Can You Renew It - Ren H2020
Client: DeepBlue - Renaissance H2020
Serious game simulation for renewable energy community planning, developed within the European RENAISSANCE project (H2020). Multi-stakeholder decision-making scenarios for local communities, with end-to-end data pipeline and real-time analytics dashboard.
Serious Game – Renewable Energy Communities (RENAISSANCE H2020)
The Client
RENAISSANCE (RENewAble Integration and SuStainAbility iN Energy CommunitiEs) is a research project funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme (Grant No. 824342), with a total budget of approximately €6.9 million. The goal was to deliver a community-driven, scalable and replicable approach to implementing new business models and technologies supporting clean energy production and shared distribution in local communities. The project involved real pilot sites in four European countries and replication sites in 10 more countries worldwide, connecting over 1,000 households and 50 companies.
The project was coordinated by Vrije Universiteit Brussel, with Deep Blue Italy as an active partner responsible for dissemination and the development of engagement tools for local stakeholders.
The Project
The serious game simulation was the engagement tool developed to actively involve local decision-makers — administrators, energy technicians, community representatives — in understanding and planning energy transition scenarios. The goal was to make complex concepts of energy economics and renewable community governance accessible through an interactive, decision-driven experience.
Simulation and Gameplay
Built in Godot Engine with GDScript, the simulation places players in the roles of different stakeholders within a local energy community — producers, consumers, administrators — each with distinct objectives, constraints, and responsibilities. The gameplay mechanics cover energy planning, multi-actor negotiation, and the evaluation of decision impact across technical, economic, and environmental indicators.
Backend and Telemetry
The backend infrastructure was built on Appwrite with an optimised SQL schema and .NET cloud functions, enabling real-time capture of every choice made by players during the simulation. Each decision is recorded, contextualised, and made available for automated analysis by the research team.
Dashboard and Data Analysis
A SvelteKit dashboard gives researchers and project stakeholders immediate access to aggregated session data, with visualisations designed to support comparative analysis across communities and identify recurring decision patterns across different national contexts.
Deployment
The simulation was deployed on WebAssembly, ensuring cross-platform browser accessibility across all pilot countries, with no local installation required and full support for both mobile and web platforms.