Massey University

Purpose: the Purpose of This Grant Is Study How Serious Games May Enhance the Adoption of Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Measures for Homeowners in Wildfire-prone Areas. Activities to Be Performed: First a Gamification Framework Will Be Used to Develop the Game Modules, Specifically How the Game Is Structured and Is Played Including a Sense of Accomplishment, Social Influence, Ownership, and Fulfillment Specific to the Wildland Fire and Mitigation Strategies Being Promoted. Next, Taking the Game Modules, Develop HTML5 Web-based Games for Maximum Exposure. Finally, the Game Will Be Evaluated in Order to Assess the Game?s Educational Effectiveness, User Experience and Acceptance and Whether or Not Homeowners Have or Intend to Implement Mitigation Measures Learned From the Game and the Reasons for Taking or Not Taking Such Actions. Expected Outcomes: the Research Will Help Identify Potential Barriers to Implementing Safety Measures and Is Expected to Educate Homeowners and Encourage Them to Implement Appropriate Mitigation Measures to Improve Community Preparedness of Wildfire Events. Intended Beneficiaries: Homeowners, Property Owners, and Residents in Wildfire-prone Communities That Can Gain a Better Understanding of Hazards and Protective Actions That They Can Take to Increase the Community?s Resilience to Wildland Urban Interface Fire Hazards. Subrecipient Activities: the University of Florida Is a Subrecipient and Will Be Responsible for Data Collection and Analysis of the Game. Researcher From the National Research Council Canada and Scion (new Zealand) Are Subrecipients That Will Be Responsible for Assisting With Game Development.