Contents Under Pressure (CUP) is a digital immersive environment (or "game") designed to help teach users about the complexities of process safety judgments in an authentic setting.
Players assume the role of a mid-level engineering manager at a chemical production facility. Over the course of fifteen simulated days, players will be faced with numerous decisions that impact the safety of the facility, the plant's productivity, the time available to them for decision making, and their reputation or standing with the game's other characters, both supervisors and subordinates.
Contents Under Pressure was developed by faculty from UConn, Rowan University, North Carolina State University, and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Filament Games and with funding from the National Science Foundation.
Overview of the Game
In Contents Under Pressure, players will interact with a variety of different characters, such as Darwin, the Safety Inspector. The decisions you make impact not only the safety and productivity of the facility, but also how other characters feel about you...
Game Reflection
Sometimes after making decisions, the game will prompt the player to reflect on how important various considerations may have been to their decision making. How players respond to these prompts can give insight into how they are approaching their decisions. . .
Processing Failures
Sometimes players will make a series of decisions that will lead to a process failure. In this case, the players' decisions led to an unacceptable loss in production at the plant. Players have to anticipate how their decision making may impact the various game metrics. Like in real life, it's seldom as simple as just maximizing safety and forgetting about everything else!
If you are interested in using Contents Under Pressure in your classroom or other professional setting, please reach out to the team.