Dylan Nagel of Paladin Studios sends out the news that the public beta version of EnerCities has been released, reportedly the first "serious game" to be hosted on Facebook. With support from the European Commission, the goal of our project is to raise energy awareness among young people around the world through the gameplay.

I did a quick playthrough this morning, and I have to say it's quite a fun and engaging game.  It's sort of like SimCity but with a sustainable development message. 

You can choose to use polluting industries and power sources (i.e. coal) for the first few years to develop your city.  They are more efficient and cheaper than current solar and hydro-power energy sources. But after awhile those natural resources get depleted so you have to turn toward renewable energy sources.  I was very happy when I was able to install a fusion reactor to power most of my town, as well as a couple of forest reserves to protect the surrounding environment and keep my populace happy.

Facebook integration seems at this point limited to inviting other Facebook friends to play, broadcasting your high score and adding it to your Favorites page in your profile.  It would be cool if you could cooperatively manage a larger city with your friends, or perhaps run an entire country together as a group.

You can play the game yourself on Facebook or on its own website http://www.enercities.eu .

The press release follows after the jump…

EnerCities Public Beta on Facebook

–Press Release: For Immediate Release–

Leiden, The Netherlands – December 3rd 2009

Facebook, one of the leading social networks with over 350 million
users, got a Serious Game on its platform today. Called EnerCities, it
gets serious about the energy issues of our world. It is a casual city
builder created by the Dutch game developer Paladin Studios. The
project has a €1.4M budget, and is funded by the European Commission’s
Energy Agency.

Rock-Paper-Scissors

“The game is about managing a virtual city”, says Dylan Nagel, who
is product manager for EnerCities and co-founder of Paladin Studios.
“We took several elements from other city builders, and brought it down
to the bare essentials.” Players start with a small grid of nine
squares and a limited choice of buildings. They then place structures
like industrial plots and residential areas. When done well, the city
levels up and grows in size. Each level brings more complexity, but
also more opportunities for improving one’s score. Nagel explains: “We
tried to model the game after the real world. The triangle of People,
Planet, and Profit is a balancing act which is at the heart of the game
mechanics. If the player gets this right, it will reflect in the
scores. This makes it essentially a rock-paper-scissors dilemma.”

Facebook

While EnerCities was originally designed for a standalone website,
the choice for Facebook could be the driving factor for making the game
successful. Says Derk de Geus, co-founder and CEO of Paladin: “We want
to create a thriving community, where players compete for the highest
scores and share their experiences with the game. Social Networks have
the potential to make this happen.” While the game does not have a
persistent world like most Facebook games, there is a simple scoring
system that allows players to compare their scores and rankings with
friends. De Geus: “Players can experiment with different scenarios. One
time you play the industrial tycoon, the next an eco-friendly city
builder. Either way, the decisions are tough and you will need to
compromise. The idea is that you play with the world and experience the
outcome.”

European Commission

The game is funded by the Energy Agency of the European Commission,
specifically the Intelligent Energy Program of 2007. The €1.4M budget
covers not just game development, but several other aspects. De Geus:
“Roughly 20% of that money goes to the game itself. The other 80% is
split between educational material, marketing and impact research, with
most of the funds going to the roll-out of the game. It is essential
that schools and teachers embed the game in their curriculum, and this
requires significant effort. It deserves a big chunk of the project’s
budget.” In fact, Paladin Studios is part of a larger European
consortium. The partners include educational institutions from The
Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Slovenia and Greece. In addition,
there is an energy agency in Granada and an innovation agency in The
Netherlands. “So far it’s working very well, especially considering the
international nature of the team,” says De Geus. “The one thing we had
to get used to is the pace of the project. We are a small, agile
studio, used to working at a fast pace. Working with the E.C. and
educational institutions turns weeks into months, and months into
years.”

Public Beta

The game is in public beta now on Facebook and on www.enercities.eu.
While the current focus of the game lies on electricity, other energy
topics will be included soon. “There are several topics, like peak oil
and energy saving, that still need to be added to the game. We are
working hard to add these to the next release,” says Nagel. “The
official release will be early next year. By then we will have the
educational platform in place, and the rollout phase will begin.”

————

Links
EnerCities Website – www.enercities.eu
EnerCities on Facebook – http://apps.facebook.com/enercities
Paladin Studios – www.paladinstudios.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/paladinstudios, www.twitter.com/enercities

Dylan Nagel – www.twitter.com/dylannagel
Derk de Geus – www.twitter.com/derkdegeus

For more information, please contact us at info@paladinstudios.com