1
00:00:07,455 --> 00:00:09,580
PABLO SUAREZ: At the Red
Cross/Red Crescent Climate

2
00:00:09,580 --> 00:00:13,590
Center, our job is to help
others understand and address

3
00:00:13,590 --> 00:00:15,140
what's going on
with climate change

4
00:00:15,140 --> 00:00:18,890
and with extreme events--
hurricanes, typhoons, too

5
00:00:18,890 --> 00:00:21,450
much rainfall,
peak temperatures.

6
00:00:21,450 --> 00:00:22,860
And these things
are complicated.

7
00:00:22,860 --> 00:00:25,080
This science is complex.

8
00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:27,240
And how to turn
science into action

9
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:29,880
is not easy if you're
too busy to learn.

10
00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:32,280
Most of our colleagues in
the humanitarian sector

11
00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:34,680
are insanely busy.

12
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:38,380
When science is communicated,
it is very often

13
00:00:38,380 --> 00:00:40,290
either incomprehensible
or difficult

14
00:00:40,290 --> 00:00:43,420
to link to ongoing
humanitarian processes.

15
00:00:43,420 --> 00:00:45,570
So about six,
seven years ago, we

16
00:00:45,570 --> 00:00:48,750
started with creating
playful activities

17
00:00:48,750 --> 00:00:51,790
where participants in a
workshop have to make decisions

18
00:00:51,790 --> 00:00:53,540
that have consequences.

19
00:00:53,540 --> 00:00:55,200
And that's at the core of games.

20
00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:58,230
Games are systems where
you have to make a decision

21
00:00:58,230 --> 00:01:00,107
with limited information.

22
00:01:00,107 --> 00:01:01,690
You're trying to
accomplish something,

23
00:01:01,690 --> 00:01:04,430
and you don't really know what
may happen because there's

24
00:01:04,430 --> 00:01:07,010
something in the system
that you don't control--

25
00:01:07,010 --> 00:01:08,840
which can be the weather.

26
00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:10,470
It can be what other people do.

27
00:01:10,470 --> 00:01:14,190
It can be just you're not
fully understanding the system.

28
00:01:14,190 --> 00:01:17,240
In our experience as
humanitarian workers,

29
00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:24,160
trying to infuse awareness
of complexity into our work,

30
00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:28,870
games are the most wonderful
tool to wet the appetite,

31
00:01:28,870 --> 00:01:32,210
to make people want to learn
more and want to do better.

32
00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:39,550
It has been beautiful to
work with the MIT Game Lab.

33
00:01:39,550 --> 00:01:43,240
We have, as Red
Cross family, access

34
00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:48,050
to a lot of talent, a lot
of enthusiastic brain power

35
00:01:48,050 --> 00:01:50,880
that combines
analytical competence

36
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:52,740
with creative juices.

37
00:01:52,740 --> 00:01:56,830
That is prevalent in
the field of game design

38
00:01:56,830 --> 00:01:58,890
and among students of games.

39
00:01:58,890 --> 00:02:01,760
What we find at MIT is
that it's much easier

40
00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,600
to link to other departments
that are directly

41
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:06,850
connected to what we do.

42
00:02:06,850 --> 00:02:08,600
It can be about
environmental engineering.

43
00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,130
It can be about climate science.

44
00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:12,370
It can be about
technology development.

45
00:02:12,370 --> 00:02:15,740
So this partnership is
the beginning of something

46
00:02:15,740 --> 00:02:19,170
that is inevitably going
to grow, to grow beautiful,

47
00:02:19,170 --> 00:02:20,040
to grow big.

48
00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,330
It was also really nice
to see how the MIT Game

49
00:02:22,330 --> 00:02:25,760
Lab is well-connected
to other partners

50
00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,010
that we have in the game design
sector, such as the Engagement

51
00:02:29,010 --> 00:02:33,890
Lab at Emerson or the
PETLab team at Parsons,

52
00:02:33,890 --> 00:02:38,220
and the awareness of reach in
the world of serious games.

