GEOGAME ON THE PEAT: DESIGNING EFFECTIVE GAMEPLAY IN GEOGAMES APP FOR HAZE MITIGATION

Abstract. The Southeast Asian Haze in 2014 and 2015 is the worst transboundary haze episodes recorded to date. The haze mainly originated from burning of biomass material in peatland area, caused major health problems and economic losses. Peat forest conversion to forest and agriculture industry by utilizing drainage canals is one of main fire drivers that need to be restored, while conflicts on land and livelihood further adding complexity on the issue. Water and peatland management are among the key activities for reducing the peat fire risk and for eliminating the transboundary haze problems. Geospatial data have been collected in peatland areas in Indonesia to support hydrological restoration plans to prevent drying of peat biomasses. Aside from satellite and UAV data, crowdsourcing could also be conducted by engaging residents in collecting spatial data on peat environment while at the same time raising awareness on peatland management and peat fire prevention. This paper elaborates our findings in developing a Geogame App for mitigating haze in peatland area. The study area is situated in Padang Island, Riau, Indonesia. The gamification was implemented as a location-based, augmented reality adventure game. The storyline revolves around peat-related theme, with game elements represent different aspects of peatland management. The game incorporates real-world data as a game element, which also serves as a platform for collecting data around the users. Game mockup and use case scenario are provided to model the spatial data collected through the game for decision makers related to peat fire management.