On the Shoulder of the Giants for Creating a Better Future

Dear readers of Simulation and Gaming, Considering the rich heritage of the S&G journal, our current research is much influenced by the work and legacy of our ancestors, whether consciously -or not. Reading the biographies section of our great scholars, one may trace back history and learn how the field of serious play in literature became an established area of research. When reading again, one may notice some of our ancestors referring to the board game “Diplomacy “as the first game to enter the field of serious play. This game is about negotiation and betrayal among players as representatives of countries, with in the end, only one player (country) could win. Considering the fact that it was a popular game at the time, just after WW2, this might imply that players then had a rather pessimistic worldview, i.e., one should better learn tactical negotiation and how to deal with betrayal -in order to futureproof their chances. The idea of changing the world and to make a better future using simulation/gaming was, at that time, not in their gaming portfolio. In comparison with more classic research topics found in literature, research on (digital) games and simulations is relatively new. Jane McGonigal’s legendary book “Reality is broken” (2011) is now already a classic, only a decade after its date of the publication. As we pointed out in our editorial of the December issue in 2022, Jane showed us a promising future when we are able to learn and benefit from using games. Indeed, from her perspective, games can change the world for the better. So, be its purpose or development for better or worse, the idea and motivation behind researching