53
00:02:38,220 --> 00:02:41,320
Games that are not just
as a playful activity,

54
00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,100
but with the intention to
improve the world somehow.

55
00:02:48,210 --> 00:02:53,780
We could always do better as
partners of the academic team

56
00:02:53,780 --> 00:02:55,820
if we could allocate more time.

57
00:02:55,820 --> 00:02:59,480
Unfortunately, it is in the very
nature of our Red Cross work

58
00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:01,310
that we have to travel insanely.

59
00:03:01,310 --> 00:03:03,930
I was out of the country for
at least half of the time

60
00:03:03,930 --> 00:03:05,310
when the course happened.

61
00:03:05,310 --> 00:03:09,840
So we did bring in partners
and friends who gave a hand.

62
00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,330
But I think one of
the key challenges

63
00:03:12,330 --> 00:03:17,650
for this kind of partnership
between game related academia

64
00:03:17,650 --> 00:03:20,480
and humanitarian
teams is to find

65
00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,010
ways to interact more
frequently, more deeply,

66
00:03:24,010 --> 00:03:25,400
to learn about each other.

67
00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,290
We just don't know
how we can do more

68
00:03:29,290 --> 00:03:30,840
with the limited time we have.

69
00:03:34,550 --> 00:03:37,880
When students engage
with partners, clients

70
00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:40,330
from the real world,
it is not easy

71
00:03:40,330 --> 00:03:43,920
for them to get into the
shoes of the institution

72
00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,430
of the organization that has
to try to accomplish things.

73
00:03:47,430 --> 00:03:49,540
So one of the most
important things

74
00:03:49,540 --> 00:03:53,490
that we can offer as
partners in this course

75
00:03:53,490 --> 00:03:58,200
was to give a flavor of the
context in which the game would

76
00:03:58,200 --> 00:03:59,210
be played.

77
00:03:59,210 --> 00:04:03,000
So we have the team working
on cholera prevention

78
00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,620
in West Africa.

79
00:04:04,620 --> 00:04:06,950
And they developed
a video game that

80
00:04:06,950 --> 00:04:12,050
had the flavor of
modern wealthy homes.

81
00:04:12,050 --> 00:04:15,100
And in West Africa, most of
our target audience-- if you're

82
00:04:15,100 --> 00:04:17,839
trying to prevent cholera--
chances are they are poor,

83
00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:20,680
and the aesthetics
need to resonate.

84
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:25,910
It can be about a
super stellar context,

85
00:04:25,910 --> 00:04:28,490
or it can be about
a thatched roof,

86
00:04:28,490 --> 00:04:32,120
but it should be something
that can evoke engagement

87
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:34,040
on the part of the player.

88
00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:35,940
And that's not easy for
students to find out.

89
00:04:35,940 --> 00:04:37,460
They actually have
to do research

90
00:04:37,460 --> 00:04:41,410
on what does a home in
West Africa look like?

91
00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:44,940
The other thing we can
do is to help narrow down

92
00:04:44,940 --> 00:04:50,160
and focus on what matters to us
in terms of the gain in forming

93
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,470
better decisions, and to
weed away and filter out

94
00:04:54,470 --> 00:04:56,900
all the things
that students want

95
00:04:56,900 --> 00:04:59,590
to include because they can.

96
00:04:59,590 --> 00:05:01,440
But that's not a
good enough reason.

97
00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,277
Just the fact that it's
technically feasible

98
00:05:04,277 --> 00:05:06,610
or that you like it, doesn't
mean that it should make it

99
00:05:06,610 --> 00:05:08,356
into the final prototype.

100
00:05:08,356 --> 00:05:09,730
There were many
other things that

101
00:05:09,730 --> 00:05:11,410
were a lot of fun in
terms of engagement

102
00:05:11,410 --> 00:05:13,700
with students that I
think were useful to them.

