bahuman (2015) game education participated in groups and were asked to play the game behaviour. The SG received a favourable response from the target user
simultaneously across multiple workstations group, with most of them indicating an interest in playing the game again
and stating that they would recommend it to their peers
Geelen et al. [50] Energy Battle Web-based Comprehensive Consumption analysis of 20 students household The game appears to provide a powerful means to stimulate energy saving
gamified platform interventions in the short term. The game context strongly influenced players’
motivation to save energy. Overall, savings averaged 24%, with the
highest savings level at 45%. Directly after completing Energy Battle,
energy consumption increased in most of the households; however,
consumption levels tended to stay below the baseline measurement level
taken before players started the game. Follow-up interviews indicated
that some of the behaviours developed in the game had transformed into
habits
Gustafsson et al. [51] Power Explorer Mobile serious Energy efficiency 15 young players of Power Explorer and related households were Electric consumption data after the seven-day evaluation on the test group
game behaviours compared to 20 households that did not play the game (control of players shows tentative indications for a persistent post-game effect
group). Measures consisted of game logs and electric consumption compared to the control group. Findings also show a statistically
data that were combined with qualitative measures from interviews significant positive change in the players' attitudes toward saving energy
with six participants after the game compared to the same group. At the same time, findings also indicate a
negative effect on the players’ attitudes toward environmental questions

99
in general
Gustafsson et al. [52] Power Agent Mobile serious Energy efficiency The evaluation consisted of small trials analyzing the consumption of Data report heat savings ranging from −7% to −35,5% and electricity
game behaviours 6 players belonging to 6 families and final interviews savings ranging from −13,6% to −57,7%; qualitative data show a strong
effect on motivation in the game but no hints of a possible long-term
reduction
Kjeldskov et al. [53] PowerAdvisor Gamified mobile Consumption awareness Case study on 10 households. Over seven weeks of study, interviews Findings show that people gained a significant understanding of their own
app were conducted and power usage was monitored power consumption by interacting with Power Advisor, thanks to multiple
ways of usage visualization that allow players to judge their own
consumption as a compared with that of others without having to know
the specific unit of measurement per each period
Knol and de Vries Enercities Web-based serious Environmental Respondents were divided into an experimental group (325 Participants in the experimental group had greater knowledge about the
[54] game education individuals who played the SG) and into a control group (328 impact of specific behaviours (such as turning off the TV and switching off
participants who did not play the SG) lights in unoccupied rooms) compared to participants in the control group
Liu et al. [55] EcoIsland Gamified mobile Comprehensive The trial involved six families that were given EcoIsland. Twenty In the survey, 17 out of 20 participants said that they were more
app interventions people from the ages of 15 to 58 were recruited. As the system was conscious of environmental ecology after the experiment than they had
intended to be used in a group, all families included in the been before. From the air heater electricity usage, there was no
experiment have one or two children. Participants used their own statistically significant correlation with the reported activities.
mobile phones to report eco-friendly activities. The experiment lasted
for four weeks. In the beginning of the first week, a simple electricity
usage meter called Ecowatt was equipped on the participant’s air
heater
Orland et al. [30] Energy chickens Web-based serious Consumption awareness Study with 61 resident workers. The energy consumption of 288 Across all intervention days average energy consumption declined by
game appliances was monitored for 24 weeks using plug load sensors. Two 13%. At the conclusion of the intervention, 69% of participants indicated
groups were created: members of the experimental group played the that the game helped them be more energy-conscious, with some
game and were given posters with information about saving energy, indicating changes in their energy use outside the office. Results highlight
whereas members of the control group only received posters the effectiveness of behavioural interventions on plug load energy
consumption within commercial office settings
Wemyss et al. [56] Social Power Mobile serious Comprehensive Tested on 46 players who were randomly assigned to one of the two Overall there were significant electricity savings in both game modes
game interventions game modalities: a) the competitive interface (comparing savings, compared to historical values and the control group
(continued on next page)
Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102
L. Morganti et al. Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102

young players of Power Explorer and related households to 20 house-

holds that did not play the game (control group). Measures consisted of
game logs and electric consumption data that were combined with
qualitative measures from interviews with six participants after the
game. Electric consumption data after the seven-day evaluation on the
test group of players shows tentative indications for a persistent post-
game effect compared to the control group. Findings also show a
statistically significant positive change in the players’ attitudes toward
saving energy compared to the same group. At the same time, findings
also indicate a negative effect on the players’ attitudes toward
environmental questions in general. Authors explained this quite
peculiar result as a case of cognitive dissonance [59].
From this experience Power Agent was created, where the player is a
special agent assigned energy efficiency tasks as missions [52]. It is a
mobile SG connected to home smart meters in which motivation is
emphasised by the need to cooperate with other agents to accomplish
the missions (e.g., washing and cleaning, showering and bathing) on
Main results

the way to completing the final one, which is to lower total energy
consumption. The evaluation consisted of small trials analyzing the
consumption of six players belonging to two families and final inter-
views. The first kind of data report heat savings ranging from −7% to
points earned and badges between the two cities involved); or b) the
cooperative interface (showing how the personal city was close to its

