Level 1: Scientific Discovery Games for Noobs
Unlocking the potential of gaming in research.
Welcome to The Gameful Scientist! This newsletter explores the intersection of science and games. Enjoy!
As you wander through the desolate wastelands of Borderlands 3, you come across a minigame called "Borderlands Science". By solving puzzles, you not only advance in the game but also help scientists. The puzzles use colored blocks representing microbial sequences collected from human stool samples, arranged on a grid. Rearranging them helps to reveal similarities among microbes in the gut, potentially leading to the development of new treatments for health and wellness.
Welcome to the world of discovery games, where science and gaming converge to make a real impact.
Discovery games are more than just a form of entertainment - they’re powerful tools for changing how we approach research. By turning complex scientific problems into puzzles, these games make it possible for anyone to get involved in real-world research and make a meaningful impact. With their growing popularity, we're seeing a shift towards harnessing the power of collective intelligence and promoting public engagement in science like never before.
In this article, we’ll explore the potential of discovery games to reimagine how research is done by crowdsourcing solutions to problems.
Psychology of Games
Games, particularly puzzle games, tap into our innate desire to solve problems and make sense of the world. Not only are they fun and give you a sense of accomplishment, but they also foster teamwork and communication among players. That’s why games like Minecraft, Tetris, Candy Crush, and Monument Valley, continue to be popular among players of all ages.
I spent my Christmas break hooked on The Witness, and I can attest to the captivating nature of these types of games. But their appeal extends beyond entertainment - they have proven to be valuable tools in research. By channeling this innate desire to solve problems into research, games allow players to contribute to discoveries in a really fun and creative way.
Gamification vs Games
Let's clear up a common confusion: games and gamification are not the same thing. Games, like video games, are interactive experiences that are designed to be entertaining and provide a sense of accomplishment. This is what this article focuses on. Gamification, on the other hand, involves using game-like elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards outside of games, in settings like work or education, to make things more engaging. Future articles will explore how both can impact research.
History of Discovery Games
Discovery games have a rich history rooted in citizen science, where non-expert volunteers participate in research projects. The 19th century saw the emergence of notable citizen science projects like the North American Bird Phenology Program and the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. With new technologies, particularly the internet, citizen science projects have grown in scale. A prime example of this is the Zooniverse citizen science web portal, created by the Citizen Science Alliance, which has engaged nearly a million volunteers. These projects are mostly focused on space and humanities.
Here’s some notable discovery games and their impact in the life sciences:
Foldit: Developed by the Baker Lab and Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, Foldit is a protein folding game. Players manipulate virtual proteins and compete to create the most stable structures. Their solutions are used to solve real-world protein structure prediction problems, including solving the structure of an enzyme vital for HIV replication. The papers related to Foldit can be found here.
Players turn and twist a protein model to simulate and find the most favorable interactions among the chemical groups. Eterna: Inspired by Foldit, Eterna is a game that focuses on RNA folding. Developed through a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon University and Stanford University, players are tasked with designing RNA sequences that fold into desired secondary structures. The game is used to help researchers understand the complex behavior of RNA, which play critical roles in many biological processes. Eterna takes it to the next level by linking the game to a cloud lab which allows players to bridge the gap between computer models and real-life experiments. It makes experimenting and getting feedback a part of the gameplay. Dr. Rhiju Das coins this the massive open laboratory. Papers related to Eterna can be found here.
EyeWire: Developed by the Seung Lab at MIT (now at Princeton University), EyeWire is a game that maps neurons in the brain. Players trace neuron branches in a 3D puzzle and use artificial intelligence (AI) to reconstruct them, competing to map the most in the shortest time possible. To date, players have mapped over 3000 neurons and identified 6 new cell types. EyeWire's data is used to help researchers better understand the brain and has been cited in various neuroscience papers.