103
00:05:13,700 --> 00:05:16,490
In particular, to
see how they could

104
00:05:16,490 --> 00:05:21,350
get inspired by being aware of
how their technical competence

105
00:05:21,350 --> 00:05:25,110
can be useful for development
work, for humanitarian work,

106
00:05:25,110 --> 00:05:29,360
for actually physically
saving lives in the long term,

107
00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:32,710
or to help people engage with
each other in other continents,

108
00:05:32,710 --> 00:05:35,110
in other contexts, in fields
that they don't even know,

109
00:05:35,110 --> 00:05:36,020
but they can help.

110
00:05:39,900 --> 00:05:46,810
When an academic team is
offering student brain power

111
00:05:46,810 --> 00:05:50,440
and air time during a
course for an organization--

112
00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,170
specifically in games
but also more broadly--

113
00:05:54,170 --> 00:05:56,420
it is our experience
that it takes more time

114
00:05:56,420 --> 00:05:59,350
than we think to
develop the relationship

115
00:05:59,350 --> 00:06:03,540
and to understand how we can
really get juice out of it.

116
00:06:03,540 --> 00:06:06,230
And it is always worth starting.

117
00:06:06,230 --> 00:06:10,030
If the client organization, if
the partner-- like in our case,

118
00:06:10,030 --> 00:06:13,047
the Red Cross family--
can find someone

119
00:06:13,047 --> 00:06:15,630
who spends a little bit of time
at the beginning, a little bit

120
00:06:15,630 --> 00:06:19,210
of time reviewing
prototypes, and some feedback

121
00:06:19,210 --> 00:06:21,890
along the way, it's
definitely worth it.

122
00:06:21,890 --> 00:06:24,750
But don't expect
magic solutions.

123
00:06:24,750 --> 00:06:28,370
Don't expect people to be
able to read your mind.

124
00:06:28,370 --> 00:06:30,560
We come from
different universes.

125
00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:34,380
And we have an opportunity
to bring the real world

126
00:06:34,380 --> 00:06:35,540
to academia.

127
00:06:35,540 --> 00:06:38,310
By just showing up
and spending time,

128
00:06:38,310 --> 00:06:41,420
but also to bring academic
brainpower, talent,

129
00:06:41,420 --> 00:06:43,590
and creativity into our work.

130
00:06:43,590 --> 00:06:47,370
One of the things that I have
to say with enormous pride

131
00:06:47,370 --> 00:06:49,000
is that one of the
prototypes that

132
00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,810
emerged from one of the
groups in this course

133
00:06:51,810 --> 00:06:55,290
was actually used in
three global events

134
00:06:55,290 --> 00:06:58,730
and helped hundreds
of people in real time

135
00:06:58,730 --> 00:07:01,810
learn what was
being thought about.

136
00:07:01,810 --> 00:07:04,740
People entered three
words as individuals.

137
00:07:04,740 --> 00:07:06,620
There were 100 or more
people in the room,

138
00:07:06,620 --> 00:07:10,750
and everyone saw a word cloud
that emerged through very fun

139
00:07:10,750 --> 00:07:11,560
game play.

140
00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,840
And this can really
help, but we need

141
00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,500
to be aware of the time
it takes to mature.

142
00:07:17,500 --> 00:07:20,110
We have been working
with game designers

143
00:07:20,110 --> 00:07:22,290
for at least six years.

144
00:07:22,290 --> 00:07:26,040
And that really helped
us channel our energy

145
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,300
in a more narrowly defined way.

146
00:07:28,300 --> 00:07:31,960
Otherwise, it's very easy to go
broad and to be disappointed.

147
00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:34,720
Be prepared to acknowledge
your own limitations,

148
00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,120
but be prepared to explore
the space of possibility.

149
00:07:41,790 --> 00:07:45,350
So the game Snap is
already ready to deploy--

150
00:07:45,350 --> 00:07:46,390
has been deployed.