−35,5% and electricity savings ranging from −13,6% to −57,7%;

goals and the activities completed towards them). A control group

qualitative data show a strong effect on motivation in the game but no

hints of a possible long-term reduction.

3.1.4. Comprehensive interventions

Liu et al. tested EcoIsland, a gamified app for mobile phones
developed to motivate individuals to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
that did not use the app was also included

[55]. EcoIsland was designed as a game-like application that ubiqui-

tously provides feedback on a user’s normal daily activities to motivate
the user to change his/her behaviours. A display installed in the living
room or another noticeable place in the household presents a virtual
island that players must care for through the execution of specific
energy efficiency activities. The farther players are from the consump-
tion goal, the higher the sea around the island. Game mechanics also
involve virtual currency, a form of point system and a gamification loop
where the game starts with a specific goal and game rules are clearly
Evaluation

defined. The trial involved six families that were given EcoIsland.
Twenty people from the ages of 15 to 58 were recruited. As the system
was intended to be used in a group, all families included in the
experiment have one or two children. Participants used their own
mobile phones to report eco-friendly activities. The experiment lasted
for four weeks. In the beginning of the first week, a simple electricity
usage meter called Ecowatt was equipped on the participant’s air heater.
Target area

In the survey, 17 out of 20 participants said that they were more

conscious of environmental ecology after the experiment than they had
been before. From the air heater electricity usage, there was no
statistically significant correlation with the reported activities. This
Type of applied

looks like an alarming result, but the trial period (from the end of
December to the beginning of January) was probably to short to
measure the day-to-day variance in an electricity usage and it also
game

corresponded to holiday season in Japan.

More recently, Geelen et al. [50] tested Energy Battle, an online
platform with gamified energy feedback aimed at encouraging home
Name of the game

occupants to save energy, on 20 students’ household. Results showed

that Energy Battle appears to provide a powerful means to stimulate
energy saving in the short term. The game context strongly influenced
players’ motivation to save energy. Overall, savings averaged 24%, with
the highest savings level at 45%. Directly after completing Energy Battle,
energy consumption increased in most of the households; however,
Table 2 (continued)

consumption levels tended to stay below the baseline measurement

level taken before players started the game. Follow-up interviews
indicated that some of the behaviours developed in the game had
Authors

transformed into habits.

Finally, Wemyss tested the efficacy of a gamified mobile app called
Social Power [56]. The app integrates electricity-saving challenges, tips,

