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26 P. Davidsson and H. Verhagen

The focus of this book is on the user as an observer; the role of the user as
participant is just touched upon in Chap. 12 on participatory approaches (Barreteau
et al. 2017). However, to give a more complete picture, we have identified the
following purposes in the case when the user is participating in the simulation:
– Education, where simulation is used to explain or illustrate a phenomenon and
deepen the user’s theoretical knowledge. An example of this is the recently devel-
2
oped SimPort, a multiplayer serious game where the players have to construct a
port area in the vicinity of Rotterdam. One aim of this simulation-based tool is
to give its users better insight into any unforeseen, undesirable, and unintentional
effects of one or more development strategies and design variations in the
medium term (10–30 years) as a result of exogenous uncertainties (economic,
market, technological) and due to strategic behaviour of the parties involved.
Another example of individual-based simulation for educational purpose is the
PSI agent (Künzel and Hämmer 2006) that supports acquiring theoretical insights
in the realm of psychological theory. It enables students to explore psychological
processes without ethical problems.
– Training, where simulation is used to improve a person’s practical skills in a
certain domain. The main advantage of using simulation for training purposes
is to be part of a real-world-like situation without real-world consequences.
An early work in this area was a tool to help train police officers to manage
large public gatherings, such as crowds and protest marches (Williams 1993).
Another example of agent-based simulation for training purposes is Steve,
an agent integrated with voice synthesis software and virtual reality software
providing a very realistic training environment. For instance, it has been applied
to maintenance tasks in nuclear power plants (Méndez et al. 2003).
– Entertainment, where simulation is used just to please the user. There are a
large number of popular simulation games available. These belong to genres like
construction and management simulations, where players experience managing
a government, a sports team, a business, or a city; life simulations, where players
manage a life form or ecosystem, such as the well-known “Sims” and its sequels;
vehicle simulations, where players experience driving a vehicle, such as an
airplane or a racing car; and of course different types of war games.

3.3 Types of Systems Simulated

It is possible to categorize the systems being simulated:
1. Human-centred systems, such as:
– Human societies, consisting of a set of persons with individual goals. That is, the
goal of different individuals may be conflicting. In Chap. 28 of this book, more
information on the simulation of human societies is given (Edmonds et al. 2017).

2 http://www.simport.eu/