WUI READY: A Serious Game for Promoting the Adoption of a Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Hazard Mitigation Methodology

The rising frequency and intensity of wildfires, particularly in wildland-urban interface communities, pose significant risks to residents. To address this, research and government organizations have developed wildfire hazard mitigation strategies. However, effective implementation requires residents to have adequate knowledge about such strategies. Serious games (i.e., designed for learning and training, not just entertainment) offer a promising and effective approach to educating communities about natural hazard mitigation. This paper presents the preliminary results of a research project focused on developing and evaluating a web-based serious game designed to educate residents about wildfire hazards and associated mitigation strategies, thereby enhancing their preparedness for future wildfire events. Four learning objectives were derived from a Hazard Mitigation Methodology to create a gaming framework and storyboard with four modules, which in turn guided the development of a preliminary game prototype. The game evaluation method has also been successfully designed. These results are expected to provide directions for policymakers and authorities, supporting informed decisions on how to develop and implement such educational tools. This project represents pioneering work in disseminating hazard mitigation information through a digital, web-based game, offering a scalable method that could be adopted by other organizations addressing the increasing impact of climate change-related disasters. Ultimately, this project lays the groundwork for further research and development of more comprehensive educational solutions that leverage gamification to promote hazard preparedness across various disaster contexts.