100
L. Morganti et al.
and quizzes in order to motivate participants to earn points and reach
set consumption reduction goals. Smart meter data complements the
user experience by showing hourly and weekly electricity consumption,
which is directly compared to their own historical consumption and
their team’s savings performance. While completing challenges on the
app, participants learn how to positively improve electricity use in their
household. Participants are encouraged to interact with each other over
blog and Facebook pages that provide additional information about the
weekly challenges and overall intervention. Social Power was tested on
46 players who were randomly assigned to one of the two game
modalities: a) the competitive interface (comparing savings, points
earned and badges between the two cities involved); or b) the
cooperative interface (showing how the personal city was close to its
goals and the activities completed towards them). A control group that
did not use the app was also included. Results showed that overall there
were significant electricity savings in both game modes compared to
historical values and the control group (Table 2).
4. Discussion
4.1. Main findings
The main observation to be drawn from this systematic review is
that applied gaming (both SGs and gamification) can engage consumers
in PEBs for energy efficiency [49,60,50–55,30,56]. In particular, we
have highlighted that applied gaming interventions vary widely in
terms of type of games, target and features that might be appealing and
motivating. It is interesting to note that applied gaming has been used
in three different area related to eliciting PEBs for energy efficiency.
The first one is environmental education, targeted especially through
SGs [60,54]. In particular, it has been shown that using SGs for this
purpose can increase awareness of the impact of specific behaviours on
energy saving and efficiency (e.g., turning off the TV, waste segrega-
tion), mainly among students.
The second main area emerging from this review is consumption
awareness [49,53,30]. The target of this type of intervention is house-
holds and families, and the main aim is to increase awareness of
individuals’ energy consumption and give feedback in a fun and
engaging way. The literature shows that both gamified interventions
and SGs have proven effective for this purpose. In particular, gamified
interventions have been reported to be effective at increasing people's
awareness of their power consumption in order to increase home
energy efficiency both in the form of mobile apps [53] and of web-
based services [49]. However, it has been observed that the increase is
temporary and tends to return to normal levels after a short time [49].
Nonetheless, SG can be effective at increasing awareness of energy
consumption, even in young individuals [53].
The third main area is energy efficiency behaviours [51,52]. In
particular, it has been shown that an SG developed for mobile phones
can be effective at decreasing electric consumption, directly targeting
specific behaviours within the game mechanics with a possible effect on
knowledge and attitudes towards energy efficiency [51].
Finally, this review showed that applied gaming interventions can
include more than one of these three areas of behaviour (comprehensive
interventions) [50,55,56]. In particular, gamified interventions, both for
mobile phones and web platforms, have proven efficacious in increas-
ing the level of awareness about issues related to energy efficiency and
changing individuals’ habits about energy consumption, with effects in
both the short and long terms.
4.2. Recommendation for future research
Even if applied gaming, as highlighted by this systematic review,
seems a promising and effective kind of intervention to foster energy
efficiency behaviours, there are still some important challenges in this
research field.
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Energy Research & Social Science 29 (2017) 95–102
The first one is represented by conflicting results, especially when
comparing short and long effects of the interventions [51,52,55]. Some
studies, in fact, reported short-term improvements in users’ behaviour,
but they did not observed significant changes over longer periods
[51,52]. In most cases, the lack of the evaluation of long-term effects
(e.g., [60,50,54]) makes it difficult to understand if people that played
the games maintain the behaviours they acquired in the game over
time. Furthermore, one study did not report short-term effects of the
intervention [55]. Mixed results may also be explained by different
intrinsic characteristics (playability, graphic, etc.) of the applied
gaming interventions, as well as by the different measures adopted to
assess the effect of the interventions. The identification of a common
methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of applied games for energy
efficiency would help facing this issue.
The second challenge, closely related to the first one, is that the
studies conducted to date have used few and heterogeneous measures
to assess the effectiveness of applied gaming interventions. Several
studies included in this systematic review [60,54,55] include only self-
report data and interviews, making it very difficult to understand
differences before and after the intervention. Self-report data and
interviews, in fact, may have led participants to declare more positive
feedbacks due to social desirability and impression management [61].
Social context in which players interacted with the game may also in
part have been responsible for positive results [62]. In the future it will
be important to define a set of standard measures for the evaluation of
the intervention (e.g., including standardised questionnaires and ob-
servational data). New technological trends, in particular Internet of
Things (IoT), may enable integration with the sensors/metering level,
further improving the capability to collect data in non-invasive ways,
like game contents simply completing or augmenting the quality of
information [63].
The third challenge is the number of studies carried out. Because it
is an emerging field of research, there are still relatively few studies in
the literature that meet the requirement of evaluating how games can
impact energy efficiency. Most of the studies, in fact, tested only
usability or described only the game structure without any kind of
evaluation. Because applied gaming can play a greater role in future
interventions to foster energy efficiency, it is crucial that future studies
be methodologically and numerically stronger to enhance the adoption
of these technologies.
The fourth challenge includes costs, speed of implementation, and
user preferences. Users (especially children) are used to commercial
games, so applied games with a lower budget may look too simple and
unattractive. Follow a user-centred design [64,65] in the development
of SGs and gamification interventions can allow gaming solutions to be
tailored to a specific type of user and environmental context, increasing
their effectiveness.
Despite these challenges, applied gaming still seems a promising
way to promote energy efficiency because it is able to: (a) create a
detailed reward/penalty system that provides the chance to clearly
communicate which behaviours are desirable and which ones are
undesirable, so that individuals collect rewards both for personal
benefit and game dynamics; (b) establish a set of goals so that
individuals may experience short-term results for their behaviours
aiming at long-term results; (c) stimulate social comparisons, creating
challenges with other players by showing feedback scores; and (d) keep
users active, considering both children and adults not only as valid
possible participants, but also as actors playing a crucial role in energy
efficiency [66].
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