CAPTRS Chief Game Designer Presents at International Conference on Simulation and Gaming

CAPTRS Chief Game Designer Micael Sousa presented the paper he authored with Dr. Francesca de Rosa,

Breaking the Learning Curve in an Analog Serious Game with the SIMRED Framework: The City Blackout Game

, at the International Simulation and Gaming Association (ISAGA) Conference held this month in Stuttgart, Germany.

ISAGA is a prestigious organization with a 56-year history of bringing together researchers, scientists, and practitioners who use games and simulations to explore complex topics across a wide range of disciplines. The conference draws participants from around the globe, including respected academics from top universities and leading professionals from major organizations in the field. ISAGA is known for fostering integration between research and practice in simulation and gaming.

“I was so pleased to present my new paper to this group,” said Sousa. “The paper outlines the method we used to simplify the

EMCE: City Blackout game by developing an introductory tutorial game EMCE: Firetruck that helped us engage users and teach them the core mechanics of the main game. The absence of such methods is a known gap in the field of simulation and serious games. I was also able to share the data we collected on the game’s effectiveness with experts in emergency management.”

The paper will be available soon as part of the ISAGA 2025 proceedings, which will be indexed in major scientific databases.