Phylo: Developed at McGill University, Phylo is a game that focuses on aligning DNA sequences. It’s a cross between Tetris, Rubik's cube and an old-fashioned sliding-tile puzzle game. Players align sequences to match a reference sequence and the data is used to help researchers better understand evolutionary relationships between organisms. It’s also the precursor to Borderlands Science! Check out other projects the team is working on here.
Not only have 1.6 million different players solved at least a single task, each completed an average of nearly 40 puzzles for a collective total of 63.2 million total puzzles solved – a stark increase in engagement over the 350,000-plus players and the five-task average logged by its predecessor, a standalone puzzle game called Phylo, over 10 years.
Categories of Discovery Games
Discovery games come in various forms, each with a unique approach to crowdsourcing solutions to research problems. I read this fantastic book a couple of months ago by Dr. Kat Schrier called “Knowledge Games”, where she raises the question "are games the knowledge-producers of the future?" and explores the different types of discovery games that exist. She categorizes them into four main types:
Cooperative contribution games: Players work together to complete tasks, such as processing images or texts.
Analysis distribution games: Players analyze and interpret collected data, providing unique perspectives and strategies.
Algorithm construction games: Players engage in complex interactions, such as manipulating proteins, to help create an algorithm database.
Adaptive-predictive games: Games that use data to predict outcomes and adapt in real-time or for subsequent players. Could this be the next frontier in gaming?
Challenges and Opportunities for the Game Industry
The cultural and commercial impact of video games is hard to overstate. The video game industry has surpassed traditional forms of media in terms of popularity, with billions of players worldwide. The emergence of online multiplayer games and the success of citizen science projects set the stage for video games to become a medium for making real impact.
In a16z’s Bio Eats World, Bio+Health Fund GP Dr. Vijay Pande and Games Fund GP Jon Lai discusses the overlap between bio and games:
Creating discovery games involves balancing real-world data and engaging gameplay. Developers can work with researchers to integrate accurate data through the use of APIs, data analysis algorithms, and AI. This is a major challenge, but if done well, it can lead to some beautiful results. A great example is the partnership between Massively Multiplayer Online Science (MMOS), McGill University, The Microsetta Iniative, and Gearbox Software to create Borderlands Science. Attila Szantner, co-founder of MMOS highlights the key to integration.
When doing such an integration, it is of utmost importance that this mini-game inside the larger game universe feels like an integral part of the experience. This is one way to ensure that we are not breaking immersion.
The discovery game genre is relatively new and untested, which can be a risk for investors and developers. However, the potential for real-world impact and differentiation from competitors makes it an opportunity worth considering. As the field of discovery games continues to evolve, it will likely become increasingly attractive for investment and development.
Ethics
Ethical considerations in the realm of discovery games are crucial to ensure fair and accessible participation for all players. I’ve chatted with many players over the last couple of months, and one major concern that keeps coming up is player compensation. Designers of these games must balance intrinsic rewards, such as learning and contributing to society, with extrinsic rewards, such as college credit or authorship on papers. Another important consideration is the question of patentability and player credit or royalties for discoveries made in the game, to ensure that players are not exploited. As the field evolves, designers and researchers should consider these ethical questions and work towards creating inclusive and equitable games. Specific guidelines for discovery games have yet to be established, making it an important area for further exploration.
New Tech and Community
Harnessing the full potential of discovery games requires advancements in technology and community-building efforts. This might be an interesting place for some of you entrepreneurs to explore. One promising area is using machine learning to convert research data into games, making the research more accessible and engaging for players. However, a key challenge is understanding the factors and mechanics that make a game fun and incorporating them into training datasets for these models.
Community-building is also crucial, as discovery games have the potential to bring together large groups of players, researchers, and game developers. Efforts such as the Eterna community's "Eternacon" conference and, hopefully projects like "The Gameful Scientist" can foster collaboration and drive innovation in the field.
Games are reimagining the way we make impactful discoveries, by harnessing the collective power of players to solve problems. Join our community to discover the power of play! See you next week :)
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