151
00:07:46,390 --> 00:07:50,650
I hope we can refine the user
interface to give more choices

152
00:07:50,650 --> 00:07:52,170
to the facilitator and so on.

153
00:07:52,170 --> 00:07:54,610
But that is one
game that I predict

154
00:07:54,610 --> 00:08:00,070
will be able to change the
way real-world events happen.

155
00:08:00,070 --> 00:08:01,450
I have that admission.

156
00:08:01,450 --> 00:08:04,320
I think we can do
something with it.

157
00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:06,870
Of the many other
games that were good

158
00:08:06,870 --> 00:08:10,830
because they were more
about a subject matter that

159
00:08:10,830 --> 00:08:14,170
is outside of Cambridge,
Massachusetts,

160
00:08:14,170 --> 00:08:16,460
they will take more
time to refine.

161
00:08:16,460 --> 00:08:19,520
I'm very excited about the
Cholera game, which we now

162
00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,650
have a partnership with UNICEF.

163
00:08:21,650 --> 00:08:26,490
And we anticipate the
demand from UNICEF Guinea,

164
00:08:26,490 --> 00:08:29,780
in particular, to try
to add digital flavors

165
00:08:29,780 --> 00:08:32,360
to their relationship to
schoolchildren in prevention

166
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:34,460
of anything-- in
promotion of the things

167
00:08:34,460 --> 00:08:36,330
that help-- like hand
washing with soap,

168
00:08:36,330 --> 00:08:37,789
which we take for granted here.

169
00:08:37,789 --> 00:08:40,350
But in other parts of
the world, they just

170
00:08:40,350 --> 00:08:42,409
have to choose
between soap and food.

171
00:08:42,409 --> 00:08:44,220
It's hard to make that case.

172
00:08:44,220 --> 00:08:49,060
And some of the other game
prototypes have very insightful

173
00:08:49,060 --> 00:08:53,640
game mechanics-- how to display
territory in a small screen.

174
00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,910
How to display quantities
for decisions in terms

175
00:08:56,910 --> 00:08:58,480
of disaster preparedness.

176
00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:01,670
The representation on a game
on heat wave of how people

177
00:09:01,670 --> 00:09:03,920
can just collapse
if they think they

178
00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:09,190
can just go out and walk on
an excessively sunny, hot day.

179
00:09:09,190 --> 00:09:12,020
These are things that
are there, are latent,

180
00:09:12,020 --> 00:09:15,550
and we have opportunities
to work deeper

181
00:09:15,550 --> 00:09:18,280
either with these students or
with future students of MIT

182
00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:19,250
and beyond.

183
00:09:19,250 --> 00:09:21,670
They will need more
time to refine.

184
00:09:21,670 --> 00:09:24,010
And we have, as Red
Cross, more work

185
00:09:24,010 --> 00:09:30,000
to do in terms of identifying
the potential player

186
00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,070
and identifying what are the
decisions that can be improved,

187
00:09:34,070 --> 00:09:37,890
or what are the discussions
that can be enriched by engaging

188
00:09:37,890 --> 00:09:39,285
in this game experience.

189
00:09:43,860 --> 00:09:47,070
From the Red Cross/Red
Crescent Climate Center

190
00:09:47,070 --> 00:09:49,830
and from the
humanitarian family,

191
00:09:49,830 --> 00:09:54,110
I hereby thank profusely
the MIT Game Lab,

192
00:09:54,110 --> 00:09:56,160
and by extension,
game designers that

193
00:09:56,160 --> 00:09:58,770
have helped us become
partners with you

194
00:09:58,770 --> 00:10:04,360
now, for setting up a space
where we can learn how

195
00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:09,260
magically powerful but
analytically clear game play

196
00:10:09,260 --> 00:10:11,660
can be to help accomplish
humanitarian goals.

197
00:10:11,660 --> 00:10:13,590
Thank you so much.