SynErGame: Gamified Knowledge Building on Synchronizing Energy Supply and Energy Demand

SynErGame is a serious game designed to build public knowledge about industrial demand-side flexibility, a form of demand response in which factories and other industrial consumers adjust their electricity use to help keep the power grid stable as renewable generation fluctuates. The authors argue that industry accounts for roughly 45 percent of Germany's power consumption, giving it substantial potential to support grid stability, yet the technologies for doing so remain largely confined to scientific and prototype settings. The game is presented as a low-barrier way to close that knowledge gap, requiring no technical background and running in a browser or on mobile devices.

The game is organized into an introductory module and two playable modes. The "city" mode places the player in charge of grid stability in a fictional city with housing, infrastructure, industry, and renewable generation, where balancing supply and demand determines whether the frequency holds or a blackout occurs. The "manufacturing company" mode casts the player as an entrepreneur running a silicon wafer plant, managing energy-intensive production against volatile power prices using furnaces, a warehouse, and a hydrogen storage plant. Each mode explains the outcome of play in terms of grid frequency or company profitability so players can understand the consequences of their decisions.

Development followed an iterative process involving domain experts, with semi-structured interviews informing design, and the game was built in Blender and the Godot engine. Technical work focused on keeping graphics light enough for low-end browsers and phones, using layered 2D renderings of 3D scenes and designing touch-friendly interfaces across screen sizes.

Application so far has been qualitative and informal. Students from two universities reported enjoying the game and recalling its core lessons, workshop participants with limited energy background found it especially useful, and trade fair visitors who were comfortable with digital media engaged with it readily. The authors acknowledge that no formal empirical evaluation with quantified results has yet been conducted, and they plan one, along with additional difficulty levels and further flexibility measures.